Date: October 5th, 2021

Marketplace Lead
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MATRIXNo.

QUESTIONSANSWERS1

Are the food chains selected previously by CI
Mexico, I mean are some products defined?
AgriFood, Handcraft, Forestry, Aquaculture,etc?

Value chains are not defined, but some have beenprioritized. The idea behind this is to be able tosupport the economy of the landscapes we areworking in, and support value chains with the highest
market potential that have not been supported (suchas hibiscus, passion fruit, ramon nut, and others). Thatsaid, only Ecotourism and Aquaculture are excluded.

2

Should the offeror propose the Value Chains, if
yes, how many?

The offeror should propose their initial vision withthe publicly available information on which value
chains might be interesting. As many as the offeror
considers important to present a sound offer. We
are more interested in your proposals for buyers andmarkets that match well with the sustainableproducts in these landscapes.

3

Are there some pre-selected producers orsocial communities with whom we have towork?

Yes. The project started the implementation phasein May. At this moment, we are already working withproducer organizations in different value chainssuch as cattle, pine resin, sesame, coffee, cacao,passion fruit, and hibiscus.

4Are there producers associations specificrequirements? Size, number of producers,
associative profile (SPR, SAPI, etc)

SLV’s objective is to strengthen producer
organizations (of 500+ members) to help develop
financial and entrepreneurial capacities inorganizations with sustainable practices and/ortransition to sustainable practices. Ideally SPR (orother legal structures chosen by the producer
organizations) which will allow for equity debt fromthe Blended Finance Members.

5Could the budget integrate a Life insurance forexperts?

If all the employees within your organization havethis benefit, then the expense can be included in thebudget, if this is not the case, it cannot be included.

6What is the current status of the 12 Collective
Business Entities (CBEs)? Are they alreadyorganized and operating/selling?

The CBE’s design phase will start from October toDecember and the goal for the Fiscal year 2022 isto have 8 CBEs created and starting theiroperations.
Currently, we are working with several producer
organizations which vary in number of producers
from 50 to 500 producers in each landscape that
could evolve to CBEs.
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What is the current status with prospective
buyers or investors?
Are there any negotiations in progress or willthat activity begin from scratch through themarketplace lead?

With prospective buyers we are currently inconversations with The Green Corner, an organic
market with several stores across Mexico City, towork hand-in-hand with them and with different
producer organizations, to supply them withsustainably produced products.

Could you describe and clarify briefly the SLV
project structure? (Components, mechanisms,tables, positions, roles, etc.). What are the key
roles and responsibilities of CI Mexico, SLV
staff and the SLV project partners?

CI is the prime recipient and is tasked withmanaging the partners and fulfilling the cooperative
agreement with USAID and implement the activity
bringing their +30 years of experience working inMexico.
SLV staff, which is part of CI Mexico, oversees theday-to-day operations of the project and developing
the implementation strategy alongside with theconsortium partners.
SLV consortium partners were part of the cocreation process for SLV and each one has adefined role and responsibilities depending on theirarea of expertise, with every organization committed
to bridging rural enterprises in the four selected
landscapes with financiers and responsible buyers.

9

Where is the marketplace component locatedwithin this project structure?

The marketplace is one of the services the Blended
Finance Engine (component 2) will be providing
producer organizations, CBEs, and buyers.

10

Where is the expert table mechanism locatedwithin this project structure?

The expert table mechanism is within the Blended
Finance Engine, component of the project.

What kind of actors are there in the expert table?

Initially, consortium partners and as we progress in
implementation expert tables will be define bysubject matter of expertise.

11

Are there resources within the SLV structurethat we can use, for the benefit of themarketplace component? (ex. coordinators,local or regional facilitators, etc.)

Yes, project staff can be leveraged for the benefit ofthe marketplace.

12Is there a place or city where the main activitiesof the project take place? Have you alreadyscheduled meetings on a regular basis? (inperson, virtual?)

We have weekly: 1 hour consortium meeting, 1 hour
weekly Blended Finance Engine meetings and 1:30
weekly meetings between Landscape Managers,
CBE Manager and the Blended Finance Partners.
Due to Covid-19 most of them are still taking place
online. We expect more in person activities in thenext year in Mexico City and the landscapes
described in the RfP.

13

Are there any mechanisms/tables/committees
already in place? Where and how often do they
get together?

Already answered in question 12 above.

14

Have you faced any important or major
challenges that we should be aware of?

As with many other projects, we started
implementation 8 weeks later than planned due to2

Calle El Oro 23, Col. Roma, Ciudad de México, 06700 Tel. (55)5207-0032

Covid-19 restrictions, that said, the project isprogressing well and adjusting to the constantly
changing “new normal”.
15

Could you provide more information about theterms and conditions of the contract? (ex. Typeof contract, commercial conditions, payment
frequency, etc.)

The contract are standard CI contracts, payment
frequency is against deliverables, and it can bemonthly, bimonthly etc.

16

What would monthly progress reporting on themarketplace consist of (calls, written reports,etc)?

A standard written report and updated calls.

17

What is the status of the BFE (aside from themarketplace) and who are the BFE partners?

The current BFE partners are the consortium
members, but we already have several otherinvestors and financiers interested in joining theBFE. The BFE already has its main documents
developed, is fine tuning the finance curation
process and we are expecting to be operational byJanuary 2022.

18

We would like to submit an offer alongside a
local partner. Would that be possible? We
assume that we would need to designate alead to manage reporting, funds receipt, etc?

Yes. A project manager will need to be designatedand working with a partner or another organizationis allowed.

19

We are working on a proposal for the project inreference and would like to know if we cansubmit it in consortium with anotherorganization?

Yes, proposals can be submitted in consortium withanother organization.

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Calle El Oro 23, Col. Roma, Ciudad de México, 06700 Tel. (55)5207-0032