Request for Proposals – Terms of Reference – Consultancy for writing the AECF Annual Report 2022 – March 2023

1.      Background

AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) is a leading non-profit development organisation that supports innovative enterprises in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors with the aim of reducing rural poverty, promoting resilient communities, and creating jobs.

We catalyze the private sector by surfacing and commercializing innovative ideas, business models and technologies designed to increase agricultural productivity, improve farmer incomes, expand clean energy access, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve resilience to the effects of climate change.

We finance high-risk businesses that struggle to access commercial funding and remain committed to working in frontier markets, fragile contexts, and high-risk economies where few mainstream financing institutions dare to go. We have supported over 400 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 30 million lives, and created over 27,000 direct jobs.

2.      Objective of the consultancy

In 2022, the AECF continued supporting impact-focused businesses across Africa while expanding its reach to support even smaller businesses while securing more funding for new programmes.

The objective of this consultancy is to provide report writing support to produce AECF’s Annual Report that would capture the organization’s impact in 2022 – highlighting businesses and beneficiaries impacted during the year.

The report writing support will see the consultant undertake consultations with AECF technical leads, develop content, edit, and proofread the report.

3.      Scope of work

The consultant will be expected to provide:

i.       Writing of Annual Report

1. Consultation with the AECF team

With the support of the communications team, the consultant will coordinate a write shop  where the technical teams at AECF will provide:

• Detailed feedback on the themes and sub-themes of the report.
• Input of the content framework/ structure for the report.
• Relevant content for key sections in liaison with the key stakeholders (from donor, partner, and evaluation reports).
• Guidance on case studies and success stories to be featured in the report.

b.     Content development and writing.

With the support of the communications team and technical leads, the consultant will write on:

• AECF’s work in 2022 noting the successes and key learnings with key highlights on key impact. Intended and unintended – brought about by its portfolio of investments).

• Case studies and success stories (from both investee and beneficiary perspectives).

With the information gathered, the consultant will write a report taking into consideration the agreed-upon themes and sub-themes as well as the content structure.

The consultant will present the report, seek concurrence with the AECF team leads and the CEO, and note changes that need to be made.

c.      Incorporation of comments and editing of the document.

The consultant will then incorporate changes, comments, and input from the AECF as well as undertake a refining of the document.

The document will then be re-submitted to The AECF for an additional round of comments and input.

d.     Proofreading and submission to the AECF.

The consultant will finalize the report, incorporate all comments, and proofread the document.

The final report will then be submitted to The AECF for final approval.

4.      Expected deliverables.

The consultant will be required to provide the following outputs:

• Approved text, statistics, data, and case studies,

5.      Qualifications/experience required.

The consultant should possess the following skills and/or credentials:

• Experience as a business writer.
• Experience in report writing, research, storytelling, communications, or similar fields.
• Knowledge of the development sector, the work of international NGOs, and bilateral and multilateral institutions.
• Experience with renewable energy, agriculture, and climate change.
• Ability to tell compelling stories from a human-interest/beneficiary lens considering women, youth and those living in fragile contexts.
• Demonstrated ability to write with a clear and concise style while still being able to convey and engagingly present technical ideas/knowledge for varied audiences.
• Ability to deliver under tight deadlines.
• At least 5 years of similar experience.

6.      Duration.

This contract will be for a period of 3 months.

7.      Reporting and collaboration

The consultant will report to the Head of Strategy & Innovation and, will collaborate with the Communications department and key stakeholders across the organisation.

8.      Evaluation criteria

An evaluation committee will be formed by the AECF. The same standards of confidentiality will bind all members. The applicant should ensure that they fully respond to all criteria to be comprehensively evaluated.

The AECF may request and receive clarification from any consultant when evaluating a proposal. The evaluation committee may invite some or all consultants to appear before the committee to clarify their proposals. In such an event, the evaluation committee may consider clarifications in evaluating proposals.

In deciding the final selection of a qualified bidder, the technical quality of the proposal will be given a weighting of 70% based on the evaluation criteria. 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.

9.      Proposal submission:

Interested and qualified consultant(s) and firms are invited to submit their proposal that includes the following

1. Profile of the lead consultant (max 1 page per consultant) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work.
2. Relevant experience (max 4 pages) in writing with samples of work.
3. An understanding of the scope of work.
4. A proposed work plan for a maximum period of 3 months detailing the execution of key activities.
5. Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments.
6. At least 2 signed reference letters for similar work done.
7. Registration and other relevant statutory documents are required.
8. Financial proposal in USD clearly showing the budgeted cost (including a breakdown of costs for fees and number of working days) for the work to be conducted (to be submitted in a separate document from the technical proposal). Payments will be made upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.
9. The preferred format for the submission is PDF, PowerPoint and Word.
10. Technical and Financial proposals must be submitted as separate 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.

10.  Pricing

The AECF is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on service contract fees as well as ensure VAT is charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions of Kenya tax legislation when developing their proposals.

11.  Application

The AECF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The AECF considers all interested candidates based on merit without regard to race, sex, colour, national origin, religion, age, marital status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

• Interested consultant(s) are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 5pm (EAT) on 28^th March 2023
• The subject of the email should read “Annual Report Writing Consultancy 2022”. The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals submitted with a different subject.
• All questions and clarifications should be sent to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org.

12.   Disclaimer

AECF reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the 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.