Technical assistance services

Tender description

The UK Government is designing an 18 400 000 GBP programme of support for ‘Strengthening Trade for Inclusive Development in Southern Africa’ (STRIDES). The programme's objectives are to improve trade facilitation and transport corridor development in selected countries in Southern Africa, and to strengthen the evidence and support for greater trade integration across the region. The programme will provide technical assistance at country, cross-border and regional levels to: improve border management; facilitate informal, small-scale trade and its formalisation; develop the capacity of private sector and civil society organisations to advocate for trade reforms; strengthen government capability to develop and implement trade policy; provide better evidence on the poverty impacts of trade facilitation measures; and improve project preparation and financing for regional transport corridor infrastructure. The programme will be managed by DFID's Africa Regional Department, in close cooperation with DFID country offices in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. This will be a flexible and adaptive programme, with a strong monitoring system to provide the real time information needed to measure performance and adapt work plans accordingly. We will look for political economy understanding, as well as technical skills, and for creativity and innovation in bids from potential Service Providers.