Terms of Reference (TOR) Engagement of a Communication Firm to Document and Enhance the Visibility of the Sudan SME Catalyser Programme (Red Sea, Gadarif and Kassala)

1. About the AECF

AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) is a leading non-profit development organisation supporting innovative agribusiness and renewable energy enterprises to reduce rural poverty, promote resilient communities, and create jobs.

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.

AECF finances 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 698 businesses in 27 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 37 million lives, created over 53,000 direct jobs, and leveraged US$942 million in matching funds.

2. About the programme

The Sudan SME Catalyser is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through KfW. The program aims to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sudan that are relocating from conflict areas to more stable regions.

SMEs are a dynamic and vital part of the Sudanese economy; however, many have suffered significant losses in capital, markets, and supply sources.

In the face of these challenges, SMEs have shown remarkable resilience and the potential to address the ongoing crisis by improving the availability of essential products and services while providing income and employment opportunities for low-income households.

The program focuses on implementing an integrated financing solution to support enterprises and business models in Sudan’s agriculture and renewable energy sectors. The goal is to create jobs and enhance products and services for low-income households.

Core program components:

1. Challenge Fund, which seeks to mitigate market failures by engaging the private sector to create development opportunities for underserved communities.
2. Emergency Financing Facility, which provides non-repayable grants to Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) to address urgent needs, promote sector growth, and enhance lives through job creation and increased access to various products and services.
3. Programme locations.

AECF is partnering with SMEs in the states of Port Sudan, Kassala, and Gedarif.

4. Scope of work:

The Communication Consultant shall play a key role in documenting, communicating, and promoting the impact of the Sudan SME Catalyser Programme through high-quality human-interest stories, multimedia content, and evidence-based communication materials that demonstrate the programme’s contribution to livelihoods, resilience, employment, and private-sector recovery in Sudan.

The Consultant shall work closely with the Programme Team and the AECF Communications Team to develop compelling communication products that capture real stories of change from partner SMEs, farmers, distributors, workers, and beneficiary communities across the programme target areas.

The Consultant shall be responsible for, but not limited to, the following tasks:

1. Work closely with the Programme Team and AECF Communications Team to identify, assess, and document high-impact stories and communication opportunities that demonstrate the programme’s results, lessons, and human impact.
2. Conduct field visits, stakeholder interviews, beneficiary profiling, and data collection activities with SMEs, farmers, distributors, workers, and other programme beneficiaries to gather qualitative and quantitative information for communication purposes.
3. Develop high-quality human-interest stories, case studies, and impact narratives that highlight the social, economic, and livelihood outcomes generated through the programme interventions.
4. Prepare and design a professionally branded Programme Success Stories Booklet containing a minimum of six (6) detailed success stories, including: (a) Three (3) stories from partner SMEs; and (b) Three (3) stories from farmers/end beneficiaries. The booklet shall include high-quality written content, professional editing, photography, layout design, captions, infographics where applicable, and print-ready formatting.
5. Produce and document a minimum of fifteen (15) high-quality success story videos with English subtitles from partner SMEs across the programme target areas, including: (a) Five (5) videos from Port Sudan; (b) Five (5) videos from Kassala; and (c) Five (5) videos from Gedarif. The videos shall include interviews, operational footage, beneficiary testimonials, and impact visuals demonstrating programme outcomes and business recovery efforts.
6. Capture and provide high-resolution (HD) professional photographs documenting programme activities, SMEs, beneficiaries, products, operations, and community impact. A minimum of twenty (20) edited HD photos shall be provided from each partner SME and beneficiary location visited.
7. Develop a minimum of three (3) high-quality articles, feature stories, or media pieces highlighting programme achievements, lessons learned, development outcomes, and socio-economic impacts on target communities and SMEs.
8. Ensure that all communication products align with AECF branding, donor visibility requirements, safeguarding considerations, and communications guidelines.
9. Submit all raw footage, photographs, interview recordings, transcripts, edited files, and final communication materials to AECF upon completion of the assignment.
10. Support the Programme Team in identifying strategic communication opportunities, visibility moments, and content suitable for donor engagement, media outreach, publications, and digital platforms.
11. Ensure all stories and communication products accurately reflect the voices, experiences, and realities of SMEs/ framers/ beneficiaries while maintaining dignity, confidentiality, and informed consent standards.

5. Deliverables:

The Communication Consultant is expected to deliver the following:

1. Inception report, workplan, and storyboards.
2. One (1) professionally designed and print-ready Success Stories Booklet (Programme targets, impacts, with photos), including a minimum of six (6) professionally written human success stories.
3. Fifteen (15) high-quality success story videos with English subtitles: (i) 5 from Port Sudan; (ii) 5 from Kassala; and (iii) 5 from Gedarif.
4. High-resolution (HD) edited photographs documenting SMEs, beneficiaries, programme activities, and impact (minimum 20 photos per location visited).
5. Minimum of three (3) high-quality articles/feature stories and the programme intervention in the operating regions.
6. Final assignment report summarizing activities conducted, outputs delivered, key findings, and recommendations.

6. Deliverable quality standards and performance indicators:

7. Timeline and duration

The assignment is expected to be implemented over approximately twelve to fourteen (12-14) weeks from contract signing. Given the required travel to Port Sudan, Kassala and Gedarif and the volume of multimedia outputs, bidders must submit a realistic implementation schedule showing fieldwork sequencing, production milestones, review points and approval timelines. The final schedule will be agreed during inception and may be adjusted by AECF based on operational realities, security conditions and programme availability.

Indicative implementation schedule

8. Qualifications and experience

The Communication Consultant should possess the following qualifications and experience:

1. Proven experience in communication and documentation, particularly in the development of success stories and production of booklets or similar publications.
2. Excellent communication experience, both written and verbal, with the ability to gather information from various stakeholders and transform it into compelling stories.
3. Strong project management experience, including the ability to meet deadlines and deliver high-quality outputs.
4. Familiarity with the private sector in Sudan and an understanding of challenges in targeted regions.
5. Previous experience working with international development organizations or similar programmes will be an advantage.
6. Copy of valid company registration documents, with the team in Programme locations; international communication firms can apply in partnership with a local firm, provided that the local partner is legally registered in Sudan as a communication and media firm and has an operational presence within the programme target locations.

9. Reporting and coordination

The Communication Consultant will report to the Programme Manager and closely collaborate with the HQ communication team. Regular coordination meetings will be scheduled to review progress, discuss challenges, and provide guidance.

10. Review and approval process

The Consultant shall submit draft communication products to the Programme Manager and the AECF Communications Team for review and approval. AECF will provide consolidated feedback within five (5) working days for each review round, subject to availability of internal reviewers and programme stakeholders.

The Consultant should allow for up to two (3) structured revision rounds for each major deliverable, with additional revisions required where factual errors, safeguarding concerns, branding non-compliance or quality issues are identified.

Final approval will rest with AECF through the Programme Manager, in consultation with the AECF Communications Team and, where applicable, the donor visibility focal point.

11. Data protection, consent and safeguarding

The Consultant must obtain written informed consent from all individuals photographed, filmed, interviewed, or profiled, including consent for the use of photographs, videos, names, quotes, personal stories, and related information across AECF and donor communication channels.

Consent forms shall be submitted to AECF together with the final deliverables. The Consultant shall comply with applicable data protection, privacy, child protection and safeguarding requirements, and must ensure that all content is collected, stored, transferred and used in a manner that protects the dignity, safety, confidentiality and rights of SMEs, beneficiaries and communities.

No image, video, recording or personal story may be used without documented consent.

12. Ownership of intellectual property

All final products and raw materials produced under this assignment, including photographs, videos, audio recordings, raw footage, interview notes, transcripts, captions, subtitles, articles, design files, layouts, illustrations and other communication assets, shall become the property of AECF upon completion of the assignment and payment in accordance with the contract. The Consultant shall not use, publish, share or license any materials from the assignment without prior written approval from AECF.

13. Budget assumptions

The financial proposal must clearly state all cost assumptions and indicate whether costs are inclusive or exclusive of travel, accommodation, meals, local transport, permits, translation and interpretation, fixers or local guides, security-related logistics, venue or interview costs, equipment, editing, design, subtitling, printing and applicable taxes.

Where printing is proposed or required, bidders must provide the print quantity, specifications and unit costs separately. AECF will not be liable for costs that are not clearly included in the approved financial proposal and contract.

14. Proposal Submission
15. Interested applicants should submit a full proposal as a response to the TOR.
16. CVs of all team members, including those based in Port Sudan, Gedarif and Kassala.
17. A proposed methodology for the assessment, including data collection methods and tools.
18. A proposed work plan, including timelines and budget breakdown.
19. Company profile, including previous similar work and partnered organizations.
20. Company registration documents.
21. Technical and financial proposals must be submitted separately.
23. Evaluation criteria

MANADATORY EVALUATION CRITERIA.

1. Mandatory Requirements for firms: –

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

The above documents must be valid at the time of submission through to the duration of the tender process.

N/B: FAILURE TO ATTACH AND ADHERE TO THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION 

An evaluation committee will be formed by the AECF and shall include employees. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The vendor should ensure they fully address all criteria for comprehensive evaluation. The AECF may request and receive clarification from any vendor when evaluating a proposal.  The evaluation committee may invite some or all of the vendors to appear before it to clarify their proposals.    In such an event, the evaluation committee may consider such clarifications in evaluating proposals.

In making the final selection of qualified bidders, the technical quality of the proposal will be weighed at 70% based on the evaluation criteria.  Only the financial proposal of those bidders who qualify technically will be opened.  The financial proposal will be weighed at 30%, and the proposals will be ranked by total points scored. The mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are identified in the table below.

16. 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.

17. Security and operational considerations

Due to the current security situation in Sudan, the Consultant will be responsible for the safety and security of its team, as well as obtaining all required travel clearances, filming permits, and any other necessary approvals. The Consultant will also be responsible for all travel and operational arrangements.

AECF will facilitate introductions and coordination with investees and beneficiaries but will not be responsible for the Consultant’s security or logistics. If access to any project location becomes restricted, the Consultant is expected to propose practical alternative approaches, in consultation with AECF, to ensure the assignment is completed.

18. Application details

The AECF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The AECF considers all interested candidates on the basis of merit, without regard to race, gender, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

• Interested firms are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal via the procurement portal https://procurement.aecfafrica.org/ by 15^th October 2026, 5pm (EAT).
• All clarifications questions should be directed to the procurement email aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 2^nd October 2026, 5pm (EAT).

The AECF invites qualified consultants/firms to send a proposal via the procurement portal https://procurement.aecfafrica.org/   marked “TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) COMMUNICATION CONSULTANT FIRM FOR THE SUDAN SME CATALYSER PROGRAMME IN SUDAN.” The AECF shall not be liable for failing to open proposals submitted on a different subject.

Any proposal received by AECF after the submission deadline shall not be considered.

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.

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