Recruitment of an Individual Consultant for the development and structuring of the Smart Africa Venture Capital (VC) Lab

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

This Request for Proposals (RFP) outline the recruitment process for an Individual Consultant to develop and structure the Smart Africa VC Lab, a key initiative under SANIA powered by Smart Africa.

2. Organization Background

Smart Africa is a bold and innovative commitment from African Heads of State and Government and a wide range of stakeholders including the private sector, international non-government organizations, and academia to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent, ushering Africa into a knowledge economy through affordable access to Broadband and usage of Information and Communications Technologies.

The Smart Africa agenda is led by visionary Heads of State who believe in ICT’s power to advance and improve the African continent. This agenda will lead Africa to the 04th industrial revolution, using the transformative power of ICTs through successful implementation and deployment of major ICT infrastructure, applications, and services, and creating locally relevant content for Africa while developing a vibrant ICT industry and creating jobs.

Smart Africa aims to put ICT at the Center of the National socioeconomic development agenda of member countries, improve access to ICT, especially Broadband, and improve accountability, efficiency and openness through ICT. It promotes the introduction of advanced technologies in telecommunication while putting the Private Sector first and leveraging ICT to promote sustainable development.

SANIA Project Background

The African tech startup ecosystem is booming, driven by a young and dynamic generation of entrepreneurs. Tech Startups and innovation ecosystems development was identified in 2019 by the Smart Africa Alliance member States as a priority project to be implemented. To meet this priority, Smart Africa has activated the “ICT Start-ups and Innovation Ecosystems for Africa” flagship project championed by Tunisia 

In close cooperation with a range of key public and private sector stakeholders and partners, the Republic of Tunisia, supported by the Smart Africa Secretariat, developed the “Africa’s Blueprint for ICT start-ups and Innovation Ecosystems” aiming to support African countries by giving concrete policy and strategic recommendations and creating the best ecosystems for the birth, growth, and success for African tech-startups.

SANIA serves as the implementation vehicle for this blueprint, aiming to make Africa a global hub for digital entrepreneurs. Based on the outputs of the blueprint and its recommendations, SANIA focuses on three key areas to empower African tech entrepreneurs:

• Startup Policies Development: To aid the development of pro-entrepreneurship policies and the integration of the startup ecosystem players in the policymaking process across Smart Africa member states, thereby expanding market access across the continent.
• Startups Ecosystem Development: To support incubators, accelerators, innovation hubs, and broader entrepreneurship support organizations by connecting tech-driven hubs across African countries through capacity building, funding, and networking opportunities.
• Startups Capital Development: To develop the funding ecosystem on the continent by strengthening and empowering African financial and investment entities, establishing a pipeline of investment-ready startups, and designing tailored financial instruments for early-stage ventures.

2. THE SMART AFRICA VC LAB

The Smart Africa VC Lab complements SANIA's other initiatives by addressing the third pillar related to startup capital Development, aiming to cultivate a fertile investment landscape for African startups through the Smart Africa VC Lab

3. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Smart Africa Secretariat seeks the support of a consultant to structure Smart Africa’s initiatives for developing Technology-Driven Entrepreneurship in Africa, with a specific focus on the SANIA’s Startup Capital Development flagship initiative: the Smart Africa VC Lab 

The Consultant will provide technical support in structuring the Smart Africa VC Lab initiative and building the right pitch for resource mobilization for the project, particularly targeting Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and International Development Partners.

Scope of Work:

The Consultant will:

Needs Assessment:

• Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current African startup funding ecosystem.
• Identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities within the ecosystem.
• Engage with key stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers, to gather insights and recommendations.
• Support in identifying members that shall comprise the Technical Working Committee.
• Conduct consultative workshops with the Technical Working Committee to collaboratively align on strategic goals and develop actionable plans to enhance the program’s technical capabilities and innovation potential. The consultative workshops will be held both online and in person, alongside the Transform Africa Summit 2024.

Program Design:

• Develop a detailed program structure, including objectives, curriculum, and methodology.
• Create a timeline and roadmap for program implementation.

Resource Mobilization:

• Identify potential funding partners (Africa and international) active in developing the startup funding ecosystem in Africa.
• Develop a sustainable funding model for the VC Lab's long term viability.

Implementation Strategy:

• Outline a phased implementation plan, including pilot programs and full-scale rollouts.
• Establish criteria for selecting candidates to participate in the Smart Africa VC Lab Program.
• Create a framework for Monitoring and Evaluating program effectiveness and impact.

4. DELIVERABLES :

The Consultant is expected to deliver the following:

Inception Report:

• Detailed work plan and timeline.

Needs Assessment Report :

• Analysis of the African VC ecosystem.
• Identification of key challenges and opportunities.

Program Design Document: 

• Comprehensive program structure and curriculum.
• Implementation roadmap and timeline.

Resource Mobilization Plan :

• A well-crafted project proposal for mobilizing funds and resources from development partners and institutions to finance the VC Lab initiative.
• A list of potential funding partners active in the startup funding ecosystem development in Africa.

Implementation Strategy Document :

• Phased Implementation Plan.
• Selection criteria for identifying candidates to participate in the Smart Africa VC Lab Program.

5. CONSULTANT PROFILE AND EXPERIENCE

The assignment will be carried out by a consultant/expert with the following key qualifications:

• A master’s degree in information technology, technology sciences, entrepreneurship, business administration, marketing, or any other related field and other relevant fields.
• A minimum of Seven (7) years of experience in entrepreneurship and startup funding mobilization and mechanisms, venture capital (VC), and investment fund structuring.
• Proven experience working in multistakeholder development environments on the African continent, collaborating with international partners.
• Demonstrated experience in ICT policy and regulation, focusing on creating conducive environments for tech startups and innovation.
• Excellent knowledge of the African tech startup ecosystem, including dynamics, key actors, challenges, and opportunities.
• The Consultant should submit three (3) signed recommendation letters from previous clients of similar projects (in the field of VC fund building and management or related field) with the same magnitude and complexity (one of them at least should be in Africa).
• The Consultant should submit a concise presentation highlighting projects undertaken in VC fund building and management or related fields (especially for the ones implemented in Africa).

6. DURATION OF THE CONSULTANCY:

The duration of the assignment will be sixty (60) working days from the date of signing the contract.

The indicative timetable is as follows:

This timetable provides a structured approach to ensure the timely completion of each deliverable, aligning with the 60-day duration of the assignment.

7. EVALUATION CRITERIA

All bidders should note that the evaluation method is Quality Cost based selection (QCBS) for consultants. The technical and financial scores are 0.8 and 0.2 respectively (0.8 + 0.2=1).

The following model will be used to evaluate all respondents and proposals submitted:

a) Technical Criteria

The financial proposal of only those firms will be opened which secure a minimum score of 70/100 in the technical evaluation.

St= Score for the Technical Evaluation

b) Financial Criteria

Once the technical criteria have been evaluated, the costs of all bids will be listed from low to high. Computing the cost criteria score will be accomplished by use of the following formula:

The Applicant getting maximum marks on 80-20 weightage (80% for technical and 20% for financial) will be selected as Consultants for the Client. The weights given to the Technical (T) and Financial Proposals (F) are T = 0.80 and F = 0.20

The Final Score (S) is calculated as follows: S = St*T + Sf*F

8. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL PROPOSALS

All technical and financial proposals must be submitted in English.

Administrative documents

• (ID or passport certificates).

Technical Requirements

• Duly signed submission Letter confirming the consultant’s interest to provide the services required
• Detailed description of methodology and Approach, work plan
• Consultancy references with contacts.
• Detailed and updated Curriculum Vitae with valid Industry certifications.
• Consultant’s Recommendation letters signed and stamped.

Financial Requirements

• Summarized Total Cost inclusive of applicable taxes
• Breakdown of a remuneration package.
• Breakdown of reimbursable expenses.

Notes:

1. All Financial Proposals/offers should be password protected, and Smart Africa will request it for bidders who have been qualified in the technical evaluation.
2. Only individual consultants are eligible to apply to this assignment
3. All Financial Offers should be quoted and submitted in USD Currency
4. A withholding tax of 15% will be deducted from payments for consultant not VAT-registered with Rwanda Tax Administration (RRA) and 18% VAT will be applicable for VAT registered consultants in Rwanda

9. SUBMISSION PROCESS

Soft copies of both Technical and Financial Offers in PDF format must be submitted via email to: procurement@smartafrica.org showing each the nature of the offer concerned (technical or financial offer in separate files) with mention: 121/SA/RFP/07/2024, “Recruitment of an individual Consultant for the development and structuring of the Smart Africa Venture Capital (VC) Lab” not later than 12^th August 2024 at, 05:00 pm local time (Kigali).

Late proposals will be rejected.

10. RIGHTS RESERVED

• This RFP does not obligate the Smart Africa Secretariat (SAS) to complete the RFP process.
• SAS reserves the right to amend any segment of the RFP prior to the announcement of a selected firm.
• SAS also reserves the right to remove one or more of the services from consideration for this contract should the evaluation show that it is in SAS’s best interest to do so.
• SAS also may, at its discretion, issue a separate contract for any service or groups of services included in this RFP. SAS may negotiate a compensation package and additional provisions to the contract awarded under this RFP. 
• The Smart Africa reserves the right to debrief the applicants after the completion of the process due to expected high volume of applications and avoiding the compromise of the process.

11. VALIDITY

Proposals and quotes must remain valid for a period of 180 days after the date of closing noted above. After the closing date and time, all proposals received by the Smart Africa Secretariat become its property.

12. ENQUIRIES

Any enquiries will only be received and addressed 3 days or more prior to the bid submission deadline. Prospective respondents who may have questions regarding this RFP may submit their enquiries to tenderenquiries@smartafrica.org

13. ANTI-CORRUPTION

Smart Africa is committed to preventing and not tolerating any act of corruption and other malpractices and expects that all bidders will adhere to the same ethical principles.