REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, TERMS OF REFERENCE – SUDAN CATALYZER PROGRAM IMPLEMENTING PARTNER, DECEMBER 2023

1. About AECF

AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) is a leading non-profit development organisation that supports innovative enterprises in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors with the aim of reducing rural poverty, promoting resilient communities, and creating jobs.

We catalyze the private sector by surfacing and commercializing new ideas, business models and technologies designed to increase agricultural productivity, improve farmer incomes, expand clean energy access, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve resilience to the effects of climate change. We finance high-risk businesses that struggle to access commercial funding; we are committed to working in frontier markets, fragile contexts, and high-risk economies where few mainstream financing institutions dare to go.

To date, we have supported over 400 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 30 million lives, created over 27,000 direct jobs, and leveraged US $771 million in matching funds.

1. Background Information

Program Title: Sudan Catalyzer

Duration: 18 months for Phase I

Sectors: Agriculture, Agribusiness, Renewable Energy, Digital Technology, and IT

Funding Partner: KfW

With an area of approximately 1.9 million square kilometers, Sudan is the third-largest country in Africa and home to a rapidly increasing population of 41 million. Demographic changes are characterized by rapid urbanization, with more than a third of the population now living in urban areas. Rural-urban migration is being driven in part by conflict, drought, and desertification, as well as by the search for better economic opportunities and access to basic services. The current conflict is leading to significant internal and external forced displacement.

The economic and financial sanctions previously imposed on Sudan held back the emergence of the private sector through restrictions on trade and financial transactions. Additionally, these sanctions have constrained the economic activity of enterprises by limiting their access to international markets.

In April 2023, the country was plunged into violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia that was in the process of being absorbed into a unified military. This has led to extensive, but so far regionally localized, destruction of economic and social infrastructure along with forced migration, human rights abuses and economic collapse. Many SMEs have been cut off from markets and access to finance and have seen key staff leave and assets destroyed. Of those that remain, many have had to relocate from their original locations to establish new operations in safer parts of the country. Both companies that are relocating and existing companies require access to finance and advisory support to assist them in re-tooling their business systems, markets, and suppliers to the new realities that they face.

Even prior to this outbreak of violence, much of the optimism of the peaceful 2018 revolution has been rolled back with the return of military rule in October 2021. The power structures of the former regime have largely returned, with the security structures dominating the business sector. As a response to this, most donors and other international partners have substantially reduced or ceased their engagement with the country, leading to external assistance being cut off and significant impediments to trade and other external engagements with the country. Despite these challenges, some segments of the private sector manage to navigate the highly politicized ecosystem without being completely subverted into the patronage networks of the ruling military elite. Any support to the private sector must, however, take into careful consideration the reality that even if the government is not directly involved there is the risk of manipulation by the existing power structures.

The removal of Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism and the normalization of the ties with the international community raised hoped of an economic resurgence that has largely been dashed by the military takeover of the civilian administration in late 2021. Most international donor partners and private investors remain unwilling to engage with the current political leadership and invest in the country. This means that the private sector and SMEs in Sudan operate within a challenging macro and micro economic environment. At the macro level, regulations of doing business continue to constrain the private sector with Sudan’s ranking in the 2020 World Bank Doing Business report being one of the lowest, 171 out of 190 economies. This is additionally complicated by a highly nepotistic business landscape where well-connected individuals and entities connected to the state dominate key sectors; a largely non-functional public administration; and collapsing economic environment of hyperinflation and currency devaluation. At the micro level, companies that are not well-connected struggle to raise formal finance, exposure to international markets and best practices is limited and staff capacity is low. Modern advisory services to address these weaknesses remain nascent.

Investing in SMEs as a short- and longer-term solution to economic development in Sudan

Despite the challenges that Sudan is experiencing in private sector development, the country presents numerous investment opportunities and there is a growing entrepreneurial perspective particularly with the youth[1]. The government of Sudan was a pioneer in the field of microfinance and banking sector legislation directs banks to provide short term funding for start-ups and early-stage enterprises. In addition, new business incubators and innovation labs have sprung up responding to a much-needed demand to solve some of Sudan’s biggest problems by connecting the country’s local talent to the global entrepreneurship community. Thus, there are opportunities for Sudanese entrepreneurs and startups in different stages to learn and attract investment. Several donors (UNDP, AfDB, UNIDO, World Bank, as well as bilateral assistance from UK, Germany, The Netherlands and others) have and/or are investing in public-private sector partnerships in the country, including supporting programmes targeted at micro-entrepreneurs and working to create a more enabling policy and operating environment for the private sector and particularly SMEs. This includes a joint initiative between UNIDO-ITPO and IFC on the development of an SME law, national SME strategy and an SME investment fund; the establishment of an Enterprise Development Committee by UNIDO and Accelerator Labs by UNDP, GIZ and the Qatar Fund. A survey conducted by UNDP in July 2019 found that youth employment and partnering with the private sector were among the key priorities for the development of the country.

Many of these initiatives have ceased or been scaled back with the return of the military regime and the return to open conflict in 2023, leaving SMEs at all levels with very limited access to finance and constrained abilities to source the kind of advisory support necessary to build a thriving modern economy. Given the importance of SMEs in the private sector to bring modern technological and business innovations to a society that has been closed for a generation, it is essential that those companies with the potential to scale and which are not connected to the military regime are supported.

The Sudanese private sector landscape can be split into four broad categories:

Survival or traditional micro enterprises providing subsistence style existence for their owners. These businesses are often formed from traders moving to simple manufacturing using outdated technologies to produce low quality outputs for local markets. Despite being the largest proportion of SMEs in the country, they are self-financed and operate largely independently of the regulatory structures. They have little capacity and willingness to expand and would be unable and unwilling to take on external concessional capital from the Sudan SME Catalyser.

Independent SMEs driven by the middle class and operating emergent, professional enterprises that are unconnected to the ruling elite and face unfair competition from other businesses that are able to exploit these connections. They have solid education and business acumen but still lack access to the structures of a functioning market economy, such as formal finance. This group represents a key target for the Sudan SME Catalyser, particularly in the smaller ticket sizes.

Family conglomerates of well-established multi-generational private enterprises that have found ways of operating in the complex political environment yet managing to maintain largely free of its most pervasive effects. These businesses have large and diverse business structures and have family-based management with international exposure and access to capital and are most likely to be developing innovative business ideas. They have the potential to take on larger sized tickets and are more likely to be able to provide matching funds, but care must be taken to ensure that they are operating independently of the regime.

Politically connected companies represent most of the largest private and state-owned enterprises and parastatals in the country. They are completely controlled by the political and military elite who use public resources to generate advantages in many aspects of business, from using public assets for private gain to accessing scarce resources and navigating the political and administrative landscape. These companies are more active in key sectors of the economy that the Sudan SME Catalyser is deliberately avoiding but are also present in the key sector of agriculture. They will be explicitly avoided in the selection process through robust due diligence.

Challenges facing SMEs

SMEs in Sudan face a broad range of challenges that can be summarized around:

• Business Environment caused principally by the underdeveloped enabling environment including poor physical infrastructure, lack of market assessment and market infrastructure, high operating costs and unequal business access;
• Legislation, where the regulatory framework does not yet sufficiently support the private sector and there is a lack of institutional structures to support SMEs and their role in the economy;
• Access to Finance in an environment of hyperinflation and rapid devaluation of the Sudanese Pound (SDG) against major currencies and with an emphasis on capex through Islamic finance, leading to high cost of capital and limited understanding of where capital can be sourced from;
• Capacity Building due to generational underinvestment in education and lack of exposure to international standards and good practice in business.

All these challenges have been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict with most if not all centrally located structures in Khartoum destroyed and only limited functionality in other parts of the country.

In response to KfW’s intention to engage in private sector development in Sudan to create employment and increase incomes and the availability of goods and services in inclusive business models, AECF will implement a two-pronged approach:

1. Recognizing the limitations in available microfinance and the distinct challenges facing SMEs without connections to the ruling elite, AECF will provide appropriate financing through the design of a context-specific Challenge Fund model – the Sudan SME Catalyser – in areas of Sudan not currently directly affected by conflict for non-repayable catalytic investment grants appropriately structured for the challenges currently facing SMEs in Sudan. This will enable dynamic businesses to bring in new technologies and services, scale existing businesses, or relocate enterprises from areas affected by fighting that will enable new sectors to develop, create employment and promote more inclusive business models;
2. Given the limited experience and capacity of SMEs to apply for and implement grant-based financing as well as adopt modern business practices and processes, AECF will provide advisory services to the SMEs that it supports. This will build the capacity of SMEs to effectively apply for and implement the financial assistance offered by the programme as well as help funded companies overcome operational and business challenges.

The Sudan SME Catalyser will be funding enterprises in two cohorts – smaller, newer businesses that are more likely to be owned by young people or women and which have a product in the market, 3-10 employees and turnover of up to €100,000; and larger, more established enterprises with 10-50 employees and turnover of up to €1m.

Priority sectors for the Sudan Catalyser

The market assessment undertaken in 2022 considered five priority sectors of agriculture, renewable energy, information technology, manufacturing, and logistics. The first three of these have been prioritized due to their ability to respond to immediate challenges thrown up by the conflict, to reach large numbers of SMEs, to generate employment and develop new products and services for the Sudanese population. Each have been considered in the light of their level of political risk to ensure that the Fund engages with them clear eyed to potential investment scenarios that have the potential to be subverted by politically compromised individuals and institutions. In the initial €12.5m of the Emergency Financing Window, it is expected that support will be focused on the agriculture sector, although all three areas identified will remain eligible.

The following summary analysis was developed prior to the start of fighting in 2023:

Agriculture

The agricultural sector has the largest economic and employment potential in Sudan, with the majority of those involved being smallholders. Agriculture provides livelihoods to 2/3rd of the population, employs 60% of the workforce and processing of agricultural products accounts for 70% of all manufacturing. Already home to 10% of the world’s remaining unexploited arable lands, Sudan produces a wide range of both staple and cash crops, including grains, oil seeds, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. With more than 75% of the arable land underutilized, there is a huge untapped potential to expand the production of cotton, groundnuts, sesame, and sorghum. Sudan is also one of the top five global producers of both groundnuts and sesame seeds and is the largest producer of gum Arabic in the world.

Building upon the primary industry-based export of processed crops, Sudan has the potential to develop downstream processing of agricultural products, which will increase productivity and income. Moreover, Sudan boasts the second largest livestock inventory in Africa, with over 110 million head of sheep, goats, cattle and camels. With significant livestock resources, Sudan has the ability to supply other African countries and the MENA region with meat and meat products. Unlocking this opportunity requires more SMEs that work in livestock infrastructure. As a result, investing in SMEs working in livestock has the potential to create a whole new market for companies working in logistics and transportation and leather industries. This nexus will create jobs, boost regional trade, support economic growth, and contribute to peace-building efforts.

There is an increasing shift from traditional smallholder farming to export orientated mechanized farming dominated by larger corporates. Despite the scale of the agricultural sector, Sudan remains a net importer of agricultural products due to the low value addition in country and an exploitative export market that represents one of the core sources of foreign exchange.

Commercial agriculture, especially downstream processing is dominated by family corporates with strong political connections, with state owned companies and companies indirectly connected to the state or benefiting from connections to the military occurring throughout the sector. Whilst there is clear opportunity to invest in inclusive value chains, there is significant risk that companies in this sector and particularly those that are most able to access funding through a structure such as the Sudan Catalyser, will lead to indirect financing of violence and companies that gain unfair advantages through their connections to political, tribal and ethnic power structures. Robust due diligence, especially at a local level for companies operating outside of Khartoum, will be essential.

Renewable energy

Sudan has numerous energy resources including natural gas, hydropower, solar, wind, and bioenergy. The country also has one of the highest levels of solar radiation globally along with significant wind energy resources in the Northern state. The strategic location of the country also means it has the potential to be a major player in the regional power trade market. Sudan is also a member of the Eastern Africa Power Pool.

Despite being rich in renewable and non-renewable energy resources, Sudan still faces a large power generation deficit (which results in long hours of load shedding during the summer), has a low clean cooking access rate, and struggles with numerous legislative, financial, and institutional challenges in its electricity sector. In addition, the provision of a sustainable and affordable energy source for key economic sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture is a major challenge in the country.

Renewable energy SMEs have the potential to effectively address the energy access and energy for productive use challenges. This includes companies developing solar home systems, off-grid systems, and mini-grids for rural electrification. In addition, companies that provide clean cooking solutions will contribute to healthier communities. Energy access is one of the biggest challenges hindering Sudan’s socioeconomic development. Sudan’s access to electricity stands at approximately 55%, comprising about 32% connected on-grid to the national distribution company, 14% connected to stand-alone diesel-based isolated grids and 8% to stand-alone solar PV systems with batteries. This means that about 20 million people are without access to electricity[2]. Access to clean cooking is also lagging with a 55% access rate in 2020[3]. Most rural households in Sudan lack modern cookstoves and hence rely on biomass such as firewood and charcoal for cooking and this has resulted in the overexploitation of biomass resources and most importantly in deteriorating indoor air quality. Smoke-related illnesses associated with cooking with wood fuel are prevalent among women in Sudan[4].

Improving access to modern and affordable energy is a development priority for Sudan as it will contribute positively to reducing carbon emissions and air pollution, increasing access to and quality of health services, improving resilience and productivity in agriculture, improving livelihoods in rural areas, and reducing pressure on public finances. The market is currently small, but the potential is high with connections to both household and productive use through primarily solar but also hydro and wind. Despite the lack of government support to the sector where traders are favoured over other companies, there is increasingly a shift from import and install to a broader provision of services that the Sudan SME Catalyser will be ideally placed to support. Family companies are aggressively moving into the sector to support the development of their agricultural enterprises where grid energy is weak or nonexistent, but a persuasive narrative would have to be developed for these enterprises to be interesting to the Fund given the lack of equity and limited income and employment potentials at the household level. There is limited penetration of the sector by the security services – although this may change as it scales – and the young age of the sector means that it has limited connections to the al Bashir regime. It will also provide an ideal opportunity to move the Fund toward the solar-rich periphery and out of Khartoum.

Information technology

Sudan has a relatively well-equipped telecommunications system by regional standards, a high level of mobile connections (76%), and nearly 14 million internet users, 35 million mobile phone users (of which 8.5m use smartphones) and 31% of the population has an internet connection. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is a key enabler for all industries and given the rapid global transition to digitization, new technologies such as AI and machine learning are becoming mainstream globally and are being applied in healthcare, energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and climate adaptation. Sudanese SMEs have a unique opportunity to capitalize on this global digital transformation and deliver innovative products for the market.

Digital financial services are increasingly being adopted, including online banking, mobile money and digital payments that will further increase access to markets for low-income consumers by reducing the last mile costs for SMEs. The government does not interfere in the sector which gives it autonomy to operate. Large telecoms companies dominate the technology space, with fintech companies and e-commerce emerging. Given the importance of access to data and personal information to the regime, it is not surprising that locally owned businesses are often influenced by them if not controlled outright.

There are challenges facing the sector. The lack of investment and the exclusion of Sudan from accessing foreign technology over the past decade has left the country behind in developing both technical capacity, consumer awareness of products and general digital literacy. In some cases, technology is still restricted by sanctions. The nascent state of the sector is reflected in gaps in the regulatory framework. The enabling environment is also poor, with high taxes based on revenue, not profit and limited and inequitable access to electricity.

There are good potential opportunities across the sector, but the emphasis for the Sudan SME Catalyser will be in the use of ICT in agriculture and energy and at the nexus of the two, as well as in the enabling environment linked to these sectors (such as mobile money). With numerous proven technologies available across sub-Saharan Africa, the Fund could act as an important de-risking mechanism to bring partners into Sudan but with a large potential market it will also be important to ensure that funding does not crowd out an emergent private sector. The scale of investment available through the Fund is likely to be too low to interest the larger and more politically exposed companies, but due diligence will ensure that these businesses and smaller subsidiaries are avoided in the selection process.

Key stakeholders

MFIs and banks – Although the main actors in the banking sector based in Khartoum are no longer functioning, others are operating with for example, Bank of Khartoum re-established in Port Sudan. The situation on financial transfers remains fluid and uncertain, with alternative financial structures being developed to facilitate bringing money into the country. Where possible, AECF will collaborate with a local banking partner to facilitate transactions and due diligence of grantees but will also engage with other structures as necessary.

Incubators and BDS providers – through this tender and others, AECF will engage with local BDS providers that retain capacity and operational presence in the country after the start of hostilities in April 2023. They will also provide hosting arrangements that will facilitate recruitment of AECF staff in Sudan, support delivery of some components of the programme, provide access to the SME marketplace, provide training and enable AECF to have a visible presence in the country without formally registering or without putting headquarters staff into the country. Given the shorter duration of the emergency financing window implementation of some tasks related to the competition and investment management will also be undertaken together with locally recruited partners.

National and regulatory authorities – AECF will operate at arm’s length from the national and regulatory authorities. The lack of diplomatic missions and general inaccessibility of Khartoum should limit the level of engagement needed with state structures.

Industry representative bodies – AECF will operate at arm’s length from industry representative bodies which are likely to be compromised by some form of engagement with the state and the current military regime. It is also important to maintain the perception of independence from formal governance structures in the country.

Diplomatic structures and donors – AECF will rely on key diplomatic missions when they begin to become available to both provide credentials to the institution in its operations in Sudan but also as a conduit for engaging with government on regulatory issues that may be affecting grantees. These organizations also represent technical implementing partners and could well be interested in also engaging in the fund with their own capital. Seeking to leverage the KfW financing with other donors is an important early priority for AECF.

1. Program Approach

AECF will deliver an integrated financing solution for enterprises and business models that have the potential to catalyse job creation and the provision of improved products and services to low-income households in Sudan. In this section, we outline the delivery model for this Challenge Fund including:

– Type and structure of investment finance offered.

– The competition approach and the process to select and on-board grantees.

– Technical assistance at pre-competition, pre-investment and post investment points.

– Performance management, including risk mitigation and inclusion.

Financing of SMES through the design of a context-specific Challenge Fund model for catalytic investment grants.

The AECF’s main delivery model, the Challenge Fund, identifies market failures within a given context and engages the private sector to provide market-based development opportunities for underserved communities. AECF will select and invest in Small and Growing Businesses that do not have privileged access to financing and will bring a high potential to provide innovative solutions aimed at addressing the challenges to the ongoing emergency, sector growth and contributing to improving lives through job creation, increased incomes and increased access to products and services. The emergency financing facility will last for an initial 18 months and will therefore utilize relatively small ticket sizes to allow for effective absorption.

Given the need to rapidly mobilise funding and minimize administrative demands, AECF will offer only non-repayable grants for this initial phase with an intention to establish the systems and structures to be able to offer repayable grants in future financing rounds. Repayable grants offer a greater level of flexibility and reduce the potential to distort markets but require a substantial additional operational infrastructure.

For this component of investment financing, which considers only the first phase of €12.5m, AECF will establish two Funding Windows which will operate through a single competition on a rolling basis as detailed below:

1. Emergency Working Capital Window (SBW): AECF proposes to use this Funding Window as an emergency financing initiative to support at least 60 small businesses with investment grants of between €50,000-€250,000 (average of €100,000) using a milestone-based funding approach. The objective of these grants will be to provide much needed capital to small businesses who have not been able to access formal sources of capital in the past and incentivize them to relocate, rebuild and scale-up operations to bring private sector benefits to their communities.
2. Growing Business Window (GBW): This Funding Window will target existing growing businesses that require larger sums of money for investment in new operational capital as well as working capital to scale or re-build existing enterprises with the potential for significant job creation or reshaping key sectors of the economy. The Growing Businesses Window will be a milestone-based financing and will offer at least ten grants ranging between €250,000-€750,000 (average of €400,000) based on the size of the businesses (revenues and employees), their ability to absorb funds, scale of proposed project and validated impact potential.

Below are the desired outputs for the programme (based on the projected initial contribution of €12.5m):

• At least 60 small businesses and 10 growing businesses funded to scale creating economic opportunities in the priority sectors of agriculture, renewable energy and information technologies.
• At least 100 applicants from cohort B will be provided with pre-competition assistance to help them construct quality proposals;
• At least 50 of the 60 small businesses will be provided with post contracting TA from programme staff, AECF Academy or other forms of advisory support available under the programme;
• All 10 growing businesses are supported with wholesale technical assistance as either a sequential or concurrent advisory support to the AECF Academy;

Surfacing innovative enterprises

The Sudan SME Catalyser will be open to SMEs from targeted areas across Sudan that are free of conflict at the time of the competition launch. This indicatively includes areas in the East of the country such as Kassala, el Gadarif and Port Sudan that have access, high potential for the target sectors (particularly agriculture) and availability of SMEs, BDS providers and other support structures. The initial competition process will inform AECF of levels of interest in different parts of the country. This will allow for both the concentration of investments in particular regions for efficient management and the direction of additional support to surface applications from areas that are underrepresented.

The Sudan SME Catalyser will follow the implementation procedures and processes outlined in AECF’s Operations Manual and associated institutional policies and processes. However, specific variations on the competition process to take into consideration the Sudanese context are as follows:

Pre-competition and market sensitization

AECF will need to balance the communication of the Catalyser to potential applicants with ensuring that it is not captured by the Sudanese authorities and represented as an effort of government. This will be achieved through a curated information campaign through business associations, incubators and donor partners active in the private sector space to reach their members. In person information dissemination at the regional level will bring together potential applicants to inform them of the support available. Although internet connectivity is limited in Sudan, online webinars will provide information for those unable to attend the events and there will be a dedicated part of the AECF website. All of these services will be provided in the Arabic language.

Open call for concept notes

The first competition in a new operating environment is always somewhat experimental in nature. Whilst the programme has been designed following research into the market, the competition process gives us the first real idea of the scale and quality of interest from the market. Using an open call for summary concepts enables us to attract wide interest whilst minimizing the amount of effort applicants have to make into completing the process. The application process is online, using AECF’s competition management software with submission in Arabic or English.

Screening and categorization

Concept notes are scored by three people to offer a balanced approach. The exercise will be undertaken by AECF’s Sudan team, complemented by external consultants as necessary. Individual concepts are ranked by score and a shortlisting process undertaken to identify those to invite to submit a full proposal. From those that meet a minimum quality score, applications are invited for two to three times the overall budget availability of the programme. The selection is validated in an internal investment review committee (IIRC) and all applicants are given feedback on their concepts.

Full proposal and pre-contracting technical assistance

Invited applicants submit full proposals using AECF’s online competition management software on its internet portal. Proposals will be submitted in Arabic or English to facilitate engagement with applicants and a first review undertaken by AECF’s Sudan team. This will categorise applications into three:

• Category A applications are considered good enough to move towards due diligence and preparation for submission to the investment committee. At this point applications are translated into English to facilitate due diligence engagement from AECF’s core team of programme management and technical specialists from Nairobi;
• Category B applications require additional support to enable them to become investment ready. AECF will provide direct advisory support to the applicants to improve the quality of their proposals, after which they will be eligible for re-submission. Depending on the number of proposals already identified under Category A and passing through the contracting process, Category B proposals can either be immediately placed in a competition or recycled into a following competition;
• Category C applications are either ineligible or highly undeveloped and will be rejected with generic summary comments to applicants.

1. Scope of Work

AECF invites applications from experienced implementing partners in Sudan to collaborate on providing program management services to the competition launch, selection process and effective management of implementation of the grant contracts. The designated AECF Program Lead will facilitate close communication and ensure smooth collaboration throughout the project.

Applicants are expected to be able to provide the following staff along with appropriate logistical support, offices etc:

• a Programme Lead, who will have delivery responsibility locally and who will create and manage operational teams to administrate the competition process, complete due diligence and propose businesses to the selection process. Post contracting, the role will ensure that individual investments are managed effectively, funds disbursed and reporting on performance implemented.
• At least four Portfolio Officers, who provide day to day relationship management with individual grantees and ensure that they are performing in compliance with funding agreements as well as supporting the due diligence and the competition process;
• Administrative and support staff, including administrative assistant who will facilitate the effective engagement of the rest of the AECF team
  1. Pre-Implementation Phase
• Provide translation services: English-Arabic for materials and events provided by the donor agreement.
• Develop a Marketing Plan with the purpose of attracting and informing the market, target businesses and key stakeholders of the program opportunity and activities.
• Develop and execute a Stakeholder Engagement Plan aimed at fostering collaboration and support from key players.
• Organize and execute a Program launch event. The launch date of the event should not be later than 20th February 2024. Depending on security and ability to travel, this may be converted to an online event.
• Identify potential funding recipients: Screen all applications received and develop investment memos as necessary to achieve the target number of investees or funda available – this is indicatively expected to be 85 small businesses and 15 growing businesses.
• Customize and if necessary, translate standard AECF competition documents under the leadership of the AECF Program Manager in Sudan. This will include Eligibility Criteria, Scoring Matrix, Concept Note, Business Plan template etc.
• Marketing & Communications needs for this phase include:

1. Design services.
2. Printing collateral (e.g. banners).
3. Media briefing/media engagements e.g. radio, TV, spots, and print.
4. Business report/article writing.
5. Photography & videography.
6. Livestreaming of events/workshops/training.
   • Advise AECF on the current practical implementation of Sudanese legal aspects including:
7. Establish required regulatory approvals e.g no objection prior to program marketing & launch.
8. Advice AECF of any compliance requirements (Tax, employment, etc)
9. Establish MOUs with key stakeholders where required.
10. Provide guidance on ESG practices, laws and regulations.
11. Support in the implementation of engagement with banks or other financial intermediaries that have been established for the purposes of transferring money into Sudan.
    1. Competition Management

• Translation services: English-Arabic for materials and events provided by the donor agreement.
• Livestreaming of events/workshops/trainings.
• Evaluate applications: Review and score concept notes & business plans. The evaluation will be in cohorts, ongoing for 4 months.
• Guide & empower investees: Assist with development of business plans and financial models.
• Conduct thorough due diligence: Ensure financial viability and risk mitigation.
• Prepare investment proposals: Prepare Investment Memoranda that will be submitted to the AECF review committees for approval.

1. Portfolio Monitoring and Management

• Track project progress: Monitor implementation throughout each project’s lifecycle.
• Facilitate investee reporting: Support timely and accurate data submission.
• Manage funding disbursements: Prepare and process disbursement requests for approval by AECF management in Nairobi.
• Draft program reports in accordance with donor guidelines for onward review and submission by AECF.
• Business reports.
• Translation services: English-Arabic for materials and events provided by the donor agreement.
• Livestreaming of events/workshops/trainings where required.

1. M&E

• Implement AECF’s standard results reporting methodology to monitor how the investments are impacting on beneficiaries in Sudan.
• Contribute to periodic evaluation and lesson learning engagements.

1. Duration of the Contract

The service will last 18 months, with the possibility of cost-based extension.

1. Qualifications and Experience
   • A legally registered entity in Sudan with a minimum of 5 years of experience in the provision of business advisory services to SMEs
   • Able to show that they can recruit and deploy a range of administrative and technical competencies, including financial due diligence, business advisory services, communications & marketing, legal, ESG/Gender/Impact and agricultural, renewable energy and information technology advisors.
   • Able to operate in the target regions of Sudan.
   • At least 5 years of experience in working with donor funded economic development, agriculture/rural development programmes funded by donors.
   • Comprehensive understanding of the local political and operating environment, including appreciation of practical and pragmatic operational processes in the current unstable conditions
   • Flexible and able to react quickly to a rapidly changing environment.
   • The team leader should have at least 10 years’ experience in advising SMEs on business development, administration, financial systems etc, including managing teams of experts. They should have at least a first degree.
   • Portfolio officers should have at least 3 years’ experience providing financial and administrative support to SMEs and should have a degree in accounting, finance, economics, business or similar.
2. Evaluation Criteria

The consultant(s) or firm will be evaluated based on the below preferential point system scoring. An evaluation committee will be formed by the AECF and shall include employees. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The bidders should ensure that they fully respond to all criteria to be comprehensively evaluated. The AECF may request and receive clarification from the bidding firms when evaluating a proposal.

In deciding the final selection of qualified bidder, the technical quality of the proposal will be given a weighting of 70% based on the evaluation criteria. Only the financial proposal of those bidders who qualify technically will be opened. The financial proposal will be allocated a weighting of 30% and the proposals will be ranked in terms of total points scored.

NO

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT

SCORE

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

70

An understanding of the TOR

Demonstrate understanding of the service

5

Demonstrate understanding of the current operating environment and challenges

5

Experience

Demonstrate understanding of the local SME ecosystem, challenges faced and mechanisms for addressing them

10

Demonstrate relevant experience of providing similar services to donor partners (minimum 5 years)

10

Demonstrate the ability to recruit a range of technical competence to support implementation

10

Methodology and work-plan that will deliver the best value on the assignment

Outline a methodology that illustrates how services will be provided in an effective and efficient manner

10

Qualification

Qualification and experience of the team that is executing the assignment

20

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

30

Clarity, relevance, reality to market value/ value for money of cost of services

30

1. Proposal submission
   • Registration and other relevant statutory documents with the Sudan government.

Interested and qualified institutions and individuals are invited t

How to apply

o submit their proposal(s) including of the following:

• The financial proposal clearly showing the budget cost for the scope of work (to be submitted in a separate document from the technical proposal
• The Financial proposals shall be in USD and should include all applicable taxes quoted separately.
• If taxes are not mentioned in the financial proposal, The AECF shall consider that they are included in the prices provided.
• Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. Financial proposals will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and then only for those proposals that are deemed qualified and responsive.

1. Application
   • Interested consultancy firms and individuals are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals to [email protected].

The AECF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The AECF considers all interested candidates based on merit without regard to race, gender, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

• The Subject of the email should read ‘’Terms of Reference Program Implementation Services – Sudan” The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals that are submitted with a different subject. Proposals should be submitted by Friday 12th January. Questions and clarifications should be submitted at any time up to 5th January.
• All Questions and clarifications should be sent to [email protected].

1. Disclaimer

AECF reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of short-listed 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 tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. In case you do not hear from us in a month, please consider your application unsuccessful.

For more information, please visit our website as per the link below.

Request for Proposal: Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Sudan Catalyzer Program implementing partner – December 2023 – AECF (aecfafrica.org)

[1] https://www.gemconsortium.org/file/open?fileId=50413, http://www.soukiespeaks.com/innovation-and-entrepreneurship-community-home-to-sudans-budding-startup-ecosystem/

[2] World Bank Group. 2022. “Request for expression of Interest for the National-Scale Household Energy Survey in Sudan”. World Bank. Washington, DC. Available here

[3] IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO. 2022. “Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report”. World Bank, Washington DC. © World Bank. Available here

[4] UNDP (Sudan). 2020. “Empowering Sudan: Renewable Energy Addressing Poverty and Development”. UNDP. Khartoum, Sudan. Available here