REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR RESTAURANT AND CATERING SERVICES.

Abt Associates is a mission-driven, global leader in research and program implementation in the fields of health, social and environmental policy, and international development. In Rwanda, Abt Associates is implementing the PMI/USAID funded Evolve Project in collaboration with the Ministry of Health with the overall goal of reducing the burden of malaria in the country.

PMI Evolve Project needs restaurant services and is inviting interested, registered, reputable, and experienced companies to tender for restaurant and catering services following the table below:

Instructions to bidders

1. All documents submitted in response to this RFP, as well as all related correspondence, will be in English or Kinyarwanda.
2. Offerors are required to fully review all instructions and specifications contained in this RFP. Failure to do so will be at the offeror’s risk.
3. At any time prior to awarding the contract, should Abt Associates deem it necessary to change the RFP provisions, it will provide such amendment(s) in writing. No oral instructions by any person will in any way be considered to limit, exclude, modify, or otherwise affect any terms or conditions of this solicitation, and no supplier shall rely on any such instructions.
4. Responses to technical questions will be distributed to all bidders.
5. All responses to this RFP shall be submitted via email to PMI_EvolveRwanda@abtassoc.com
6. Quotes from Offeror(s) on US government debarred list will not be considered.
7. A bidder is not eligible if the bidder has been debarred by the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority because:
   1. The bidder has been prosecuted and found guilty in court including any appeals process on corruption charges, fraud, money-laundering or any other such illegal activities.
   2. The bidder is bankrupt.
   3. The bidder has been excluded in accordance with regional or international conventions.
   4. The bidder has a conflict of interest.
   5. The bidder is a government owned enterprise which cannot establish that i) it is financially autonomous ii) operates under commercial law iii) is not a dependent agency of the purchaser.
   6. The bidder is regulatorily compliant (registered with the appropriate professional bodies and fully paid up in all tax and social security obligations).

8. Bidder shall submit offer(s) with the following naming convention:
   1. Email subject line (no space before/after dashes “-“):
      RFP# XXXX-Your company name
9. Offers shall provide unit and total price per line. In case of discrepancy between unit and extended/total price, the unit price shall prevail.
10. Descriptive literature, quality standard supporting documentation, full technical specification per quoted item must be submitted with the bid. Submitted literature will be used to demonstrate compliance with the stated technical specification but shall in no way be considered to amend the quotation and the applicable RFP requirement.
11. No advance payment should be expected by vendors from Abt Associates.
12. Abt Associates reserves the right to reject bids submitted without all requested information as non-responsive.
13. Bids should be enclosed in envelopes indicating the District, Sector and Type of training/service bidding for separately. E.g. “Nyagatare – Matimba - Training SOPs and/ or Kirehe – Nasho - SOP Breakfast”.
14. The bidder for the above service must be based and provide the services in the same district where the trainings or IRS operations will take place.
15. The bidder should be ready to provide:
    1. Breakfast for a period of 20 days to SOPs/ Sector during IRS Operations,
    2. Buffet lunch and soft drink for 1 day during Mobilizers training
    3. Buffet lunch and soft drink for 4 days during SOPs trainings.
    4. Buffet lunch and soft drink for 1 day during Team Leader training.
16. For breakfast during IRS Operations (20 days), the meals and drinks expected from the vendor are a morning meal:

• Banana with vegetables and beef meat (Agatogo)
• ½ liter or 500ml of milk

17. For trainings, the meals and drinks expected from the vendor are a buffet composed of: Rice, chips, banana or cassava, beans or peas, vegetables, beef meat and a soft drink (Soda or water).
18. Suppliers must comply with all national and local food safety and handling regulations.
19. Food prepared on a particular day must be consumed and finished on the same day and MUST not be served on the next day.
20. Registered companies must submit the following documents for bidding:

• Copy of registration certificate of restaurant business in the District/Sector clearly showing the physical location of the restaurant.
• Copy any proof of tax payment for restaurant service.
• A final fixed price for each of the services outlined in this solicitation.

21. Capable and interested bidders must observe at all costs, hygiene of their working premises/ restaurants and must be ready to serve breakfast to participants from 00 - 5:00AM and lunch during training from 12.30 PM – 2.00PM.

Quote Validity/Performance Period:

Submitted offers/Bids shall be valid for at least a period of 30 days from RFP closing date.

Invoices and Payments:

Original invoice shall be presented to Abt Associates office after every ten days of IRS operations/ breakfast service and after the whole service for lunch in trainings with accurately approved supporting documents (original signed purchase order/contract and original participants’ lists signed on daily basis).

RFP No: 02/018/2024: Nyagatare District

RFP No: 02/019/2024: Kirehe District

RFP No: 02/020/2024: Ngoma District

Evaluation Criteria:

Abt Associates intends to award a PO (in whole or in part) to the most advantageous technically compliant offer(s), the following factors considered:

• Adherence to specifications and RFP instructions
• Payment terms
• Fixed Price
• Past performance (Note: New bidders are welcome. This criterion is used to eliminate supplier(s) with documented chronic performance issues).

A responsive proposal is one that comes from a responsible supplier and complies with all the terms and conditions stated in the RFQ without material modification. A material modification is any modification that affects price, quantity, quality, delivery, or which limits in any way the responsibilities, duties or liabilities of the bidder or any rights of Abt or its clients.

Abt reserves the right to waiver any minor informalities in the quotation/proposal received if it is in Abt’s best interest to do so, or to reject the quotation of any firm if, in Abt’s judgement, the firm is not fully qualified to provide the goods or services as specified in the technical specifications.