“We implemented an innovative programme on results-based financing together with NIRAS. As we explored different forms of contracting, the NIRAS team was finely attuned to our concerns and needs. They understood that plans can change and worked with us closely on finding solutions on all aspects of the programme – from building relationships with partners to M&E.”
Lucie Pluschke
Desk Officer at GIZ, working with NIRAS on WE4F East Africa,
where our role was Fund Manager and Technical Adviser
“We implemented an innovative programme on results-based financing together with NIRAS. As we explored different forms of contracting, the NIRAS team was finely attuned to our concerns and needs. They understood that plans can change and worked with us closely on finding solutions on all aspects of the programme – from building relationships with partners to M&E.”
Lucie Pluschke
Desk Officer at GIZ, working with NIRAS on WE4F East Africa, where our role was Fund Manager and Technical Adviser
Sustainable development cannot be secured without a sound revenue base, and a vibrant private sector is the engine to achieve this. Without economic perspectives, young people will leave home. Our approach to economic development is designed to benefit both local communities and investors. We provide technical assistance and skills transfers to the public and private sector (e.g., MSMEs, entrepreneurs, start-ups, farmers, processors, and larger industries) as well as academia. Applying a “Making Markets Work for the Poor” socially inclusive approach, we include elements of business development services, value chain development, market linkage creation, and public‒private partnerships (PPPs), without ever compromising on good governance.
Support to MSMEs is vital due to their potential for creating jobs and decent living standards. Our approach builds private- and public-sector capacity as we cover the spectrum from knowledge development via transfer and commercialisation to utilisation. We promote open innovations by linking clients to local and international expertise and facilitating knowledge exchange. NIRAS also facilitates access to finance via various funding sources and new mechanisms with scalability potential. We do this by strengthening financial intermediaries and promoting customer-centric models.
For many years now, NIRAS has operated a Fund Management Unit as a service function for all NIRAS-managed facilities and projects. We have built a network of experienced funding facility managers and an innovation platform to refine our grant management procedures and tools. We currently manage an array of funding facilities and within program grant schemes with a current portfolio value of approximately €300 million.
Active Projects
Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II (GPSCP II)
FUNDER:
Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO)
DURATION:
2023-2027
Funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in collaboration with the Government of Ghana, the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II (GPSCP II) is a bilateral programme that aims to contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth through enhanced trade and competitiveness in the cashew and oil palm value chains. NIRAS is partnering on the implementation of GPSCP II with @Proforest, an NGO that supports companies throughout supply chains to have positive social and environmental outcomes in the places where commodities are produced. By building on the achievements of the GPSCP’s first phase, Phase II aims to improve the enabling environment for both target sectors. Gender equality and ESG considerations are also at the heart of programme design and implementation. The GPSCP II is applying the Market Systems Approach and delivering its mandate using three implementation modalities: a Strategic Cooperation Partnership with the Tree Crops Development Authority, the Rapid Response Mechanism which will support wider policy change initiatives and the Development Partnership with the Private Sector, providing grants and technical assistance to strengthen businesses in the value chains.
Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP)
FUNDER:
World Bank
DURATION:
2020-2026
A grant fund valued at over €12 million, the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP) aims to transform more than 250 middle-sized SMEs by improving their productivity and innovation through grants targeting capacity development and digitisation. Through six separate cohorts, NIRAS is disbursing funds and providing business support services to these SMEs (with an annual turnover of $500,000 to $10 million) to identify managerial, technical, production, and supply chain relationship gaps and opportunities. A specialist group of NIRAS business advisors provides business guidance and mentorship to the beneficiary SMEs throughout the programme on a need’s basis.
Regional Migration Fund
FUNDER:
Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)
DURATION:
2019-2027
Established with the support of the support of the German development bank KfW, the Dijbouti-based Regional Migration Fund (RMF) is creating economic opportunities, improving living conditions, and promoting inclusivity among refugees, migrants, and host communities in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Region. NIRAS runs the Fund Management Unit, which is responsible for the setup, operation, and management of the RMF, the preparation and selection of specific interventions, and support to individual measures at project level. RMF-supported projects must include a core infrastructure component (basic services, shared infrastructure, or infrastructure dedicated to conflict resolution processes such as peace centres). These are supported by accompanying social measures focussing on the just uptake and utilisation of the infrastructure, as well as contributing to the social cohesion goals of the programme (dialogue forums, conflict resolution forums, youth activities, livelihood trainings). All RMF investments take as a starting point the needs of the community through a participatory community-based investment planning process respecting a do-no-harm approach, after which specific project measures are developed by interested implementing partners and subsequently implemented with the oversight and supervision of the RMF team.
Support for the Development of the Peanut, Sesame and Shea Sectors (SODEFIKA)
FUNDER:
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
DURATION:
2024-2028
NIRAS experts joined Caritas’ Support for the Development of the Peanut, Sesame and Shea Sectors (SODEFIKA) Project, which supports the development of the peanut, sesame and shea sectors in Chad, where food security is under threat from climate change and the political and security crisis. We are providing expertise in gender equality and social inclusion, including stakeholder engagement; development of technical and commercial services; and microfinance and investment capacity development. SODEFIKA is an economic development programme rolled out in three phases across the provinces of Logone Oriental, Mandoul and Moyen Chari. The project is in its third and final phase and is applying a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach, where SODEFIKA acts as a facilitator among partners — namely women- and youth-run family businesses, encouraging them to develop strategies geared towards demand and that make full use of their capabilities.
Mobilising Finance for Forests
FUNDER:
UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO)
DURATION:
2022-2026
NIRAS is managing the Mobilising Finance for Forests (MFF) technical assistance facility to help agro and forestry companies grow and expand, while reducing deforestation in vulnerable tropical forests in Africa, Asia and Latin America. MFF invests in private companies whose activities have a high degree of impact on at-risk tropical forests. The MFF investment helps these companies reorient their activities or grow their business away from deforestation and towards deforestation-free practices while producing a financial return for the companies. Part of the value-add of the MFF programme is that it will offer technical assistance (TA) to its investees, in order to both provide capital and the expertise to deploy it in the best possible manner. For MFF, this is a way to “de-risk” investments by making them more likely to succeed. For the investees, it is a way to gain access to world-class expertise, specifically tailored to their needs. NIRAS, in consortium with the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and Form International is managing the TA Facility for MFF. The consortium works with MFF and investees to (1) develop and design TA assignments, (2) deliver TA through our network of in-house and associated consultants and experts, and (3) offer ad-hoc support to MFF and FMO during the programme’s operation.
Economic Linkages for Diversification (Conecta Negocios)
FUNDER:
World Bank
DURATION:
2024-2025
NIRAS has been contracted by the Mozambican Ministry of Economy and Finance to deliver a component under the Economic Linkages for Diversification (Conecta Negocios) project. Funded by the World Bank, the project works with SMEs to develop their ability to provide goods and services to large investments along their value chains. The NIRAS team is focusing on upstream linkages and providing services in three phases: (1) training and capacity building support, focussing on the provinces of Tete, Nampula and Cabo Delgado and targeting 1000 SMEs; (2) technical assistance and quality standards upgrade, which will provide hands-on support for market penetration and procurement processes for 200 firms; and (3) market linkages and access to finance, connecting over 100 firms to buyers, procurement opportunities and financial services.
Conecta Negocios is implemented by the Ministry of Economy and Finance with the participation of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and other government agencies and institutions such as the Zambezi Valley Development Agency, the Northern Integrated Development Agency, the Mozambique National Institute of Tourism, the Investment and Export Promotion Agency, the Institute for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises, and the Mozambique National Institute of Standardisation and Quality.
Other significant projects in recent years
Investing for Employment Facility
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Rwanda
CLIENT: KfW
CONTRACT VALUE: €17M
DURATION: 2019-2027
Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP II)
COUNTRY: Kenya
CLIENT: Sida
CONTRACT VALUE: €2,3M
DURATION: 2019-2024
Support to EU Delegation and Private Sector Initiatives for Sustainable Business Dialogue
COUNTRY: Tanzania
CLIENT: EU
CONTRACT VALUE: €332K
DURATION: 2021-2022
National Incubator/Accelerator Facility for Wood Sector
COUNTRY: Rwanda
CLIENT: GIZ
CONTRACT VALUE: €850K
DURATION: 2020-2022
Technical Assistance to Microfinance Clients of SOCREMO Bank
COUNTRY: Mozambique
CLIENT: Sida
CONTRACT VALUE: €237K
DURATION: 2017-2021
Skills Development Fund
COUNTRY: Ghana
CLIENT: Danida
CONTRACT VALUE: €1.9M
DURATION: 2016-2021
The Local Investment Climate (LIC) Project
COUNTRY: Tanzania
CLIENT: Danida
CONTRACT VALUE: €2.6M
DURATION: 2014-2020
Investing for Employment Facility
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Rwanda
CLIENT: KfW
CONTRACT VALUE: €17M
DURATION: 2019-2027
Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP II)
COUNTRY: Kenya
CLIENT: Sida
CONTRACT VALUE: €2,3M
DURATION: 2019-2024
Support to EU Delegation and Private Sector Initiatives for Sustainable Business Dialogue
COUNTRY: Tanzania
CLIENT: EU
CONTRACT VALUE: €332K
DURATION: 2021-2022
National Incubator/Accelerator Facility for Wood Sector
COUNTRY: Rwanda
CLIENT: GIZ
CONTRACT VALUE: €850K
DURATION: 2020-2022
Technical Assistance to Microfinance Clients of SOCREMO Bank
COUNTRY: Mozambique
CLIENT: Sida
CONTRACT VALUE: €237K
DURATION: 2017-2021
Skills Development Fund
COUNTRY: Ghana
CLIENT: Danida
CONTRACT VALUE: €1.9M
DURATION: 2016-2021
The Local Investment Climate (LIC) Project
COUNTRY: Tanzania
CLIENT: Danida
CONTRACT VALUE: €2.6M
DURATION: 2014-2020