Opportunities

DEADLINE EXTENDED to March 6th, 2023

The governments of the Dominican Republic and Haiti as well as the European Union have entrusted the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) with the implementation of the “Trade and Private Sector Component” of the Binational Cooperation Program between Haiti and the Dominican Republic under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) FED /2018/399-379. This component seeks on one hand, to improve the general business and investment climate in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and, on the other hand, to enhance the international image and perception of the two countries.

The program has three (3) main objectives:

1. To promote more balanced and formal trade exchanges between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
2. To improve the quality of goods produced in the two countries and the competitiveness of companies by paying particular attention to the following three (3) value chains: cocoa / chocolate; essential oils / cosmetics; and Handicraft/fashion/accessories/jewelry.
3. To Consolidate institutional cooperation between Ministries dealing with trade affairs and Customs Administrations, as well as dialogue between the public and private sectors as well as within the private sector.

In view of the second objective, Caribbean Export will seek to develop and/or strengthen the binational value chain for handicrafts, fashion, accessories, and jewelry. To this end, the Agency will launch a call for the Creation of a Digital Promotional Platform that will allow the promotion of the binational jewelry collection “Symbiosis”, as well as the production of the beneficiaries of the value chain.

General Objective

Conceptualization, design, and implementation of a web site. The web portal must allow profiles for each artisan participant in the Bi-national collection and contact information for each profile.

The profile of the consultant(s) for this contract is as follows

• At least three (3) years of professional experience in the development and implementation of e-commerce platforms in emerging countries;
• Experience in trade and private sector projects management, including APE;
• Extensive knowledge of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, knowledge of bi-national trade, as well as the regional context of Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and trade flows in the Caribbean region;
• Experience in the private sector will be an asset.
• All reports will be written in Spanish.

Applications should be sent no later than 5:00 pm EST on March 6th, 2023, to the following email address kmarseille@carib-export.com with the reference “Symbiosis-Plataforma Digital”.

Under the 11th EDF bi-national Programme, Caribbean Export along with its bi-national partners are pursuing the development of a Binational Value Chain Strategy for the Essential Oil and Cosmetics sector in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in order to maximize the potential export from both countries.

As part of the Strategy, eight (8) beneficiaries from the sector in Haiti and the DR were identified, (four (4) from each country), to be part of the Value Chain Project and an individual strategy/a detailed Action Plan was prepared for each, to improve its quality and international competitiveness, including possible collaborations with other international institutions.

For this reason, Caribbean Export started with the implementation of the individual strategies and action plans for the beneficiary companies of the Project.

This consultancy has been developed in response to an immediate need for the beneficiary company LABORATORIO CAPILO ESPAÑOL.

Objective

The objective of this technical assistance for the company Laboratorio Capilo Español S.R.L. seeks to ensure that said company complies with the ISO / IEC 22716 standard of good manufacturing practices for the cosmetics industry, provided by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and therefore can obtain a certification.

The specific objectives are among others:

• Support the company Laboratorio Capilo Español S.R.L. in all activities required to be certified according to ISO/IEC 22716.
• Design of the implementation of the ISO/IEC 22716 standard at Laboratorio Capilo Español S.R.L.
• Carry out pre-certification audits.
• Identify in the pre-certification audit all the non-conformities with respect to the ISO/IEC 22716 standard to identify the aspects to improve and strengthen, so that the company approves the certification audit.
• Review of existing documentation and its organization.
• Training the staff of the company to comply with the standard. At least fifty (50) participants from the Capilo Español network.

Interested persons are kindly asked to review the full terms of reference and submit a technical and financial proposal electronically to Ileana Tejada, Senior Advisor – Private Sector Development & IP at itejada@carib-export.com.

The deadline for submissions is February 20, 2023, 4:30 pm (Dominican Republic local time).

The working language of this consultancy is Spanish, therefore the TORs are only available in Spanish.

Under the 11th EDF bi-national Programme, Caribbean Export along with its bi-national partners has decided to pursue the development of a Binational Value Chain Strategy for the Cocoa/Chocolate sector in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in order to maximize the potential export from both countries.
As part of the Strategy, ten (10) beneficiaries from the cocoa sector in Haiti and the DR were identified, (five (5) from each country), to be part of the Value Chain Project and an individual strategy/a detailed Action Plan was prepared for each, to improve its quality and international competitiveness, including possible collaborations with other international institutions.

In August 2020, Caribbean Export started with the implementation of the individual strategies and action plans for the beneficiary companies of the Project. Therefore, this consultancy is part of the activities agreed with the company Xocolat, in the letter of agreement that was signed with Caribbean Export, in response to the immediate need of the company.

Objective

The objective of this consultancy is to give continuity to the Xocolat brand as a leader in innovation in the Dominican chocolate industry, in order to sustainably improve the image of the brand and present products under the best international standards.

Specific objectives

• Redesign of all bonbon and chocolate packaging of the Xocolat brand.

Interested persons are kindly asked to review the full terms of reference and submit a technical and financial proposal electronically to Ileana Tejada, Senior Advisor – PSD and Investment Promotion at itejada@carib-export.com. The deadline for submissions is March 14, 2023, 4:30 pm EST.

This call for applications is launched in the framework of Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, a four-year Programme implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean and with the support of the European Union.

The overall purpose of the Programme is to deepen cultural integration in the Caribbean and strengthen people-to-people cooperation and exchange in the region and with the European Union. One of the main outputs focuses on building capacity for the development of new cultural projects, self-employment and start-up/scaling up activities. In this context, beneficiaries will be provided with training on preparing effective project proposals for applications to international grants and sub-granting mechanisms.

Complete the online application form in either English, Spanish or French by Monday

6 March 2023 at 23:59 AST.

The Legal Drafting e-Learning Programme is part of the Capacity Building in Legal Drafting Project that is financed by the European Union and executed by ARCA Consortium on behalf of CARIFORUM.

This project seeks to build capacity within the public sector in CARIFORUM States in the areas of treaty and legislative drafting through training and sponsorship of selected participants.

The project also intends to develop a better understanding among beneficiaries of the provisions of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to facilitate a more effective implementation of the EPA.

The consulting team ARCA Consortium S.A. is inviting applications from suitably qualified persons to apply by the deadline through the using the link and contact information below.

Legal Drafting E-learning Programme Open Call – CARICOM

1.Relevant Background

Caribbean Export was established in 1996 as the regional trade and investment promotion agency to serve 15 States of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM), namely: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Agency carries out numerous programme-based activities designed to enhance the competitiveness of regional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), promote trade and development among the CARIFORUM, promote stronger trade and investment relations among CARIFORUM and the French Caribbean Outermost Regions (FCORs) and the EU Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) in the Caribbean, as well as promote stronger trade and investment cooperation between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic.

Under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), Regional Private Sector Development Programme (RPSDP), which Caribbean Export is currently implementing, support has been offered to CARIFORUM States in a gamut of areas ranging from investment promotion to business advocacy. With each intervention, Caribbean Export aims to optimise the export potential of regional entrepreneurs, as well as encourage all productive sectors to implement processes and systems that enable moving up the value chain.

The specific purpose of this consultancy is to work alongside the National Intellectual Property Office of the Dominican Republic (ONAPI) and the title holders of the different appellation of origins (AOC) that have been approved in the country to prepare the documentation needed to duly register them with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in accordance to the Lisbon Agreement.

2. Overall Objective

Direct assistance to appellation of origins title holders in the Dominican Republic to:

a. prepare registry documentation for the following AOCs:

• Café Juncalito
• Aguacate Oro Verde Cambita
• Ron Dominicano
• Café Barahona
• Larimar Barahona
• Cacao Los Bejucos
• Cacao El Ramonal

b. Submit registration request and issue payment in accordance to Lisbon Agreement;

c. Follow-up to ensure that AOCs have been duly registered with WIPO and that the registry has been made effective in each requested member-country.

3. Commencement date and period of implementation of tasks

The intended commencement date of this project is November 25, 2022.

4. Required Documentation to submit a proposal

Interested persons must submit the following documents to Mr. Leo Naut, Deputy Executive Director (LNaut@carib-export.com) and Mr. Victor Gomez (VGomez@carib-export.com) via email on or before: Friday, November 18, 2022 by 4:30 PM AST:

• Consultant(s) Professional Resume/Curriculum Vitae
• Methodology Proposal for implementation in accordance to the scope of work that is defined in the Terms of Reference attached (must include expected timeline/work programme of deliverables)
• Detailed Financial proposal in USD
• Signed Declaration Form noted in section 14 of this ToR.

Under the 11th EDF bi-national Programme, Caribbean Export along with its bi-national partners has decided to pursue the development of a Binational Value Chain Strategy for the Cocoa/Chocolate sector in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in order to maximize the potential export from both countries.

As part of the Strategy, ten (10) beneficiaries from the cocoa sector in Haiti and the DR were identified, (five (5) from each country), to be part of the Value Chain Project and an individual strategy/a detailed Action Plan was prepared for each, to improve its quality and international competitiveness, including possible collaborations with other international institutions.

In August 2020, Caribbean Export started with the implementation of the individual strategies and action plans for the beneficiary companies of the Project. Therefore, this consultancy is part of the activities agreed with the company Xocolat, in the letter of agreement that was signed with Caribbean Export, in response to the immediate need of the company.

Objective

The objective of this consultancy is to give continuity to the Xocolat brand as a leader in innovation in the Dominican chocolate industry, in order to sustainably improve the image of the brand; present products under the best international standards and a greater presence of online sales.

Specific objectives

• Renewed and fresher brand image in order to be striking and recognizable for an emerging young audience;
• Great consumer acceptance, at all levels, of the new presentation and renewed image of the brand;
• Easy access to purchase through online sales and home delivery in the Dominican Republic.

Interested persons are kindly asked to review the full terms of reference and submit a technical and financial proposal electronically to Ileana Tejada, Senior Advisor – PSD and Investment Promotion at itejada@carib-export.com.

The deadline for submissions is November 17, 2022, 4:30 pm EST.

The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) has been entrusted by the Governments
of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the European Union, with the implementation of the “Trade and
Private Sector Component” of the Haiti-Dominican Republic Binational Cooperation Programme under
the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) FED/2018/399-379. This component seeks to enhance the
overall business and investment climate of Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as the international
perceptions and images of both countries.

Attending Under objective 1, Caribbean Export seeks to facilitate greater cooperation between the
General Customs Administration of the Republic of Haiti (AGD) and the General Customs Directorate of
the Dominican Republic (DGA). In this regard, the establishment of mechanisms and procedures that will
facilitate the execution of joint inspections by the customs administrations of Haiti and the Dominican
Republic are envisaged.

Objective

The objective of this project is to develop a joint inspection protocol that will address and include the
following points and actions (among others):

• Specify when and how the goods that are the object of cross-border exchange are to be physically
  inspected in the primary border areas by the customs officials of the two countries.
• Specify where this inspection is to be carried out in the primary zone of the Dominican Republic
  or in the primary zone of Haiti.
• Review the legal texts of the two countries to find out if there are any legal incompatibilities that
  prevent this joint action and how to proceed in the event of any violations of legal provisions of
  one or both countries that may occur during physical inspections; specify who would apply the
  sanctions according to the place where the inspection is carried out or as agreed in the inspection
  protocol.
• Address the recognition of the controls applied by both parties.
• Identify and evaluate the provision of capacity or physical verification areas and the use of nonintrusive verification mechanisms such as scanners etc.
• Establish directives on carrying out joint operations at the specified border points and in the most
  vulnerable border areas with the highest incidence of illegal transfer of goods, among other.
• Recognition of controls and inspections carried out by customs officials.

The languages of this consultancy are French and Spanish, and all proposals must be submitted
in French and Spanish.

The specific objectives are among others:

• Conduct extensive research to produce a full assessment of the relationship between the customs administrations in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
• Review the existing agreement between the General Customs Administration of the Republic of Haiti and the General Customs Directorate of the Dominican Republic.
• Conduct(s) thorough research on the body of customs regulations in force on both sides of the Haitian-Dominican Republic land border to identify any potential legal obstacles that could prevent said inspections and, in turn, propose solutions to resolve them.

Under objective two (2), Caribbean Export seeks to build awareness of quality standards and technical regulations among owners and operators of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in collaboration with the Haitian Bureau of Standardization (BHN).in Haiti and the Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad (INDOCAL) in the Dominican Republic. In this sense, a modern, easy-to-use and visually appealing website will be created to be used by the BHN as a tool for public awareness and communication on standards and quality, as well as on the harmonization work carried out, within the framework of the binational program, with the Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad, INDOCAL, partner of the BHN.

Objective:

In accordance with the general objective of strengthening quality infrastructure in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, BHN and INDOCAL are committed to strengthening their commitments to the private sector. In this sense, organizations seek to promote awareness of quality standards and norms, as well as improve communication between them. The Haitian Bureau of Standardization (BHN) does not have, to date, a website. It is therefore necessary, in order to meet the objectives previously expressed, that it acquires such an attractive tool, easy to use and innovative, to promote and share information on standards and quality with Haitian SMEs and other private sector actors in Haiti as well as those in the Dominican Republic. This website will allow the BHN to be more interactive with the various actors in terms of standards and quality, including within the framework of the binational program with INDOCAL.

The specific objectives of this site are (among others);

1. Improve the knowledge of owners and operators of SMEs on quality standards.

2. Promote awareness of the roles of the BHN and INDOCAL within the framework of the binational relationship; and

3. Raise public awareness of the impact of quality regulations on market access opportunities.

The main users of the site will be officials from BHN, INDOCAL.

The language of this consultancy is French, and all proposals must be submitted in French.

The deadline for submissions is October 28th, 2022, 5:00 pm (Haiti local time).

Atendiendo al Componente 3 de este Programa relacionado con la colaboración institucional entre el Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y MiPymes (MICM) de la República Dominicana y el Ministerio de Comercio e Industria de Haití, Caribbean Export pretende fortalecer la capacidad de los Ministerios responsables de lo relacionado con el comercio y la industria. En este sentido, el objetivo de esta Asistencia Técnica es el diseño de un plan que permita la acreditación exitosa de las autoridades correspondientes del país ante la Organización Dominicana de Acreditación (ODAC).

Objetivo

El objetivo de esta Asistencia Técnica es fortalecer las capacidades institucionales de las autoridades correspondientes de la República Dominicana para que se conviertan en certificadoras de productos de producción orgánica para la exportación de hortalizas y productos orgánicos al mercado europeo. El consultor trabajará bajo la autoridad de Caribbean Export y del MICM y deberá ejercer toda la profesionalidad, diligencia y discreción en el manejo de la información de la red.

El idioma de esta consultoría es el español y todas las propuestas deben presentarse en francés y español.

Los objetivos específicos son, entre otros, los siguientes

• Una investigación documental sobre los procesos técnicos y administrativos que deben asumir las autoridades correspondientes para el cumplimiento de la normativa de la Unión Europea para la exportación de hortalizas y productos ecológicos.
• Un estudio de las principales necesidades requeridas para el inicio del proceso.
• Elaboración de una hoja de ruta con las estructuras necesarias para el cumplimiento de la norma internacional de la autoridad correspondiente de la República Dominicana, que posteriormente actúa como certificadora de los productos nacionales que se exportan a la Unión Europea.
• Una capacitación al personal de la autoridad correspondiente para la socialización de la(s) norma(s) aplicable(s), para una mejor comprensión del esquema que se propone y su implementación conjunta con la regulación de la materia, aprobada por el Departamento de agricultura.

Attending to Component 3 of this Program related to the institutional collaboration between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MiPymes (MICM) of the Dominican Republic and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Haiti, Caribbean Export intends to strengthen the capacity of the Ministries responsible for related to commerce and industry. In this sense, the objective of this Technical Assistance is the design of a plan that allows the successful accreditation of the corresponding authorities of the country before the Dominican Accreditation Organization (ODAC).

Objective

The objective of this Technical Assistance is to strengthen the institutional capacities of the corresponding authorities of the Dominican Republic so that they become certifiers of organic production products for the export of vegetables and organic products to the European market. The consultant will work under the authority of Caribbean Export and MICM and must exercise all professionalism, diligence, and discretion in handling network information.

The language of this consultancy is Spanish and all proposals must be submitted in French and Spanish.

The specific objectives are among others:

• A documentary investigation on the technical and administrative processes that must be assumed by the corresponding authorities for the compliance with European Union regulations for the export of vegetables and organic products.
• A survey of the main needs required for the start of the process.
•  Preparation of a roadmap with structures required for compliance with the international standard of the corresponding authority of the Dominican Republic, which subsequently acts as certifiers of national products that are exported to the European Union.
•  A training to the personnel of the corresponding authority for the socialization of the applicable norm(s), for a better understanding of the scheme that is being proposed and its joint implementation with the regulation of the matter, approved by the Department of agriculture.