CROWN AGENTS

International Trade, Procurement, Finance and Institutional Development









Crown Agents (Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Limited) is an international development company working with leaders across the world to make profound changes to systems, organisations and society.

Its expertise in public financial management, procurement and supply chain, banking and asset management services enables governments to raise revenue, manage debt and effectively plan expenditure.

It helps to strengthen health systems by setting up efficient supply chains, improving physical infrastructure and building sound organisational, financial and legal structures.

In partnership with funding organisations and clients it works to enhance aid effectiveness so that value for money is achieved and helps countries to own their development agendas.

Crown Agents works across four continents in more than 100 countries. It has offices in 33 countries and its employees speak more than 50 languages.

Its work is funded directly by international governments, as well as multilateral and bilateral donors, such as the World Bank, European Commission, United Nations agencies and regional development banks.

For many years Crown Agents operated as a British public corporation and in 1997 it transferred to the private sector as a limited company, owned by the Crown Agents Foundation.

The Foundation holds all shares in Crown Agents, while the company allocates sums for the Foundation’s social and developmental goals around the world. Its 50-strong membership includes international firms, professional bodies and non-governmental organisations.

Crown Agents’ subsidiaries include Crown Agents Investment Management Limited, Crown Agents Bank Limited and Greenshields Cowie and Company Limited.

At the 2011 British International Expertise Awards, Crown Agents won the Development Project of the Year category for helping to revitalise Zimbabwe’s health system through the implementation of an innovative health worker payment retention scheme in partnership with the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health & Child Welfare, DFID and other stakeholders.

Crown Agents’ human and institutional development advisor, Tristan Burton, was ‘highly commended’ in the Young Consultant category for spearheading an innovative training programme and leading Crown Agents’ efforts on the Global Fund project. We were also shortlisted in the Development Project category for supporting Haiti’s national recovery and development following the 2010 earthquake.

At the 2009 British International Expertise awards Crown Agents was “highly commended” in the Major Consultancy category recognising the work it undertakes in Angola to enhance Customs Revenue through expansion and modernisation. In 2008 Crown Agents was awarded British Expertise “Healthcare Project of the Year” for its work with the Zambian government to restore its national health supply system through improvements to the country’s central medical store, Medical Stores Limited.

In 2006 Crown Agents won the Large Consultancy Firm of the Year award for its DFID-funded Nigerian Debt Management Office project and at the 2002 ceremony, it collected Consultant of the Year.

ACTIVITIES

Professional, advisory, executive and project management services in:

Revenue and trade – customs, trade facilitation, tax, Information Technology solutions, shipping and cargo movement, legal advisory services.

Public financial management – budget formulation and execution, debt management, PFM assessments

Governance and public sector reform – institutional and organisational development, enhancing accountability, training and capacity building, public sector modernisation.

Aid effectiveness and aid management – grant and fund management, strengthening aid coordination and management, pooled donor funds, environmental change, private sector partnerships.

Procurement and supply chain – procurement reform, support and capacity development, international purchasing, quality assurance and inspection, supplies and logistics, e-procurement, post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Financial services – Asset management services, development fund administration, financial training, foreign exchange and money market services, multicurrency accounts, payment service, pensions administration, trade finance.

Health systems strengthening – supply chain management, finance/grant management, health facility modernisation, labs system strengthening, capacity development, monitoring and evaluation, IT/MIS, banking and payroll, health areas.

TYPICAL PROJECTS

Customs and Trade Facilitation, IT Solutions
ANGOLA, BULGARIA, MOZAMBIQUE, St KITTS, MACEDONIA- management and advisory inputs to reform customs with effective and sustainable revenue enhancement.
GHANA – automating tax processes and improving relations between taxpayer and revenue authorities
KAZAKHSTAN – development of a training centre for Customs Control Committee
PHILIPPINES – supporting efficient collection and processing of tax revenue using tripsTM tax suite

Taxation
ETHIOPIA – capacity building of Institute of Tax and Customs Administration
JAMAICA – Promote, Review, Invigorate and Energize the Economic Environment (PRIDE).
INDIA - VAT and direct-tax introduction projects in Karnataka and Orissa.
SIERRA LEONE – modernising revenue administration to tackle extreme poverty
TANZANIA - support to the VAT and taxpayer units.

Debt Management
ALBANIA – consulting services to build capacity in debt management
KENYA – developing domestic debt markets
MALTA - established new institution for debt management.
NIGERIA - developing national Debt Management Office
VIETNAM - technical assistance and capacity building of finance ministry and other institutions in external portfolio management.

Environment
GLOBAL - work for the Japanese Government that helps countries achieve emissions reductions and economic growth
RUSSIAN FEDERATION/UKRAINE - environmental protection services such as ensuring the safe removal of nuclear waste and the decommissioning of nuclear plants and submarines

Health
GLOBAL FUND - technical assistance in procurement and supply chain management to Principal Recipients in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
AFRICA REGIONAL - commodity procurement and logistics, payroll operations, warehouse renovation, and other management services to support Indoor Residual Spraying project working in 15 countries under US President's Malaria Initiative.
ZAMBIA - work with Government of Zambia to improve his health supply system by turning the government-owned central medical stores (Medical Stores Ltd) into an effective, flexible, efficient and demand-led organisation.
ZIMBABWE – Donor-funded allowances to health sector personnel, procurement of health commodities.
INDIA - support to Indian government's efforts to improve transparency and efficiency of health sector procurement and supply chain in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
WORLDWIDE - supply of fortificants worldwide to support Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition's malnutrition programmes.

International Procurement
DFID - framework agreements to undertake procurement and capacity building programmes.
Quality Assurance and Inspection Worldwide, for UN agencies and private sector institutions.

Technical Services
AFGHANISTAN - staffing of Afghan Assistance Coordination Authority Procurement Unit.
AFRICA – improving transport in rural African communities

Training
In-country courses in Africa and the Caribbean, and UK specialised training.
UK TRAINING CENTRE - Specialists in training in organisational development, procurement, public financial management, supply chain management, banking, financial management and programme & project management.

Post-conflict Reconstruction
AFGHANISTAN - Support services to administration, international organisations and NGOs.
IRAQ - Programme of emergency relief and reconstruction.
INDONESIA – procurement support to tsunami rehabilitation (DFID).
PAKISTAN – consulting for Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority

Procurement Reform
KENYA – reducing corruption through procurement reform
NAMIBIA – procurement agent for MCA
UGANDA - support to reformed Central Tender Board.

Public Sector Reform
GHANA - Value-for-money assessment of government contracts to make price savings and improvements in contractual terms.

EXPERIENCE IN

EUROPE AND CIS: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Jersey, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA: Bahrain, Dubai, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

AFRICA: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea (Bissau), Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

SOUTH ASIA: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka


EAST ASIA: China, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Timor-Leste, Vietnam

PACIFIC: Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

CARIBBEAN: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands

INTERNATIONAL OFFICES
Albania (Tirana),
Afghanistan (Kabul),
Angola (Luanda),
Bahamas (Nassau),
Bangladesh (Dhaka),
Bulgaria (Sofia),
Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)
Georgia (Tbilisi)
Ghana (Accra),
Guyana (Georgetown),
India (New Delhi),
Iraq (Baghdad)
Japan (Tokyo),
Jordan (Amman)
Kenya (Nairobi),
Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek),
Macedonia (Skopje),
Malawi (Lilongwe)
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur),
Mozambique (Maputo),
Nigeria (Abuja),
Pakistan (Islamabad),
Philippines (Manila),
Romania (Bucharest),
Russia (Moscow),
Sierra Leone (Freetown),
Singapore,
South Africa (Johannesburg),
Sudan (Khartoum),
Tanzania (Dar es Salaam),
Uganda (Kampala),
Ukraine (Kiev),
United Arab Emirates (Dubai),
United States (Washington and Miami),
Vietnam (Hanoi),
Yemen (Sana'a)
Zambia (Lusaka),
Zimbabwe (Harare)

ASSOCIATE COMPANIES
Crown Agents Nigeria Ltd (Nigeria)
ES-KO (UK) Limited (UK)
European Procurement Agents EEIG (UK)
PTG Statesman Travel Limited (UK
Greenshields Project Cargo SPRL (Italy)

SECTORS AND DISCIPLINES
Financial: Banking
Financial: Legal advisors / solicitors
Financial: Pensions
Financial: Project finance
Financial: Standards
Healthcare: Operational management & management consultancy
Healthcare: Public Health
Healthcare: Staff recruitment, education and training
Institutional: Capacity building
Institutional: Customs reform
Institutional: Governance
Institutional: Information technology
Institutional: Management
Institutional: Public sector reform
Institutional: Standards
Institutional: Training
Management: Asset management
Management: Business planning
Management: E-commerce
Management: Enterprise development
Management: Export promotion
Management: Information technology
Management: Management consultants
Management: Privatisation
Management: Procurement / buying agents
Management: Purchasing strategies
Management: Restructuring
Management: Supply chain management
Management: Value planning
Privatisation: Benchmarking
Privatisation: Budgeting
Privatisation: Change control
Privatisation: Cost management
Privatisation: Due diligence
Privatisation: Efficiency assessment / audit
Privatisation: Facilities strategy
Privatisation: Planning & grant advice
Privatisation: Procurement
Privatisation: Project finance
Privatisation: Process mapping
Privatisation: Risk modelling
Privatisation: Tendering & contract selection
Privatisation: Whole life costing
Transport: Research
Transport: Roads

SECTORS AND DISCIPLINES

EXPERIENCE IN