Terms of reference for for consultancy services to carry out a survey, identify and analyze key market risks affecting enterprises and value chains in the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area

Posted on August 15, 2025 at 12:58 pm.

Written by AECF

1.0 Background

The AECF is a leading development organization that supports innovative enterprises in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors with the aim of reducing rural poverty, promoting climate-resilient communities, and creating 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. 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.

To date, we have supported over 576 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 36 million lives, and created over 38,000 direct jobs.

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

2.0 About the Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF)

Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF) is a five-year Program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), implemented with Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), Turkana County Government, and UNHCR. KKCF originates from the market data from IFC’s “Kakuma as a Marketplace” study, which quantified Kakuma’s economy and confirmed that it was a dynamic and potential marketplace. This triggered a lot of interest that contributed to KKCF’s conceptualization and Program development.

KKCF is designed to support private sector investment and unlock the economic potential of refugees and their hosts in the Kakuma Kalobeyei refugee hosting area in Turkana West District of Turkana County. KKCF aims to attract private companies and grow the local entrepreneurship potential to create job opportunities, present more consumption choices, and contribute to fair pricing of products and services. KKCF targets all sizes of companies, from small to medium-sized family businesses to social enterprises and large firms. For more information, visit https://kkcfke.org/

KKCF applies a competitive financing mechanism for disbursing donor funding to incentivize companies to start or scale existing operations in the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area. The process begins by advertising a call for proposals, and applicants are then subjected to a competitive selection process, leading to the identification of companies that are best aligned to the Kakuma-Kalobeyei market dynamics to then deliver the intended socio-economic impact to the host and refugee communities while also contributing to the development of Turkana County.

With the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area being a marginalized and fragile setting, KKCF supports these companies to manage business limitations prevalent in such challenging environments, including limited access to financing, low availability of technically qualified and experienced staff, complex social and cultural conditions, a slow and bureaucratic regulatory environment, and fragmented, low-income, and remote markets with poor infrastructure. KKCF support includes the provision of concessional capital, technical assistance, and policy advocacy to improve the business environment. This collaborative Program focuses on building commercially viable and sustainable businesses that can:

Increase incomes for both refugees and host communities.
Provide essential goods and services.
Create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
Improve living standards for those in the refugee camp and surrounding communities.
Promote financial inclusion efforts focused on increasing access to finance for women and youth.

KKCF is currently working with 105 commercially viable and sustainable microenterprises and 19 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across diverse economic sectors.

3.0 About the assignment

The main objective of this consultancy is to carry out a survey, identify and analyze key market risks affecting enterprises and value chains in the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area and generate recommendations for strengthening enterprise resilience and sustainable economic engagement, with a focus on both refugee and host community enterprises.

Specific objectives:

To quantify the extent to which KKCF-supported businesses have been affected by changes in donor-related funding flows.
To identify how business performance indicators such as revenue, customer base, product diversification, and cash flow have evolved.
To assess employment-related impacts, including workforce reduction, wage delays, or changes in employment terms.
To document strategies that businesses have used to cope with reduced market demand or increased operational challenges.
To evaluate resilience traits and business continuity practices among MSMEs.
To explore the perspectives of businesses on future growth opportunities and the support needed to navigate a donor-constrained environment.
To provide practical recommendations to AECF/KKCF and ecosystem actors on enterprise support in fragile and evolving contexts.

The purpose of these TORs is to define the scope, responsibilities, expectations, and deliverables of the engagement expected by AECF from the selected Consultant. The successful service provider must demonstrate experience and understanding of the refugee context and the Kakuma Kalobeyei market.

4.0 Specific duties and responsibilities (the “Services”) of the Consultant

The Consulting Firm will be expected to deliver on the following scope of the assignment:

a) Desk Review

Review relevant documents, including KKCF sectoral reports, previous business performance baselines, funding landscape analysis, and regional economic assessments.
Identify key inflection points in donor funding reduction.

b) Tool Design

Design quantitative survey tools targeting business owners/managers.
Develop qualitative interview guides for key informants and Focus group discussion (FGD) moderators.
Ensure tools incorporate gender, refugee/host status, business size, and sector, among other cross-cutting themes.

c) Data Collection

Conduct a quantitative survey of all active KKCF-supported enterprises.
Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with stakeholders, including financial institutions, sector partners, local government, and ecosystem players.
Conduct Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with business owners, disaggregated by gender, age group, and location.

d) Data Analysis

Analyze quantitative data using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Apply thematic analysis to qualitative data to identify patterns, perspectives, and contextual insights.

e) Validation and Reporting

Facilitate a validation workshop to present preliminary findings and gather feedback.
Finalize the report based on stakeholder inputs.

f) Future Outlook and Co-created Solutions

Synthesize business owners’ suggestions on how to navigate the future market and funding landscape.
Identify what support, such as financial, policy, partnerships, and Technical assistance (TA) they consider most critical.
Highlight innovations and models that emerged during funding shortfalls.

Map opportunities for business continuity and growth in the post-donor context.

5.0 Deliverables

The Consulting Firm is expected to deliver the following:

Inception Report – Detailing methodology, work plan, sampling tools, and stakeholders to be consulted
Survey tools – A detailed report outlining the survey/Interview instruments.
Data sets – Quantitative and qualitative data sets that can be independently validated.
Draft Market Risk Assessment Report – Including findings, Case study examples, and preliminary recommendations.
Validation Workshop – Presentation of findings to stakeholders for feedback.
Final Report – Comprehensive report incorporating stakeholder inputs from the validation workshop and any other feedback received.
A Summary policy brief – An executive summary with actionable recommendations.

6.0 Duration of the assignment

The assignment is expected to commence in September 2025 and is expected to be completed in two (2) months from the commencement date.

7.0 Reporting

The Consultant will report to the Senior Advisory Officer at the AECF and the KKCF Program Manager.

8.0 Proposal submission

Interested and qualified consulting individuals or teams are invited to submit their proposal(s) comprising the following:

A technical proposal:

An understanding of the consultancy requirements.
Methodology and work plan for performing the assignment, underpinned by a demonstration of value for money
Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments.
Relevant services undertaken in the last five (5) years.
Letters of signed reference from at least 3 previous companies/assignments
CVs of the technical team.
Registration and other relevant statutory documents (this applies to Institutional consultants).

2. A financial proposal

Clearly showing the proposed team member, roles, and proposed days, and the proposed professional fee (daily rate and total amount per team member). The financial proposal shall also include an indication of reimbursables (travel, communication, etc.). Currency to be in KES.

N/B: Technical and financial proposals should be submitted separately. Combining the financial and technical documents into one document will automatically disqualify the applicant.

9.0 Qualifications and experience

The Consulting Firm should possess the following skills and/or credentials:

Minimum Proven experience of 5+ years conducting market assessments, risk surveys, or economic studies in humanitarian or low-resource settings.
Proven experience conducting socio-economic surveys in fragile or refugee-hosting settings.
Strong understanding of MSME development, private sector dynamics, and humanitarian-development nexus programming.
Expertise in designing and managing mixed-method evaluations.
Experience in enterprise ecosystem analysis and livelihood assessments.
Proficiency in local languages (Swahili, Turkana) and cultural sensitivity in refugee/host settings.
Strong analytical, reporting, and stakeholder engagement capabilities.
Knowledge of the development sector and particularly working in the Kakuma/Kalobeyei area is an added advantage.

10.0 Evaluation criteria

Mandatory evaluation criteria for firms:

Mandatory Requirements for firms: –

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 & financial proposal MUST be compiled and submitted separately as PDF documents, organized with a clear Table of Contents.

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 may include employees of the businesses to be supported. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The consultant 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 the consultants to appear before the committee to clarify their proposals. In such an event, the evaluation 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.

The mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are identified in the table below.

Key Areas for Evaluation/ Assessment	Weighted Award
(i) TECHNICAL PROPOSAL	80
a) An understanding of the consultancy requirements;	10
b) Methodology and detailed work plan that will deliver the best value on the assignment:	30
c) Relevant services undertaken by the bidder in past engagements:
· Minimum Proven experience of 5+ years conducting market assessments, risk surveys, or economic studies in humanitarian or low-resource settings. · Proven experience conducting socio-economic surveys in fragile or refugee-hosting settings. · Strong understanding of MSME development, private sector dynamics, and humanitarian-development nexus programming. · Expertise in designing and managing mixed-method evaluations. · Experience in enterprise ecosystem analysis and livelihood assessments. · Proficiency in local languages (Swahili, Turkana) and cultural sensitivity in refugee/host settings. · Strong analytical, reporting, and stakeholder engagement capabilities. · Knowledge of the development sector and in particular, working in the Kakuma/Kalobeyei area is an added advantage.	30
d) Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments and at least 3 signed Letters of reference from past customers or associates to the consulting firm/ consultant:	10

ii) FINANCIAL PROPOSAL	20
– Clarity, relevance, reality to market value/ value for money of cost for the assignment (inclusive of any applicable tax)

11.0 Pricing

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

12.0 Application details

The AECF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The AECF considers all interested candidates based on 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 consultancy firms are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 29^th August 2025, 5 pm EAT
All questions should be directed to the procurement email by 21^st August 2025, 5 pm EAT.
The subject of the email should be “TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CARRY OUT A SURVEY, IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE KEY MARKET RISKS AFFECTING ENTERPRISES AND VALUE CHAINS IN KAKUMA-KALOBEYEI AREA”.
The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals that are submitted with a different subject or responding to questions that did not meet the deadline as indicated.

13.0 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.

Terms of reference for consultancy services to provide tailored governance, business structuring, sustainability, and succession planning support in the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area

Posted on August 15, 2025 at 12:51 pm.

Written by AECF

1.0 Background

To date, we have supported over 576 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 36 million lives, and created over 38,000 direct jobs.

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

2.0 About the Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF)

Increase incomes for both refugees and host communities.
Provide essential goods and services.
Create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
Improve living standards for those in the refugee camp and surrounding communities.
Promote financial inclusion efforts focused on increasing access to finance for women and youth.

KKCF is currently working with 105 commercially viable and sustainable microenterprises and 19 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across diverse economic sectors.

3.0 About the assignment

AECF seeks to engage a consulting firm to provide tailored governance, business structuring, sustainability, and succession planning support to 10 businesses in the KKCF portfolio. The overall objective is to strengthen the institutional governance, formalize operational structures, and support future leadership continuity for selected businesses. Specific objectives include:

Specific objectives:

Improve governance structures and practices.
Formalize business registration, ownership, and compliance frameworks.
Establish succession planning mechanisms to support sustainability.

4.0 Specific duties and responsibilities (the “Services”) of the Consultant

The Consulting Firm will be expected to deliver on the following scope of the assignment:

a) Diagnostic Assessment

Conduct a governance and structuring needs assessment for each of the 10 companies
Identify gaps and opportunities for governance improvement, formal structuring, and succession preparedness.

b) Governance Strengthening

Support development or revision of governance tools (e.g., board charters, organograms, decision matrices).
Provide training or coaching for owners, managers, and (where applicable) board members on governance principles and fiduciary responsibilities.
Propose frameworks for advisory or oversight mechanisms suitable for MSMEs (e.g., informal boards, mentor boards).

c) Business Structuring

Where applicable, guide the businesses in reviewing their legal registration status and alignment with business activities.
Recommend or support the restructuring of ownership and management arrangements where needed.
Support compliance with tax, licensing, or regulatory frameworks.
Provide training or coaching for owners, managers, and (where applicable) board members on business statutory requirements.

d) Succession Planning

Facilitate the development of basic succession plans for key leadership/management roles.
Support identification and development of successors where appropriate (e.g., within family, staff, or external).
Develop simple tools to monitor and guide the implementation of succession planning steps.

5.0 Deliverables

The Consulting Firm is expected to deliver the following:

Inception Report – Detailing methodology, work plan, and company engagement plan.
Company-Specific Diagnostic Reports– Brief governance and structuring assessments for each business
Governance and Structuring Plans– Tailored action plans and tools per business.
Compliance reports – Provide a report showing the compliance status and provide next steps to solutions where gaps exist.
Succession Plans – Succession frameworks and guidance notes for each business.
Final Report – Summary of interventions, capacity built, and outcomes across the identified businesses
Insights report – An insights paper with the impact of the Technical assistance, lessons learned, and recommendations.

6.0 Duration of the assignment

The assignment is expected to commence in September 2025 and is expected to be completed in two (2) months from the commencement date.

7.0 Reporting

The Consultant will report to the Senior Advisory Officer at the AECF and the KKCF Program Manager.

8.0 Proposal submission

Interested and qualified consulting individuals or teams are invited to submit their proposal(s) comprising the following:

A technical proposal:

An understanding of the consultancy requirements.
Methodology and work plan for performing the assignment, underpinned by a demonstration of value for money
Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments.
Relevant services undertaken in the last five (5) years.
Letters of signed reference from at least 3 previous companies/assignments
CVs of the technical team.
Registration and other relevant statutory documents (this applies to Institutional consultants).

2. A financial proposal

Clearly showing the proposed team member, roles, and proposed days, and the proposed professional fee (daily rate and total amount per team member). The financial proposal shall also include an indication of reimbursables (travel, communication etc.). Currency to be in KES.

N/B: Technical and financial proposals should be submitted separately. Combining the financial and technical documents into one document will automatically disqualify the applicant.

9.0 Qualifications and experience

The Consulting Firm should possess the following skills and/or credentials:

Minimum Proven experience of 5+ years proven experience in SME governance, business structuring, and succession planning in humanitarian or low-resource settings.
Familiarity with informal and early-stage enterprise development in refugee or remote contexts.
Capacity to deliver hands-on coaching and practical tools suited to MSMEs.
Fluency in English; knowledge of Kiswahili and/or local languages is an added advantage.
Strong analytical, reporting, and stakeholder engagement capabilities.
Knowledge of the development sector and particularly working in the Kakuma/Kalobeyei area is an added advantage.

10.0 Evaluation criteria

Mandatory evaluation criteria for firms:

Mandatory Requirements for firms: –

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 & financial proposal MUST be compiled and submitted separately as PDF documents, organized with a clear Table of Contents.

N/B: Failure to attach and adhere to the above requirements will result in automatic disqualification

The mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are identified in the table below.

Key Areas for Evaluation/ Assessment	Weighted Award
(i) TECHNICAL PROPOSAL	80
a) An understanding of the consultancy requirements;	10
b) Methodology and detailed work plan that will deliver the best value on the assignment:	30
c) Relevant services undertaken by the bidder in past engagements:
· Minimum Proven experience of 5+ years proven experience in SME governance, business structuring, and succession planning in humanitarian or low-resource settings. · Familiarity with informal and early-stage enterprise development in refugee or remote contexts. · Capacity to deliver hands-on coaching and practical tools suited to MSMEs. · Fluency in English; knowledge of Kiswahili and/or local languages is an added advantage. · Strong analytical, reporting, and stakeholder engagement capabilities. · Knowledge of the development sector and, in particular, working in the Kakuma/Kalobeyei area is an added advantage.	30
d) Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments and at least 3 signed Letters of reference from past customers or associates to the consulting firm/ consultant:	10

ii) FINANCIAL PROPOSAL	20
– Clarity, relevance, reality to market value/ value for money of cost for the assignment (inclusive of any applicable tax)

11.0 Pricing

12.0 Application details

Interested consultancy firms are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 29^th August 2025, 5 pm EAT
All questions should be directed to the procurement email by 21^st August 2025, 5 pm EAT.
The subject of the email should be “TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANCY TO PROVIDE TAILORED GOVERNANCE, BUSINESS STRUCTURING, SUSTAINABILITY, AND SUCCESSION PLANNING SUPPORT IN KAKUMA-KALOBEYEI AREA”.
The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals that are submitted with a different subject or responding to questions that did not meet the deadline as indicated.

13.0 Disclaimer

Terms of reference consultancy for the refinement and compilation of success stories for Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF) investee impact

Posted on May 28, 2025 at 12:25 pm.

Written by AECF

1.0 The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund

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

To date, we have supported over 510 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 33million lives, and created over 35,000 direct jobs.

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

2.0 About Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF)

Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF) is a five-year Program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), implemented with Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), Turkana County Government, and UNHCR. KKCF originates from the market data from IFC’s “Kakuma as a Marketplace” study, which quantified Kakuma’s economy and confirmed that it was a dynamic and potential marketplace, triggering a lot of interest that resulted in the Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund being developed as an initiative supported by multiple partners.

KKCF is designed to support private sector investment and unlock the economic potential of refugees and their hosts in the Kakuma Kalobeyei refugee hosting area in Turkana West District of Turkana County. KKCF aims to attract private companies and grow the local entrepreneurship potential to create jobs and improve service provision in the Kakuma Kalobeyei area. KKCF targets all private sector players from small companies to medium-sized family businesses to social enterprises and large firms. For more information, visit https://kkcfke.org/

The KKCF applies a competitive financing mechanism for disbursing donor funding to incentivize for-profit companies, social enterprises, and local and refugee entrepreneurs to start or scale existing operations in the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area. This is achieved through advertising for a call for proposals during which interested businesses submit their proposals and business models, which are then subjected to a competitive selection process leading to the identification of those businesses that are best aligned to the market dynamics and pose the highest socio-economic impact to the host and refugee communities in Kakuma.

Attracting the private sector to the area and supporting local entrepreneurs creates more job opportunities for refugees and the host community, creates more consumption choices, and potentially reduces the prices of commodities and consumables. This, in turn, enhances the self-reliance and socioeconomic integration of refugee and host communities while also contributing to the development of Turkana County.

With Kakuma being a marginalized and fragile setting, KKCF is designed to support the private sector to manage business limitations prevalent in such challenging environments including limited access to financing, low availability of technically qualified and experienced staff, complex social and cultural conditions, slow and bureaucratic regulatory environment and fragmented, low-income, and remote markets with poor infrastructure. KKCF supports established companies, social enterprises, and local entrepreneurs to address these challenges by providing concessionally costed capital, technical assistance, and support at the policy level to encourage new businesses to emerge and existing businesses to move into the operating environment. This collaborative project focuses on building commercially viable and sustainable businesses that can:

Increase incomes for both refugees and host communities.
Provide essential goods and services.
Create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
Improve living standards for those in the refugee camp and surrounding communities.

The KKCF program, therefore, fosters socioeconomic integration and self-sufficiency for displaced populations and host communities within Kakuma/Kalobeyei. This is achieved by supporting the development of 104 commercially viable and sustainable micro enterprises and 19 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across diverse economic sectors.

3.0 Rationale for this consultancy

This assignment involves documenting the KKCF’s investees’ impact stories. The objective is to highlight KKCF’s role in attracting private sector investment and nurturing local entrepreneurial potential to generate employment and enhance service delivery in the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area. The documentation will also illustrate how the program supports the growth and expansion of private companies and social enterprises already operating in the region, while fostering the development of refugee- and host-led businesses. Additionally, the exercise aims to strengthen program learning, enhance resource utilization, and offer feedback mechanisms for AECF and its partners. The documentation also intends to inform of the scaling up of successful practices, particularly in promoting gender-inclusive solutions in displacement-affected contexts across Africa.

Additionally, the initiative demonstrates AECF’s value in gender lens investing in overall thought leadership and resource mobilization efforts. Through this consultancy, AECF seeks to identify the specific factors of success, understand the actual actions being undertaken on the ground, and the impact of interventions on the lives of the programme beneficiaries. The documentation will also propose some promising practices that can be maintained and replicated or scaled up in the future, and combine human stories and voices of beneficiaries and accounts of the investee’s technical staff. These digital stories will be shared with private sector players, development partners, and the public.

4.0 Scope of work

The objective of this assignment is to support the finalization and compilation of success stories from the Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF) portfolio. These stories aim to capture the transformation of the investees throughout the programme and will form part of an updated KKCF Investee Handbook. The AECF team will lead the initial drafting of stories and capture Project photos. The consultant will subsequently refine and enhance this content into a professional, digital publication.

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the KKCF Programme Manager and in close collaboration with the AECF Impact and Communications team to:

Review and refine 104 draft success stories developed by AECF to enhance clarity, coherence, and consistency in tone and structure.
Conduct follow-ups with AECF staff or investees to gather additional details where necessary.
Standardize story formats to ensure consistency across all success stories.
Develop infographics and visual summaries to complement story content.
Curate and integrate high-quality photographs into the stories, ensuring alignment with the narrative.
Collaborate with the AECF Impact Team during internal story validation and incorporate relevant feedback.
Ensure all stories meet ethical standards and that consent documentation is properly in place.
Compile edited stories, visuals, and infographics into a professionally designed digital handbook.
Deliver the final publication in both PDF and editable formats suitable for dissemination.

Specific deliverables and expected output

Deliverable	Description	Time Frame
Inception Report	Submit an inception report outlining the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, the refinement approach, proposed methodology, and a detailed work plan for story enhancement and compilation.	3 days
Reviewed Draft Stories and Visual Audit	Review and provide feedback on draft stories and photographs shared by AECF. Recommend improvements, identify gaps, and propose content enrichment strategies.	5 days
Infographic and Content Templates	Design story templates and accompany infographics to ensure consistency in formatting and visual storytelling across all success stories.	5 days
Enhanced Story Drafts	Edit and enhance one story per investee (103), incorporating additional context, improved flow, verified quotes, and relevant visuals.	20 days
Draft Digital Publication	Compile all edited stories into a cohesive draft publication, integrating photos, infographics, and a clear narrative structure. Submit for AECF and stakeholder review.	5 days
Validation Report	Incorporate feedback from validation sessions with investees, beneficiaries, and AECF staff. Revise and finalize stories to reflect stakeholder perspectives.	5 days
Final Publication in the form of digital stories	Deliver a finalized, high-quality digital storybook suitable for online hosting, showcasing impact through compelling stories, photos, and visuals. Provide both PDF and editable formats.	3 days
Presentation of Final Product	Present the final product and key insights from the documentation process to AECF staff and relevant stakeholders.	2 days

5.0 Duration of the assignment

The assignment will be conducted within 48 days from the date of signing the contract.

6.0 Reporting

The consultant will report to the Program Manager KKCF, AECF Communications, and the Impact team.

7.0 Qualifications and experience

The consultant /firm should have.

- At least 5 years of writing experience in digital storytelling in a creative way for diverse audiences.
- A consultancy firm with a team of experts in technical writing, storytelling, photography, and copy editing.
- Professional experience in investigative and human impact story writing, in agribusiness, education, healthcare, trade, renewable energy, gender mainstreaming, and sustainable development.
- A strong grasp or hands-on experience in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Competitive Business Challenge models, particularly in leveraging private sector investment to unlock the economic potential of fragile or underserved regions in Kenya or Sub-Saharan Africa, is an added advantage.
- Familiarity with current sectoral trends, challenges, and opportunities, as well as a deep understanding of local community dynamics and their role in driving economic growth, is highly desirable.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts compellingly and engagingly.
- Possesses strong research and analytical skills to gather relevant information, conduct interviews, and extract meaningful insights from data. They should be able to identify key milestones, challenges, and lessons learned from the selected companies.
- Ability to navigate diverse cultural contexts and effectively engage with businesses from different backgrounds. Given the diverse communities and contexts involved, the consultant should possess cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with people from different backgrounds. This will facilitate effective communication, collaboration, and understanding of local perspectives.
- Prior experience in documenting similar stories or working on Private sector-focused initiatives
- Ability to manage timelines, prioritize tasks, and ensure deliverables are met within the agreed scope.
- Have work experience in refugee setups. Country-based consultants will be an added advantage.

8.0 Evaluation criteria

Mandatory requirements for firms: –

Company profile.
A 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 & financial proposal MUST be compiled and submitted separately as PDF documents, organized with a clear Table of Contents.

N/B: Failure to attach and adhere to the above requirements will result in automatic disqualification

The mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are identified in the table below.

NO.	CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT	Weighted Award
Technical proposal		80
An understanding of the terms of reference
1.	Demonstrate understanding of the assignment and expected outcomes.	10
2.	Demonstrated understanding of developing digital stories	10
Methodology and work plan that will deliver the best value on the assignment
1.	The soundness and feasibility of the proposed methodology to enhance, synthesize, and finalize pre-drafted company stories, ensuring a comprehensive and coherent documentation of achievements, lessons learned, and impact. The methodology should clearly outline how the review of the initial drafts, integrating additional insights and visuals, compiling refined narratives supported by analysis, recommendations, and conclusions will be undertaken.	20
2.	Realistic and well-structured timeline, clear identification of deliverables and milestones, and coherence with the intended goals.	10
Qualifications and Experience
1.	Qualification and experience of the consultant/team and evidence of relevant certification	10
2.	Demonstrated experience and relevant services are undertaken by the applicant in past engagements, with evidence links to previous work done / completion certificate	10
3.	All the required registration and certification documents, and at least 3 signed reference letters of similar work done.	10
Financal proposal: Detailed showing level of effort of the team, Clarity, relevance, and reality to market value/ value for money of cost for the assignment (inclusive of any applicable tax, reimbursable, and travel where applicable).		20
	Total Score	100

9.0 Proposal Submission

Interested companies/individuals must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. A technical proposal, including the following:

A profile of the lead consultant explaining why they are the most suitable for the work
CVs of the team composition.
An understanding of the consultancy requirements.
Methodology and work plan for performing the assignment.
Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments.
Signed letters of reference/recommendation and contacts from previous companies/assignments
Relevant services undertaken. Sample of past work: applicants are requested to submit a sample of previous projects and/or links to demonstrate the experiences required by these Terms of Reference
Registration and other relevant statutory documents (this applies to Institutional consultants).

2. A financial proposal

A financial proposal (in KES) clearly showing the proposed team member, roles, and proposed days, and the proposed professional fee (daily rate and total amount per team member). The financial proposal shall also include an indication of reimbursables (travel, communication, etc.)

N/B: Submitting the financial and technical documents as one document will automatically lead to the disqualification of the applicant

10. Pricing

AECF is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on service contract fees as well as ensure VAT, at 16%, is charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position with regard to the provisions of the 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, gender, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Interested consultancies are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 26^th August 2025, 5 pm EAT
All questions should be directed to the procurement email by 18^th August 2025, 5pm EAT
The subject of the email should be Consultancy for Documenting Digital Stories on Impact and Gender in the Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF) – Kenya Portfolio.
The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals that are submitted with a different subject or responding to questions that did not meet the deadline as indicated.

12. 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.