Request for Proposal: Provision of technical assistance to small and growing agribusinesses under the Investing in Women in Nigeria programme

1. About AECF

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.

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 510 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 33million lives and created over 35,000 direct jobs. The AECF is headquartered in Kenya and has offices in Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Sudan, Benin, and Somalia.

2. About the programme

The IIW-Nigeria program, implemented by AECF, aims to unlock the potential of women entrepreneurs and women-benefiting businesses in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector. Through tailored technical assistance, AECF supports enterprises to enhance their commercial viability, investment readiness, and overall business sustainability.

The TA intervention is part of a broader strategy to address gender gaps in access to finance, capacity, and markets by equipping women-led and women-serving enterprises with the tools and knowledge to grow and thrive.

3. Objective of the assignment

The specific purpose of this assignment is to deliver customized technical assistance to agribusinesses in Kano, focusing on five core thematic areas identified by AECF:

1. Market Attractiveness
2. Business Model Viability
3. Financial Viability
4. Leadership and Governance
5. Climate Smart Practices/Technologies and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Performance

The assignment will support these businesses to improve competitiveness, sustainability, and their ability to access capital while advancing gender-responsive and inclusive business practices

4. Scope of work

The consultant will work with The AECF and the investees’ leadership team to deliver interventions across the functions below:

a) Market attractiveness

• Assess the presence, adequacy, and quality of existing strategic and business plans for each company.
  • Where plans exist, review and provide annotated recommendations to strengthen alignment with market trends, growth ambitions, climate resilience, and gender inclusion.
  • For companies lacking strategic plans, co-develop detailed 3–5-year investor-ready strategic plans based on company input and sector benchmarks.
• Design and facilitate strategic planning workshops for each company’s leadership team to refine mission, vision, goals, competitive advantage, and strategic priorities.
• Conduct rapid market assessments to identify viable product or service opportunities, geographic expansion potential, and pricing dynamics.

b) Leadership and governance

• Evaluate current governance structures, including board roles, composition, decision-making protocols, and compliance with regulatory or internal expectations and assist in closing the compliance gaps.
• Support the development or refinement of governance documents such as board charters, shareholder agreements, conflict of interest policies, and codes of conduct.
• Advise on the establishment or strengthening of advisory boards or external oversight mechanisms as applicable.
• Deliver targeted governance coaching to founders or board leaders, tailored to company-specific challenges (e.g., succession planning, dual roles).

c) Financial and business model strengthening

• Conduct a baseline diagnostic of each company’s financial management processes, tools, and reporting culture.
• Co-create simple but robust financial tools, including annual budgeting templates, monthly financial reporting dashboards, and cost-tracking sheets.
• Review existing contracts with suppliers, distributors, and partners; recommend and introduce improved formats with key risk mitigation clauses.
• Introduce SOP frameworks (procurement, inventory, HR, finance, etc.) and co-develop where key gaps exist.
• Develop gender-sensitive impact measurement tools (e.g., jobs created, female leadership, income generation) aligned to company goals and AECF reporting.
• Deliver short internal training or onboarding guides on financial discipline, risk mitigation, and operational compliance.

d) Climate-smart practices/Technologies training and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assessment

• Climate Smart Practices – Rapidly identify gaps, gather baseline data, and develop a tailored curriculum.
• Train & mentor: Deliver a practical Climate Smart Practices/Technologies workshop and provide mentorship to turn learning into action plans.
• Assessment of the ESG compliance status

5. Deliverables

The consultant will conduct the following activities:

• Review of the preliminary needs assessment conducted by AECF
• Preparation of an Inception Report and Detailed Workplan
• Execution of the Assignment and Reporting

The anticipated specific deliverables for the consultant will include the following:

a) Market attractiveness

• A reviewed or newly developed 3–5 year strategic and business plan for each company, with clear articulation of vision, mission, strategic objectives, competitive advantage, and growth pathways.
• A brief market assessment report for each company, highlighting demand trends, competitive analysis, product/service diversification opportunities, and potential new markets.
• A facilitation report for each strategy workshop conducted, including planning materials, attendance records, and action points arising from the sessions.

b) Leadership and governance

• A governance diagnostic report per company, outlining current governance status, gaps, and risks.
• Refined or newly developed governance documentation for each company, including board charters, conflict of interest policies, and leadership codes of conduct.
• A brief coaching summary per company, outlining governance sessions held, leadership engagement, and succession planning recommendations.

c) Financial and business model strengthening

• A financial systems diagnostic report and improvement plan for each company.
• Customizable financial tools and templates, including monthly dashboards, annual budget templates, and cost-tracking sheets tailored to the business model of each investee.
• A set of operational SOPs and at least one standardized supplier/off-taker contract template per company.
• A gender-sensitive impact tracking framework per company (aligned with AECF impact metrics).
• A short training delivery report per company, including materials used and feedback received.

d) Climate-smart practices/Technologies training and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assessment

• A comprehensive CSA needs‑assessment report, baseline dataset, and customized training curriculum.
• A two or three‑day practical workshop where investees will receive enterprise‑specific 12‑month CSA action plans.
• ESG Compliance status report, detailing needs and gaps

The consultant will also share an insights report for the learning and recommendations from the assignment.

6. Duration of the assignment

The consultancy is expected to run for a period of up to one year, commencing in September 2025 and concluding by August 2026, subject to agreement at contract signing. The estimated Level of Effort (LoE) for this assignment is approximately 20 consultancy days per investee.

6.1) Reporting

The Consultant will report to the Senior Advisory Specialist at the AECF and the IIW Nigeria Program Manager.

7. Proposal submission

As part of its ongoing IIW program in Nigeria, AECF invites proposals from qualified consulting firms to provide technical assistance (TA) to Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs). The consulting firm will eventually support up to 15 SGBs operating in the agribusiness sector in Kano State, Nigeria, with a strong focus on promoting women-led and women-benefiting enterprises.

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

1. A technical proposal, max 20 pages (excluding annexes)

• 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
• Registration and other relevant statutory documents.
• CVs for the team and Lead consultant in the subject /Area matter.

2. A financial proposal

• Clearly showing the proposed team members, 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 USD.

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

8. Consultant profile

Qualified consulting firms or consortia must meet the following criteria:

• At least 7 years of experience in enterprise development, business advisory, or investment facilitation.
• Proven experience working with SGBs in Nigeria, especially in agribusiness and women-led enterprises.
• Demonstrated expertise in at least four of AECF’s TA areas (market, model, finance, leadership and governance, and ESG).
• Strong climate-related enterprise support experience.
• Strong gender lens and inclusion approach to enterprise support.
• Experience facilitating practical, hands-on capacity-building sessions.
• Experience in providing capacity building using a credible learning management system (LMS).
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement, and documentation skills.
• Credible ESG training and support accreditation across Africa.

9. Evaluation criteria

Mandatory evaluation criteria

Mandatory Requirements for firms:

• Company profile
• Trading license or Certificate of incorporation or Certificate of Registration and other statutory documents
• Valid Tax Compliance certificate or its equivalent
• Passport/National Identification and CV or profile of the lead consultant and key personnel
• Audited financial statements for the past three years.

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

10. Evaluation criteria

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

The following criteria will be used for the evaluation:

11. 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 Kenya tax legislation when developing their proposals.

12. 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 consulting firms are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 31^st July 2025, 5 pm EAT.
• All questions should be directed to the procurement email: aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org  by 24 July 2025, 5 pm EAT.
• The subject of the email should be “PROVISION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO SMALL AND GROWING AGRIBUSINESSES UNDER THE INVESTING IN WOMEN – NIGERIA PROGRAMME”. 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. 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.

Note: AECF does not charge an application fee to participate in the tender process and has not appointed agents or intermediaries to facilitate applications. Applicants are advised to contact the AECF Procurement Department directly.