Ref.
2026/CFEOICEBMESL/14787
Job offer type
Experts
Type of contract
Service contract
Activity sectors
Sustainable development
Deadline date
2026/02/26 13:49
Duration of the assignment
Short term
Contract
Freelancer
Duration
12 months
Call for expression of interest: Circular Economy Business Mentoring Experts – Sri Lanka (M/W)
Département Développement durable - DD > Développement Urbain et Economie circulaire
Published on : 2026/02/12
ASIE
SRI LANKA
COLOMBO
Mission description
a) General objective of the consultancy
The overall objective of this consultancy is to provide one on one mentoring for 20 food businesses on profitable circular business models. The one on one mentoring will support the food businesses to assess wastage across the value chain and to identify financially viable and scalable circular economy business models with clear revenue potential. The mentoring services provided to businesses will entail:
- Value chain assessment with a Circular Economy lens to identify critical waste points,
- Circular practices to be applied across the value chain,
- Identification of technologies and solutions to be used,
- Estimation of total financing required for implementing CE projects
The food businesses that receive mentoring through the consultancy will have a well-defined technical plan on their Circular Economy transition. The businesses will then use this technical plan to connect with investors and to explore alternative financing for the effective implementation of the circular plan.
b) Specific objective of the consultancy
Expertise France is seeking a consultancy firm with proven expertise in sustainable food systems and Circular Economy models to provide mentoring services. Specifically, the consultants will:
- Conduct value chain assessments with a Circular Economy lens to map processes and identify critical points of waste including - food loss, food waste, and SUP waste.
- Propose circular practices tailored to each business, outlining where and how they can be introduced at each stage of the value chain.
- Identify appropriate technologies and solutions that align with the proposed circular practices and are feasible for adoption by the business.
- Estimate the costs of implementation and highlight opportunities for new revenue streams that can emerge through circular business models.
- Determine the total financing required for businesses to adopt and scale these Circular Economy projects.
- Finalise a circular transition plan that provides a comprehensive plan for the adoption of the Circular Economy models including timelines, costs and the plan for implementation.
Please check the attached Terms of Reference for more details.
Project or context description
1. Expertise France
Expertise France is the French Public Agency for International Technical Cooperation. As a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group), it designs and implements projects which aim to contribute to the balanced development of partner countries, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and the priorities of France’s external action.
The agency achieves this goal by implementing national or regional-scale projects in major areas of public action:
· Democratic, economic and financial governance
· Peace, stability and security
· Climate, agriculture and sustainable development
· Health and human development.
Expertise France promotes international solidarity by facilitating the transfer of skills, fostering peer dialogue, and mobilising experts to support development cooperation aligned with the rule of law, human rights, and France’s Official Development Assistance priorities.
For more information, please visit the website - www.expertisefrance.fr
2. CIRCULAR project
“Circular Economy in the Food Sector (CIRCULAR)” project, is a three-year initiative funded by the European Union and partly co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project is jointly implemented by Expertise France (EF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
CIRCULAR takes an integrated approach to promoting a Circular Economy in Sri Lanka’s food sector, focusing in particular on reducing food loss and waste, as well as limiting the use of Single-Use Plastics (SUP). The overall objective of the project is to promote a Circular Economy approach in the food sector, while increasing resilience to food crises and climate change.
The specific objectives (outcomes) of the project are twofold:
Specific Objective 1 (SO1): to increase recovery, processing and supply of edible and safe food surplus and/or waste for the benefit of vulnerable consumers and/or food producers (implemented by FAO).
Specific Objective 2 (SO2): to enhance effectiveness of the sustainable production, distribution and consumption models related to food waste/loss and single-use plastic food packaging (implemented by EF and GIZ).
Expertise France contributes under the following outputs:
· Output 2.1: Increased awareness (and behavioural change) among the general public, economic operators, consumers and civil society about public incentives, sustainable products, solutions and services on the market.
· Output 2.3: MSME, startups, social enterprises, cooperatives have increased access to finance and BDS related to sustainable and gender sensitive business models and practices.
Via output 2.3, EF will be taking a holistic approach to increasing access to finance for Circular Economy targeting growth and expansion firms requiring financing of $500,000 to $5 million and by working with Accounting firms, certification bodies, insurance companies, banks, NBFIs, DFIs and other key actors in improving the Circular Economy financing ecosystem.
Required profile
Please check the attached Terms of Reference for details.
Additional information
All the consultants/ experts expressing interest must include:
· A technical note (maximum 1 page) detailing the suitability and interest to engage on this assignment
· Company profile and CVs of the key members of the consultancy
The documents must be submitted on Expertise France platform through the following link:
https://expertise-france.gestmax.fr/cv/upload/vacancy/14787
And sent by e-mail to: habbipriya.karthigesan@expertisefrance.fr
Deadline for submission: 26/02/2026
After the finalisation of the specific mentoring requirements of the businesses, selected consultants will be contacted by the Expertise France team with detailed Terms of Reference (ToRs).
The consultant will then be requested to provide a technical and a financial offer based on the ToRs.
Selection criteria for applications
The selection process for candidates will be based on the following criteria :
- Candidate’s training/skills/experience
- Candidate’s training/diplomas related to the expert assignment
- Candidate’s skills linked with the expert mission
- Candidate’s experiences linked with the expert mission
Deadline for application : 2026/02/26 13:49
File(s) attached : 2026 02 12_ToR_Mentoring for businesses.pdf
Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :
- democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
- peace, stability, and security ;
- climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
- health and human development ;
In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results.