CONSULTING



Our area of expertise:

ASIAFCO is a consultancy company with more than 22 years of international experience in the design, management, monitoring and evaluation of projects and programmes supporting private sector development in developing countries. Over more than thirty years, our in-house experts have developed very specific areas of expertise in the field of Private Sector Development (PSD) in Africa.

This experience has been gradually acquired thanks to the successful implementation of hundreds of assignments, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, on behalf of international organisations (ACP Group, Centre for the Development of Enterprise, European Commission / EuropeAid, GTZ, ITC,UNIDO), PSD programmes (BIZCLIM, ESIPP, COLEACP-PIP; PROINVEST) and private clients.

Our main fields and regions of expertise:

We provide tailored consulting advice and technical assistance services in the following areas:
  • Identification and feasibility studies for projects and programmes focussing on support to the private sector (investment promotion and inter-company partnership, access to finance, institutional and regulatory environment, strengthening capacities of intermediary organisations, etc);
  • Economic country surveys and market studies;
  • Programme management, recruitment and coordination of multi-disciplinary teams of international experts, management of funds on behalf of donors;
  • Evaluation, monitoring and audit of projects and programmes;
  • Development of Procedures manuals for various Programme Management Units;
  • Marketing and communication strategies;
  • Coordination of sector partnership meetings.
ASIAFCO has extensive knowledge of the business environment (investments/ exports), the needs of companies and professional organisations, acquired during missions in the field in more than 35 developing or transition countries:

West Africa
Central Africa
Esat and
Southern Africa
Indian Ocean
North Africa
and Asia
Benin
Cameroun
South Africa
Comoros
Egypt
Burkina Faso
Congo
Angola
Madagascar
India
Ghana
Gabon
Botswana
Mauritius
Morocco
Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Burundi
Réunion
Sri Lanka
Ivory Coast
Central African Republic
Djibouti
Seychelles
Tunisia
Mali
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ethiopia
Mauritania
Sao Tome & Principe
Namibia
Niger
Chad
Rwanda
Senegal
Tanzania
Togo
Zambia

Support to Institutions and programmes aimed at strengthening the private sector in Africa:

ASIAFCO has more than 20 years of international experience in the design, management and monitoring of multiple projects and programmes to support the development of the private sector in Africa and in the ACP, among them:
  • Design and management of a pilot programme providing financial support to selected companies carrying out projects within the framework of sectoral partnership meetings (FACT Fund);

  • Support to Project management Unit of the PROINVEST programme, writing up the manual of procedures and setting up a computerised system for the monitoring of PROINVEST’s Objectively Verifiable Indicators;

  • Supporting the design and administrative management of the pilot phase of the whole ACP “Pesticides Initiative Programme” (COLEACP – PIP);

  • Support to the CDE for the restructuring of their institutional and operational networks in all the ACP States;

  • Coordination and support to the management units of more than twenty international sector partnership meetings for the benefit of ACP companies and intermediary organisations.
EDF ProceduresEDF Procedures

ASIAFCO has a very good knowledge of the European Development Fund (EDF) procedures. This experience was acquired on the one hand within the scope of various types of administrative support in preparing and executing EC projects (preparing financing proposals and calls for tender)  and on the other hand in preparing procedural manuals for programmes financed by the EDF: new procedures manual of the Pesticides Initiative Programme – PIP, Procedures manual of the EU-ACP PROINVEST programme, Procedures manual of the decentralised management units of the CDE, Procedures manual of the FACT Fund for SMEs.

Evaluation of programmesEvaluation of projects and programmes: Identification / Feasibility

ASIAFCO has performed several evaluations of programmes, on behalf of the European Commission and the CDE, among them:
  • Evaluation of grant applications submitted by intermediary organisations and companies to the PROINVEST and ESIPP programmes;

  • Mid-term evaluation of the EBAS programme;

  • Evaluation of the impact of CDE interventions in 49 ACP countries;

  • Evaluation of the impact of interventions of CDI/FACT within the framework and the follow-up of EU-ACP sectoral partnership forums;

  • Internal audit of the EU-India Cross-cultural Economic Programme (checking grant applications);

  • Evaluation of the promotional activities of the CDI.
Capacity BuildingStrengthening the capabilities of intermediary organisations:

On the occasion of numerous missions in sub-Saharan Africa and especially within the framework of missions that it has performed in Western, Central and Southern Africa as an active partner of ASIAFCO GABON, TANDEM AEC (Senegal) and IMANI DEVELOPMENT (Mauritus), ASIAFCO has acquired very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of intermediary organisations (IOs) and of their capacity building needs. It has also provided training in the PROINVEST procedures for IOs in West Africa and coaching activities for Intermediary Organisations in West Africa.

         

         

15 rue Général Wangermée l 1040 Brussels l Belgium l Phone: +32 2 735 12 08 l Fax: +32 2 733 10 18 l e-mail: contact@asiafco.com