FEBRUARY 2020
1.0 Background
The AECF is a non-profit organization, unlocking the potential of the private sector to positively impact the lives of rural and marginalized communities in Africa. With the vision to build ‘’A prosperous and Enterprising Rural Africa’’, AECF provides high-risk, small and growing businesses with patient, low-cost financing and advisory support services to pilot, refine and scale their operations and ideas.
The AECF was launched in 2008 at the World Economic Forum Africa as an initiative of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to respond to the need for an Africa-based impact fund that would support inclusive African businesses, particularly in the areas of finance and agriculture.
The fund has supported 268 companies across 26 Sub-Saharan countries, in more than 40 value chains in agribusiness and renewable energy. AECF is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
2.0 REACT Sub Saharan Africa
REACT Sub-Saharan Africa (REACT SSA) is a Swedish International Development Authority (Sida) funded programme that provides financing and technical assistance to innovative renewable energy businesses/ business ideas across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The programme commenced in November 2017 and will run for five years in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Somalia together with a regional component to support technical assistance, advocacy and learning activities.
REACT SSA is expected to catalyse the private sector by supporting transformative business models to accelerate access to low cost, clean energy i.e. cleaner fuels, cookstoves, alternatives to grid power including stand-alone solar home-systems, solar lanterns for lighting and charging mobile phones and decentralized mini and microgrids.
The programme is supporting activities that demonstrate how new knowledge in renewable energy technologies can be put into practice in ways that benefit the poor, especially women. It will also provide an evidence base to address challenges in policy concerning the uptake of renewable energy in participating countries. These include inadequate legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks; lack of funds to expand rural electrification programmes; pricing distortions that are disadvantageous to renewables; high upfront capital costs and financial institution reticence to clean energy lending and limited relevant skills and expertise.
2.1 REACT SSA Kenya
The REACT SSA Kenya, a Results-Based Financing scheme, is part of the larger REACT SSA Program. As Kenya has a relatively advanced renewable energy market (compared to other SSA countries), REACT SSA in Kenya will be implemented as a results-based financing program i.e. the provision of financial incentives to selected companies upon the delivery and verification of results. REACT RBF aims to support:
§ Transformational business models adapt to target markets in order to accelerate access to low cost, clean energy i.e. cleaner fuels, cookstoves, alternatives to grid power
§ Commercially viable companies and markets
3.0 Invitation
- Through this request for proposals (“RFP”), the AECF is seeking a provider to provide outbound call centre services for the REACT SSA Kenya results-based financing program.
3.1 Specific Duties and Responsibilities of the Consultant
- Undertake telephone interviews of a random sample of customers to verify the information provided on reported sales e.g. that the name of the customer, product/service sold, date of sale, sales price and the location of the sale, as provided by the customer interviewed, corresponds with the sales information provided the results based award company. It is expected that 30,000 – 50,000 customers will be interviewed over the course of 3 years.
- Provide periodic reports to AECF as an output of the telephone interviews.
3.2 Outputs and Reporting Requirements
- Monthly telephone verification reports
- Supporting call logs and reports
4.0 Duration of Service
This task is expected to commence on 1 July 2020 and cover up to 30 June 2021.
5.0 Proposal submission
a. Interested consultancy firms and individuals are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals to [email protected] by 5:00 PM E.A.T on 29 February 2020.
b. The Subject of the email should read *“Terms of Reference for call centre services, REACT SSA Kenya”.* The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals that are submitted with a different subject.
c. Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. Financial proposals will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and then only for those proposals that are deemed qualified and responsive.
d. The Financial proposals shall include all applicable taxes quoted separately. If taxes are not mentioned in the financial proposal, The AECF shall consider that they are included in the prices provided.
6.0 Qualifications
- A call centre based in Kenya that has been providing services to corporate and SME clients in Kenya for at least 3 years
- Experience providing customer care services on behalf of companies that provide solar or clean cooking solutions to households is an added advantage
- Demonstrated capacity to deliver in the timeframe outlined
- Fluency in written, spoken English and Swahili
7.0 Management
The lead consultant will report to the REACT SSA Programme Manager.
8.0 Evaluation Criteria
The following criteria will be used for the evaluation:
Criteria for Assessment
Understanding of the terms of reference-10**
- Description of problem to be solved-5
- Understanding of what AECF is expecting from the work-5
Methodology and work plan-15**
- Relevance of the methodology proposed to the needs of the assignment-10
- Adequacy of the work plan, including key deliverables and capacity to deliver within a realistic timeline based on the consultancy days designated for the task-5
Technical experience of staff offered-45
- Relevant tertiary level qualification and years of professional experience-10
- Registration and other relevant statutory documents (this applies to institutional consultants)-15
- Evidence of similar previous experience in the last 5 years including reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments; specification of reporting capabilities; provide sample of the kind of reports they provide-20
Financial Proposal-30
- Clarity, relevance, reality to market of value/value for money of cost for the assignment (inclusive of any applicable tax)
NB: Bidders should clearly state their pricing requirements, spell out their billing protocols and itemise their quote by service. It should also be clear whether the billing protocols are per minute or per hour; whether the bidder charges for full minutes or prorate.
Total Score-100**
Note:
- In deciding the final selection of qualified bidder, the technical quality of the proposal will be given a weighting of 70% on the basis of the evaluation criteria above. Only the financial proposal of those bidders who qualify technically will be opened. The financial proposal will be allocated a weighting of 30% and the proposals will be ranked in terms of total points scored.
- Bidders should specify in the technical proposal whether their systems are capable of integrating with other software.
9.0 Disclaimer
AECF reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party.
How to apply:
Interested consultancy firms and individuals are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals to [email protected] by 5:00 PM E.A.T on 29 February 2020.
More Information
- Job City Nairobi
