Request for Proposal (RFP)
Procurement Reference Number:
003/BKTH/RFP/September/2021

Subject of procurement:
Request for Proposal (RFP) to identify a qualified Consultant to guide and execute BK TecHouse 5-year strategic visioning and comprehensive planning.

Who May respond?
BK Techouse seeks a consultant who has demonstrated experience in successfully developing consensus-based strategic plans, has strong facilitations skills, has proven experience with profit strategic planning and a strong understanding of the structure and purpose of technology companies.

Procurement Reference Number:
003/BKTH/RFP/September/2021

Terms of Reference for a qualified Consultant to "Guide and execute BK TecHouse 5-year strategic visioning and comprehensive planning".

Background overview

Company overview
BK TecHouse is a licensed technology Company, Subsidiary of Bank of Kigali Group Plc., that is incorporated under the Laws and Regulations of the Republic of Rwanda. The company is engaged in the business of providing Advanced Information and Communication Technology Solutions Based on Broadband connectivity

BK TecHouse is in a unique position in a growing African tech market. It has emerged as a BK Group startup-starting as an ISP in 2015 and rapidly converted into a Tech Company in 2017. It rapidly launched digital platforms across multiple finance-related business lines in Education, Agriculture, Charitable giving, and Retail business.

It has leveraged the local technical talent pool to build an effective delivery operation and combined that with strategic investment in a public-private partnership with the Government of Rwanda that has put BK TecHouse on the global radar for delivery and the unique quality & volume of sustainably generated digital market data.

1.2 Products portfolio overview To date, the company has developed four (4) flagship digital platforms: URUBUTO Education System (www.urubutoschools.ac.rw) in partnership with REB (Rwanda Education Board) for the digitization of the School Management, SMART Nkunganire System (www.smartnkunganire.rw) in partnership with RAB (Rwanda Agriculture Board) for the digitization of the Agro-Inputs subsidy Program, SMART Kungahara System (www.smartkungahara.rw) in partnership with NAEB (National Agriculture Export Board) for the digitization of the Coffee Value Chain and Kiliziya Yacu (www.kiliziyayacu.rw) in partnership with Catholic Church/Diocese of Butare to digitize the Catholic church Information Management and tithe payment collection. Throughout those four (4) digital platforms BK TecHouse is counting 2 Million+ digital users.

All those platforms are integrated, through Urubuto Pay (BK TecHouse Payement G/W) with Banking Core Systems and Mobile Money Wallets Providers to enable the cashless economy and enable different financial services offerings to the created digital consumers.

2. Objective of the assignment
While BK TecHouse seeks the consultant's recommendations regarding the best process to develop a 5. years actionable strategic plan, the organization envisions the scope of work being completed in stages.

Stage 1. Discovery - Mission, Vision, and key goals with BK TecHouse Board members
This stage includes consensus building among the Board members to:
• discover a shared strategic vision that
• is clearly stated
• is compelling
• is timely
• describes a clear and present need
• motivates people to act
• is a worthwhile challenge

Stage 2. Research and Validation - Needs assessment, gap analysis, SWOT analysis, research, etc.

This stage should produce the substantive documentation and solutions needed for validation of discovered vision and key goals and inform the strategic planning process.

Stage 3. Identify strategic goals and write the strategic plan, including detailed budget

After the discovery and research phases, stage 3 entails the identification of key strategic goals and the development of an actionable strategic plan that will serve as the overall blueprint for our work. This plan should include:
• An executive summary
• A comprehensive, detailed plan that identifies:
• Shared vision
• Goals
• Objectives
• Strategies
• Tactics
• Responsible partners and their roles
• Measures
• Outcomes

This plan should also include:
• Resource development strategies
• Initial communications strategies (What are the key messages? Who are the targets for those
messages? How are the messages delivered? Who delivers the messages?)

Stage 4. Development of implementation recommendations

This stage includes the development of recommendations regarding the implementation phase of BK TecHouse's work included within this phase should be a detailed budget to implement the plan and methods of measuring successful implementation.

It is expected that these tasks will be accomplished through a combination of activities, including
• Background research by consultant on BK TecHouse history and current leadership team,
• including environmental scan of organization and opportunities ahead.
• Benchmarking our organizations with other similar sized Tech Companies.
• Focus groups, interviews, surveys and/or any other method that will be useful in receiving partner and community input.
• Facilitated group meetings with the board and staff to create consensus regarding a strategic vision and plan, etc.

3. Deliverables and outputs
We expect the consultant to develop a 5-year Strategic Plan that is build up from:
• A Discussion of the actual mission and vision statement of the company
• A Market analysis that evaluates opportunities within and outside of Rwanda, and multiple potential service opportunities across customer segments like Government, NGOs, Education, Agriculture, Finance & SMEs.
• A Stakeholder Map that clarifies key influencers, partners, and customers,
• A Strategy Map that defines strategic objectives across 4 thematic areas of Finance, Customer, Internal Processes and Learning & Growth,
• A Products and Services Map that defines a product direction for the existing BK TecHouse portfolio and potential new products,
• A Balanced Scorecard that assigns measurable KPI's to the new objectives,
• A Roadmap that clearly lays out a sequence of strategic initiatives that will implement the strategy

4. Duration of the consultancy
The consultancy engagement is expected to take two (2) months period starting from the date of signature of contract by both parties.

5. Required Competencies
The successful consultant shall meet the following minimum criteria:
• Minimum of 10 years in Tech Company Strategy Development
• Proven track record in building complex strategy plans with Technology companies (5 similar assignments with evidence by the work certificates);
• Overall Methodology (Clear demonstration of the delivery methodology to carry out the assignment and understanding of the Terms of Reference) seconded by a clear and detailed process and works time-line; Demonstrated reporting capabilities and financial considerations.

6. Proposal Preparation
6.1 General instruction to prospective bidders
The evaluation and selection of a consultancy contractor will be based on the information submitted in the proposal plus references. Proposal should respond clearly and completely to all requirements. All proposals should be submitted through email.

6.2 Incurring Costs
BK Techouse is not liable for any cost incurred by proposers in replying to this RFP.

6.3 Language of the tender and mode of communication
The medium of communication shall be in writing. The bid as well as correspondence and documents relating to the bid exchanged by the Bidder and BK TecHouse shall be written in English

6.4 Validity of Proposals:
Proposal must remain valid for 90 days

6.5 Amendment to the tender document
At any time prior to the deadline for submission of bids, BK TecHouse may amend the tender document by issuing an addendum. Any addendum issued shall be part of the tender document and shall be
nicated in writing to all who have obtained the tender document directly from BK TecHouse.

To give prospective Bidders reasonable time in which to take an addendum into account in preparing the bids, BK Techouse may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of bids; in which case all rights and obligations of BK TecHouse and Bidders previously subject to the deadline shall thereafter be subject to the deadline as extended!

6.6 Withdraw of proposals
Proposal shall be irrevocable until contract award unless the proposal is officially withdrawn. Proposers may withdraw a proposal in writing, at any time up to the proposal due date and time or upon expiration of 90 days after the due date and time. The written withdrawal notice must be received by BK Techouse. The notice must be signed by an authorized representative of the proposer. If a previously submitted proposal is withdrawn before the proposal due date and time, the proposer may submit another proposal at any time up to the proposal due date and time.

7. Presentation of proposal
The Proposal shall be presented in the following manner.
Company profile with all related required experience,
Certificates of completion for the similar works,
Proposed methodology and activities to be undertaken for the implementation and management of the assignment including operational work plan with the timelines,
The Financial Proposal for the full range of services required.

8. Proposal evaluation
8.1 Preliminary Evaluation
The proposals will be initially reviewed to determine if the mandatory requirements are met. Failure to meet mandatory requirements shall result in the proposal to being rejected. In the even that all proposals do not meet one or more of the mandatory requirements, BK TecHouse reserves the right to continue the evaluation of the proposals that most closely meet the mandatory requirements of the RFP.

8.2 Right to reject proposals
BK TecHouse reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.

8.3 Proposal scoring
Accepted proposals will be reviewed by the evaluation committee and scored against stated criteria The Committee may review references, request interview/presentation. The result information will be used to score the proposals.

8.4 Evaluation criteria
Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated based on the following criteria:

Technical proposal
The evaluation criteria and weighting applied during the evaluation are as follows:

Qualification:
Consultant has the qualifications necessary to successfully complete the scope of the work .
Consultant's prior experience in the IT Industry and its capacity to take on new engagements
Proven track record in the area of Long-Term (3-5-years) Strategy Development

The proposal should include at least 3 references of individuals who can speak to their experience with the consultant in conducting consultancy of the similar scope. Information regarding each reference should include the individual's name, address, telephone number and email address.

Scope of the proposal:
The proposal demonstrates an understanding of the project objectives and desired results

Proven track record in the area of Long-Term (3-5-years) Strategy Development of Tech-Start Ups- At least three (3) of similar assignments evidenced by the work certificates).

Overall Methodology (Clear demonstration of the delivery methodology to carry out the assignment and understanding of the Terms of Reference) seconded by a clear and detailed process and works timeline
• Process: The proposal includes an appropriate process to interact with committee members.
Work plan: .
The proposal adequately details project activities and milestones, or deliverables associated with each stage of the scope of work
The proposal includes a detailed timeline for each stage
The work can be completed within a reasonable project timeline

Note:
The minimum technical marks to pass to financial consideration will be 75%.

Financial Proposal
The financial proposal shall be allocated a weightage of 25% and the proposals will be ranked in terms of total points scored. The proposal includes a detailed budget for each stage of the scope of work.

8.5 Interview Presentation
Top-scoring proposals, based on the evaluation of the written proposals, may be required to have interviews/presentations to support and clarify their proposals, if requested by BK TecHouse. BK TecHouse will make a very reasonable attempt to schedule the interview/presentation on the date specified in the calendar of events. Failure of a proposer to complete a scheduled interview/presentation to BK TecHouse will result in rejection of the proposer's proposal.

8.6 Final evaluation
Upon completion of any interview/presentation and/or demonstrations by proposers, BK TecHouse's evaluation team will review their evaluations and adjust the scores based on the information obtained in the interview/presentation and any other pertinent proposer information

8.7 Award and final offer
Award will be granted in one or two ways. The award may be granted to the highest scoring responsive and responsible proposer after the evaluation process is completed. Alternatively, the highest proposal or proposers may be requested to submit best and final offers. If BK Techouse requests best and final offer, they will be evaluated against the stated criteria and ranked by the evaluation committee. The award will then be granted to the highest scoring proposer following that process.

8.8 Negotiate Contract Terms
BK TecHouse reserves the right to negotiate the terms of the contract, including the award amount with the selected proposer prior to entering a contract. If contract negotiations cannot be concluded successfully with the highest scoring proposer, BK TecHouse reserves the right to negotiate a contract with the next highest scoring proposer.

9. Submission of proposals
Proposals (both technical and Financial) must be submitted in PDF through email to bktechouse@bk.rw with a copy to grukundo@bk.rw on or before 5:00 PM (Kigali Time) 20 October 2021. Email submittal must use the subject line to state "RFP Submittal for the Consultancy on "BK TecHouse Syears Strategy visioning and planning" Any question or clarification on this RFP may be addressed to cmunyangabo@bk.rw until Monday. Il October 2021 at 5:00 PM GMT.

Proposals received after the close of submission date, above, will not be considered.

10. Disclaimer
BK TECHOUSE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of shortlisted 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 bid process at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party,

Thank You!

BK TECHOUSE looks forward to reviewing your response and would like to thank you in advance for your participation. We appreciate and value your input, expertise and feedback

Cordially,

Sangwa RWABUHIHI,
Chairperson of BK TecHouse's Board of Directors.