Please note that the deadline has been extended until January 30, 2018.
The U.S. Pakistan Partnership for Agricultural Market Development (AMD) Program is a four year USAID funded program implemented by CNFA in Pakistan. The objective of AMD is to support the development of Pakistan’s commercial agriculture, particularly through improving the ability of Pakistan’s agriculture and livestock sectors to meet both international and domestic demand in targeted product lines.
As part of the project activities, AMD Project’s objectives is to work towards creating an environment that encourages, supports and respects women’s inclusion and entrepreneurship. One of the ways to achieve this is to encourage participation of women entrepreneurs in trade shows and other marketing events. The Project’s support will include targeted technical assistance for preparatory work prior to each show, facilitation for B2B interactions at the event itself and subsequent support for follow-up upon conclusion of the same.
In Pakistan local women entrepreneurs are unable to market their products effectively due to limited knowledge of global trends and emerging market this AMD Initiative of Middle East exposure visit is for women entrepreneurs, managers and employees within businesses related to the agricultural sector in Pakistan. This initiative can provide an effective platform to network with international buyers and other women entrepreneurs from around the world, learn about effective marketing and sales strategies to build sustainable business relationships with local and international buyers for their products and, gain exposure to international requirements best practices, wholesale and supermarkets to help improve competitiveness of their respective businesses.
In recent years, Gulfood has emerged as a leading international event for the agriculture produce industry. The event is held annually in Dubai and attracted more than 4,800 exhibitors and 85,000 trade visitors from more than 170 countries. This trade fair will provide an ideal venue for women business owners and/or employees within businesses in sectors of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat who will be collaborating with AMD Project as either grantees or beneficiaries of technical assistance during the project life cycle.
During this exposure visit, AMD will enable women entrepreneurs and/or managers to gain a better understanding of the quality requirements for agricultural products in international markets. In addition to providing a valuable networking event through Gulfoods 2018, we will arrange visits to local wholesale markets and large retail supermarkets such as Carrefour and Spinneys for participants to gain a better understanding of the variation of prices in different markets and export level quality of agricultural products in terms of content and packaging that is demanded by international buyers. If possible, AMD will arrange meetings with importers based in Dubai who can provide detailed guidelines for participants on more specific demand requirements in terms of freshness of produce, efficient preservation techniques, and other guidelines that will help participants gain a clear understanding of how they can improve the quality of products to maximize sales in international markets and simultaneously improve sales within their domestic markets by producing agricultural produce of international quality standards.
Offers must be received no later than 5 pm local Pakistan time on January 30, 2018 by hard copy delivery to the AMD office. Hard copy deliveries must be stamped and signed by the offeror’s authorized representative and sent to the AMD Office located at:
Agricultural Market Development,
5th Floor, Main Boulevard
83-A, E/1, Gulberg III, Lahore
Soft copies may be submitted to [email protected]