Request for Quotations For Legal Business Advisory Services for Entrepreneur Fellows in CMU-Africa’s Industry Innovation Lab

Quotation Submittal Due Date

July 21, 2023

(5:00 PM CAT)

 Overview

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Carnegie Mellon University Africa in Rwanda (“CMU-Africa”) is requesting quotations from qualified companies to purchase services related to business advisory services for startups supported by CMU-Africa’s business incubation program - the Industry Innovation Lab(IIL). The IIL is a technology-focused hub at CMU-Africa, supporting startups that are developing and commercializing technology-enabled products that address well-defined market opportunities with potential for profitability, inclusivity, and scaling. The IIL runs a 12-month business incubation program exclusively focused on helping CMU-Africa students and alumni founders succeed with their entrepreneurial ventures. Startups entering the business incubation program have a proof-of-concept prototype for their product and a preliminary market assessment. The goal is for these startups to leave the program with a revenue generating product that is positioned to successfully compete for additional investment necessary for scaling.

Scope of Work

CMU-Africa requires the purchase of legal business advisory services to assist incubated startups in navigating the legal challenges involved in building an early-stage company. The advisory services will be delivered through in-person and virtual one-on-one or group sessions offered to approximately seven startups within the IIL’s 12-month business incubation program. Founders of the supported startups will include both first time and experienced entrepreneurs. Each of the startups within the business incubation program, is expected to receive a maximum of 4 hours of legal business advisory services a month. The selected business advisory firm will be expected to offer tailored legal advisory services to enable the seven startups to achieve milestones in various legal aspects, which may include, but are not limited to:

• Company formation/establishment
• Registration and management of intellectual property
• Contracts/agreement creation, negotiation, and execution
• Tax registration and compliance
• Creation of venture financing documents
• Regulatory risk assessment and management

Timeline & Process

This request for quotation is expected to be completed based on the following timeline:

• Issuance Date 27 June 2023
• Response Deadline 21 July 2023
• Selection 4 August 2023
• Contract Implementation 1 September 2023

Any questions regarding this document must be issued via email to africa-finance@andrew.cmu.edu. All questions will be answered via email to all bid participants. Prospective vendors may not communicate with any university staff or related third parties regarding this document or process than the university contact.  Doing so may result in immediate rejection of that company from the process.

Responses are due via email in PDF form by the deadline listed above.

University Contact

Chipiwa Zimbwa

Chief Operations Officer

Email: africa-finance@andrew.cmu.edu

Response

Prospective vendors must provide a response to the following bullet points.  Repeat each bullet with your response below.  The total response is not to exceed 5 pages in length.

General

• Provide a brief overview of your company, including its history, core values and strategy.
• Describe the advisory team that will be assigned to the university including experience in the industry and with your organization.
• Clearly describe the service offering you will support the startups.
• In the ‘Pricing and Services’ table below, clearly state the hours required to deliver the service, and the cost for the service.
• A business advisory plan for service with a clear schedule that will guide provision of the service over the duration of the program. The plan must include a schedule for both one- on-one advisory and group support. Keep in mind that each startup should receive no more than 4 hours of consulting services per month.
• Indicate the activities that will be delivered in-person and those that will be delivered through virtual arrangements, if any.
• Include three current references and one past reference of clients similar to Carnegie Mellon University.

Pricing and Services

• Provide pricing for each of the services below separately:

Other Items

• Include a copy of your company’s audited financial statements.
• Include a copy of your RDB certificate.
• Include copies of CVs of all advisory team
• Have you done business with Carnegie Mellon in the past? If yes, please provide details.
• Describe any competitive advantages your company holds that should be considered outside of pricing.
• Carnegie Mellon is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices and principles which we strongly believe creates opportunity and drives value for our workplaces and communities. We seek partners and vendors who share our passion for these principles. We request all bidders to detail their company’s policies, processes, and commitment to DEI practices.

Terms & Conditions

Vendors providing a quote agree to the following terms and conditions:

• The University reserves the right to reject any or all quotations received, to request clarification of any Quotation, to waive informalities or irregularities; and to award a contract not based solely on the lowest cost.
• All information contained in this document is considered confidential and cannot be shared without permission by the University.
• Pricing included in your quote must be valid for at least sixty days and may not be modified, withdrawn or canceled.
• The University will not pay for any information requested herein, nor is it liable for any costs incurred by the participant in responding to this request. All quotations submitted become the property of the University; they will not be returned.
• None of the information released either verbally or in writing shall be deemed binding to the University in any manner.
• All quotations or offers must be signed by a duly appointed officer or agent of your company.
• The University payments terms are Net 30.

Should your company’s quote be accepted by the university, the standard terms and conditions of university purchase orders apply. To review the standard university terms and conditions, please request from Chipiwa Zimbwa at  africa-finance@andrew.cmu.edu.