1.0 Background

The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is a leading African development institution supporting innovative enterprises in agribusiness, renewable energy, and climate resilience. AECF provides catalytic funding and technical assistance to businesses with the potential to drive inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.

We catalyze the private sector by surfacing and commercializing new 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. We are committed to working in frontier markets, fragile contexts, and high-risk economies where few mainstream financing institutions dare to go.

Over 17 years, we have supported 536 businesses in 27 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 36 million lives, created over 35,000 direct jobs, and leveraged US$840 million in matching funds.

AECF is headquartered in Kenya and has offices in Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Sudan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, and Somalia.

2.0 Purpose of the assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to design and deliver Project Management Training for AECF staff in October 2025. This training aims to build the capacity of AECF teams to manage projects more effectively, ensuring the successful delivery of programs across our portfolio.

The training aims to:

• Strengthen participants’ knowledge of core project management principles and frameworks.
• Equip staff with practical skills to effectively plan, execute, monitor, and close projects aligned with AECF’s programmatic goals.
• Enhance participants’ ability to manage project timelines, budgets, and resources efficiently.
• Introduce tools and methodologies for risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, and reporting.
• Foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement in project delivery.
• Ensure staff can effectively document progress, report impact, and meet donor requirements.
• Introduce agile methodologies to enhance adaptability in managing complex, dynamic projects.

The training will be tailored to staff across all AECF Programs.

3.0 Scope of work

The scope of this assignment includes the design, development, and delivery of a tailored Project Management Training session, focusing on practical tools and strategies for effective project planning, execution, and reporting. The training will be interactive and aligned with AECF’s mission of supporting businesses in agribusiness, renewable energy, and climate resilience. The training will cover all AECF program staff and is expected to be delivered in a hybrid manner to cater for staff who are not based in Nairobi.

The consultant will be expected to:

3.1 Training design and customization

• • Conduct a pre-training needs assessment to identify participants’ current project management skills and capacity gaps.
  • Design a training curriculum that incorporates best-practice project management methodologies (e.g., PMBOK, Agile, PRINCE2) and addresses AECF’s specific context.
  • Develop a detailed training plan including learning objectives, session structure, timelines, and delivery methods (onsite and virtual).

3.2 Content development

• • • Prepare comprehensive training materials, including training manuals and participant handouts, PPT slides, reference guides, MS Excel templates (e.g., work plans, Gantt charts, budgets) etc. The content should encompass the following main areas, but may also cover other relevant aspects:
    • Project Lifecycle Management – planning, inception, execution, monitoring, and closure.
    • Development of Logic Models – Project as a Logic Model.
    • Work Planning and Scheduling. This includes creating project charters, timelines, and work plans. Propose practical planning tools that the team can leverage to accomplish this seamlessly e.g. Critical Path Method, Programme Evaluation Review Technique, Cost Scheduling etc.
    • Budgeting and financial management. Scope to include forecasting, monitoring, budget alignment between donor and organization budget and optimization of donor budgets.
    • Stakeholder engagement and communication including donor and partner relations.
    • Monitoring, reporting, risk management, communication and impact measurement especially alignment with the theory of change and the performance management framework.
    • Documenting and communicating investee stories and project outcomes in an impactful manner.
    • Agile methodologies and adaptive management of projects in complex contexts.
    • Analytical Tools e.g. Stakeholders Analysis; Needs Analysis; Results Chain etc.
    • Dealing with ‘curve balls’ during implementation.
    • Effective management of investee companies and continuous monitoring that maximizes the AECF investment.

3.3 Training delivery

• • Facilitate interactive training sessions (onsite and virtual) incorporating:
  • Case studies relevant to AECF projects.
  • Practical exercises such as drafting project charters and risk matrices.
  • Simulation exercises and role-plays for real-world problem solving.
  • Engage participants in group discussions, scenario analysis, and hands-on application of tools and software.

3.4 Evaluation and reporting

• • Conduct a post-training assessment to measure knowledge gain and skill development.
  • Compile and submit:
  • Inception Report outlining methodology, training approach, and detailed schedule.
  • Training Feedback Analysis Report summarizing participant evaluations and recommendations.
  • Final Training Report capturing key learnings, challenges, outcomes, and actionable recommendations for continuous improvement.
  • Support a follow-up session or mentorship exercise to reinforce learning and apply skills to real AECF projects.

4.0 Deliverable outputs and target dates

The activities and expected outputs are as follows:

• Prepare and submit a course outline indicating the proposed course content and the program for the training.
• Submit an inception report outlining the training methodology, approach, and tools to be used, tailored to AECF’s project management needs.
• Conduct practical exercises, case studies, and simulations to strengthen participants’ skills in project planning, budgeting, risk management, and reporting.
• Deliver on-site and virtual training sessions.
• Facilitate a project management training exercise in October 2025.
• Provide relevant training materials for internal and external use, including MS Word documents, MS PowerPoint slides, MS Excel templates (e.g., work plans, budgets), and participant handouts as required.
• Engage participants through hands-on activities such as drafting project charters, developing risk matrices, and using project management software/tools.
• Provide the HR Unit with a feedback analysis report from participants on the training.
• Facilitate a follow-up exercise to allow participants to build competencies and apply their project management expertise, using real AECF projects as case studies.
• Post-training report including feedback analysis report on the exercise, training outcomes, key learnings, recommendations, and next steps.

5.0 Qualifications/experience required

• At least 10 years of prior experience in project management training and facilitation. Experience with donor funded projects is preferred.
• Experience in evaluating training effectiveness and making improvements as needed.
• Expertise in project management methodologies (e.g. Agile, PMBOK)
• Strong understanding of development partners’ expectations and requirements in project design, implementation, and reporting.
• Strong knowledge of donor-funded project lifecycles.
• Proven experience working with donor-funded programs, impact investing, or private sector development, with a focus on agribusiness, renewable energy, gender-lens investing, or climate resilience.
• Excellent analytical skills to assess project risks, identify bottlenecks, and propose data-driven solutions.
• Expertise in designing and delivering practical, hands-on training sessions for diverse audiences.
• Ability to facilitate interactive and engaging learning experiences.
• A minimum of a university degree in Project Management, Business, Development Studies, or a related field.
• Have proven work experience with private sector /DFI space.
• Experience using various blended learning approaches, including virtual training and workshops.
• Multi-cultural and multi-country training experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in developing training curriculum and training materials.
• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English.

6.0 Reporting

The consultant/firm will report to the AECF Head of HR and Admin.

7.0 Proposal submission

While submitting the proposal, the applicant shall ensure to attach the following:

• A profile of the consultant/s (max. 3 pages) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work.
• Relevant Experience (max 2 pages).
• Recent consultants’ CV (s).
• A proposed work plan, including timelines and a budget breakdown.
• An understanding of the training requirements.
• Course outline including a summary of the content areas to be covered and a daily program of activities.
• Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments.
• Registration and other relevant statutory documents required.
• Financial proposal in Kenya Shillings showing clearly the budgeted cost for the work to be conducted (to be submitted in a separate document from the technical proposal).
• Technical and Financials must be submitted separately.
• The preferred format for the submission is PowerPoint or PDF.

8.0 Pricing

The AECF is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on service contract fees and ensure VAT is charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they clearly understand their tax position regarding provisions of Kenyan tax legislation when developing their proposals.

9.0 Evaluation criteria

Mandatory requirements

• Company profile.
• Trading license or Certificate of incorporation or Certificate of Registration, and other statutory documents.
• Valid Tax Compliance certificate (Applicable to firms).
• Passport/National Identification of the lead consultant and key personnel.

• All documents related to the technical proposal must be compiled and submitted as a single PDF document, organized with a clear Table of Contents

The AECF will form an evaluation committee that includes employees. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The trainer/training provider should ensure 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 the consultants to appear before it to clarify their proposals. In such an event, the committee may consider such 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 80% 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 20% and the proposals will be ranked in terms of total points scored.

10.0 Application details

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

• All clarifications and/or questions should be sent to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org no later than 30th  October 2025 at 5:00 PM (EAT).
• The AECF invites qualified consultants/firms to submit a proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org, clearly marked “Proposal Project Management Training—2025,” no later than the 7^th October 2025, 5.00 pm (EAT).

11.0 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 the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party.

The AECF does not charge an application fee for participation in the tender process and has not appointed any agents or intermediaries to facilitate applications. Applicants are advised to reach out directly to the AECF.