The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), under the Regional Private Sector Development Programme III (RPSDP III), is mandated to enhance the competitiveness of Caribbean firms and strengthen private sector development across the CARIFORUM region. A key component of this mandate is investment promotion and facilitation through structured platforms that connect regional enterprises with international capital.

The Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF), launched in 2022, serves as the region’s flagship investment marketplace. Since its inception, four (4) editions of the CIF have been convened, progressively strengthening the region’s visibility, investor networks, and project screening mechanisms. Over successive cycles, CIF has evolved into a structured investment facilitation platform incorporating defined selection criteria and staged project review processes.

The CIF Call for Projects follows a two-step process: an initial Expression of Interest (EOI) stage, followed by an invitation to submit a full proposal for shortlisted applicants. During the CIF 2025 cycle, approximately one hundred and thirty (130) EOIs were submitted from across CARIFORUM Member States. Following technical review, twenty-four (24) submissions were identified as high-potential concepts aligned with CIF priority sectors and retained within the broader investment pipeline.

While these projects demonstrated innovation and commercial promise, they were not advanced to the full proposal stage due to gaps in investment readiness. Areas requiring strengthening included financial modelling, articulation of funding requirements and deal structure, risk analysis, integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, and overall proposal clarity.

This highlights a structural challenge within the regional investment ecosystem: promising concepts often require targeted technical support to bridge the gap between early-stage development and investor-ready presentation.

In response, Caribbean Export has designed the Project Refinery: Proposal Development Mentorship Programme as an upstream intervention to strengthen proposal development capacity and enhance the quality of projects entering future CIF cycles. From the twenty-four (24) pipeline projects identified, the strongest five (5) firms will be competitively selected based on investment potential, sector alignment, demonstrated growth prospects, readiness to engage in structured technical support, and balanced representation across CIF priority sectors.

The Programme will support firms operating in or aligned with CIF priority sectors, namely:

• Sustainable Agriculture
• Green Economy Transition
• Digital Transformation
• Logistics and Transport

By reinforcing investment readiness across these sectors, the Project Refinery Programme contributes directly to RPSDP III objectives related to SME competitiveness, sustainable growth, and regional economic transformation.

Purpose and Specific Objectives

The consultancy is expected to deliver at least five (5) investment-ready projects including structured proposals, financial models, and investor pitch decks, supported by a documented mentorship framework that can be replicated in future CIF cycles.

The Consultant is expected to:

1. Design and deliver a structured six (6) month online mentorship programme aimed at strengthening the investment readiness of at least five (5) selected firms drawn from the CIF 2025 project pipeline;
2. Conduct diagnostic assessments to identify technical, financial and structural gaps in each firm’s project documentation and investment positioning;
3. Provide targeted technical guidance in proposal structuring, financial modelling, deal articulation and ESG integration to elevate projects to investor-ready standards;
4. Support five (5) firms in developing complete, coherent and professionally structured investment proposals aligned with international investor expectations;
5. Develop or refine multi-year financial projections and investment frameworks that clearly articulate funding requirements, capital structure and expected returns;
6. Strengthen firms’ capacity to communicate their value proposition and investment opportunity through professionally developed investor pitch decks and structured pitch coaching;
7. Enhance the overall quality and competitiveness of the regional investment pipeline feeding into future CIF engagement cycles;
8. Provide Caribbean Export with a documented mentorship toolkit and structured framework that can be replicated or scaled in subsequent programme cycles.

Interested parties are kindly asked to review the full terms of reference and submit proposals in accordance with the requirements outlined in the terms of reference to Mr. Wayne Elliott, Head- Technical Programmes, technicalprogrammes@carib-export.com copied to Ms. Tonya Cummins, Access to Finance Officer at tcummins@carib-export.com with a copy to no later than 11:59 pm AST on May 22, 2026.