Request for Proposal: Terms of Reference for Sudan Communications Partner – June 2025

1. Sobre a AECF

O AECF, LLC (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) é uma organização líder de desenvolvimento sem fins lucrativos que apoia empresas inovadoras nos sectores do agronegócio e das energias renováveis com o objetivo de reduzir a pobreza rural, promover comunidades resistentes ao clima e criar emprego.

Catalisamos o sector privado, fazendo emergir e comercializando novas ideias, modelos de negócio e tecnologias concebidos para aumentar a produtividade agrícola, melhorar os rendimentos dos agricultores, expandir o acesso a energia limpa, reduzir as emissões de gases com efeito de estufa e melhorar a resistência aos efeitos das alterações climáticas. Financiamos empresas de alto risco que têm dificuldade em aceder a financiamento comercial; estamos empenhados em trabalhar em mercados fronteiriços, contextos frágeis e economias de alto risco onde poucas instituições financeiras tradicionais se atrevem a ir.

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 Role

AECF is implementing a significant programme in Sudan funded by the German government through KfW.  This provides financing to SMEs in the country that are relocating away from areas that are impacted by direct conflict, principally Khartoum, towards safer areas in the east of the country – specifically Red Sea, Gedarif and Kassala States. It also provides financing for companies looking to scale up production capacity to a level where they can compete to provide goods to international humanitarian and other donor funded organisations through procurement competitions.

AECF selects the companies that it invests in through a competitive process followed by a comprehensive due diligence and cogeneration with applicants.  This is largely a novel experience for companies in Sudan who have not been exposed to internationally funded subsidy programmes in the past.  The selection process is necessarily lengthy, which, coupled with information asymmetries and the increased levels of public distrust caused by the lengthy conflict has the potential to generate misinformation and rumour that could undermine the confidence in the market for the funding process, AECF and the donor, KfW. At the same time, we have to be extremely cautious with the information that we do disseminate on the programme to ensure that business in Sudan that receive funding are not targeted by rent seeking actors.

In order to manage the information process with the market and with local stakeholders, our in-house communications team need to be strengthened with specialist advisory support in communications in Sudan. This will involve designing and implementing a comprehensive communication strategy for the programme, until it is concluded in June 2026.

3. Scope of Work

As the Sudan Communication partner, you will be an integral part of our business delivery team and play a pivotal role in ensuring the transparency and effectiveness of AECF’s activities in Sudan. Here’s how you’ll make a difference:

• Create a communication strategy that engages with Sudanese and international partners, including:
  • Identifying key stakeholder groups both in the country and amongst the Sudanese diaspora and the information that they need;
  • crafting a series of messages and regular communication engagements for these different stakeholder groups;
  • identifying media partners both in Sudan and internationally through which to transmit these messages
  • development of feedback mechanisms to elicit opinions from core stakeholders to pre-empt communication crises in the future;
  • comprehensive risk assessment and crisis communication plan in case mitigation measures are not successful.
• Implement the strategy, together with AECF’s communication team
• Liaise with AECF’s communication team to ensure alignment in collaterals and branding as well as approval of communications and messages prior to dissemination
• Design of collaterals in line with AECF’s branding guide
• Media monitoring of Sudanese media outlets
• On-hand to design and deliver crisis communications interventions should such an emergency occur

4. Inputs Required

The assignment requires the provision of a technical consulting input to design the communication strategy coupled with an ongoing operationalisation of this on a part time basis to the current end of the programme in June 2026.  The contractor will work closely with AECF’s in-house communications team who will have overall delivery responsibility for the assignment.

5. Duração da missão

   The assignment is expected to be completed in six months from the commencement date with the option to renew.

6. Reporting to

        The consultant will be reporting to Associate Director Agribusiness

7. Apresentação de propostas

Os consultores qualificados são convidados a apresentar uma proposta que inclua o seguinte

a) Qualification and experience as indicated in the evaluation criteria.

b) Approach and methodology to undertake this assignment underpinned by a demonstration of value for money.

c) All documents related to the technical proposal must be compiled into a single PDF file, paginated and organized with a clear Table of Content.

d) A detailed financial budget (in USD) and work plan.

e) The technical and financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents.

N/B: A APRESENTAÇÃO DO DOCUMENTO FINANCEIRO E DO DOCUMENTO TÉCNICO NUM ÚNICO DOCUMENTO IMPLICARÁ AUTOMATICAMENTE A EXCLUSÃO DO CANDIDATO.

8. Qualification and Experience

The selected contractor is expected to be an established communication agency that can offer the breadth of technical competence and flexibility on inputs that the assignment will require. At a corporate level, the contractor is expected to be able to demonstrate extensive experience in crisis communication and specific capacity to operate in Sudan and in the Arabic language.  It is not expected that the company will be physically located in Sudan currently, but preference will be given to companies that have a physical presence in Sudan. It is essential that the company has worked extensively with large international development organisations in crisis and conflict situations.

The core team is expected to demonstrate the following competencies:

• Degree level qualification in Communications, Journalism or similar technical field, with the preference for a professional qualification in communication in conflict and crisis areas
• At least 10 years’ experience in designing and implementing crisis communications and communication strategies for international development partners, with at least 5 years direct experience in conflict scenarios;
• Excellent communication and writing skills, with a keen ability to synthesize and present complex information in a simple, compelling, meaningful way (ability to produce beautiful data visualization is a plus);
• Comprehensive understanding of the Sudanese context, including detailed knowledge of the current conflict;
• Extensive network of communication partners in the Sudanese community, both in country and in the diaspora – journalists, media houses, digital media groups, media and communications officers in international organisations and large Sudanese businesses;
• First language Arabic competence; excellent English language skills

9. Preços

 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 regards to provisions of Kenya tax legislation when developing their proposals.

10. Critérios de avaliação

MANDATORY EVALUATION CRITERIA.

1. Requisitos obrigatórios para as empresas: -
2. Perfil da empresa.
3. Licença comercial ou certificado de constituição ou certificado de registo e outros documentos estatutários.
4. Certificado de conformidade fiscal válido (aplicável às empresas).
5. Passaporte/Nacional Identificação do consultor principal e do pessoal-chave (aplicável a consultores independentes)

N/B: A NÃO ANEXAÇÃO E O NÃO CUMPRIMENTO DOS REQUISITOS ACIMA REFERIDOS IMPLICAM A DESQUALIFICAÇÃO AUTOMÁTICA

Um comité de avaliação será constituído pela AECF e poderá incluir trabalhadores das empresas a apoiar. Todos os membros estarão sujeitos às mesmas normas de confidencialidade. O consultor deve assegurar-se de que responde plenamente a todos os critérios para ser avaliado de forma exaustiva.

O AECF pode solicitar e receber esclarecimentos de qualquer consultor aquando da avaliação de uma proposta. O comité de avaliação pode convidar alguns ou todos os consultores a comparecer perante o comité para esclarecer as suas propostas. Nesse caso, o comité de avaliação pode ter em conta esses esclarecimentos na avaliação das propostas.

Para decidir a seleção final do proponente qualificado, a qualidade técnica da proposta terá uma ponderação de 80% com base nos critérios de avaliação. Só será aberta a proposta financeira dos proponentes que se qualificarem tecnicamente. À proposta financeira será atribuída uma ponderação de 20% e as propostas serão classificadas em função do total de pontos obtidos.

Os critérios obrigatórios e desejáveis em função dos quais as propostas serão avaliadas são identificados no quadro seguinte.

11.0 Application details

O AECF é um empregador que oferece igualdade de oportunidades. O AECF considera todos os candidatos interessados com base no mérito, sem ter em conta a raça, o género, a cor, a nacionalidade, a religião, a orientação sexual, a idade, o estado civil, o estatuto de veterano, a deficiência ou qualquer outra caraterística protegida pela legislação aplicável.

• Interested consultancies are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 3^rd July 2025
• All questions should be directed to the procurement email by 26^th June 2025, 5pm (EAT).
• The subject of the email should be ‘“SUDAN COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER”. 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. Declaração de exoneração de responsabilidade

O AECF reserva-se o direito de determinar a estrutura do processo, o número de participantes na lista restrita, o direito de se retirar do processo de apresentação de propostas, o direito de alterar este calendário em qualquer altura sem aviso prévio e reserva-se o direito de retirar o presente concurso em qualquer altura, sem aviso prévio e sem responsabilidade de indemnizar e/ou reembolsar qualquer parte.

O AECF não cobra qualquer taxa de candidatura para participar no processo de concurso e não nomeou quaisquer agentes ou intermediários para facilitar as candidaturas. Aconselha-se os candidatos a contactar diretamente o Departamento de Aquisições do AECF.