1. Background

The AECF, LLC (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) is a leading non-profit development organization that supports innovative enterprises in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors with the aim of reducing rural poverty, promoting climate 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 510 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 33million lives and created over 35,000 direct jobs. The AECF is headquartered in Kenya and has offices in Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Sudan, Benin, and Somalia.

1. About the Prossev-BF project

The project “Promotion of Solar Solutions to Stimulate Green Employment in Burkina Faso (PROSSEV-BF)” is a 1.7 million Euro initiative, funded by the Luxembourg Cooperation through LuxDev under its BKF-023 program, which provides a combination of grants and technical assistance to private companies with the ambition to green their production facilities. The project started in May 2024 and will be implemented over 17 months in Burkina Faso. The initiative mainly focuses on two regions, the Centre region and the Hauts-Bassins region.

PROSSEV-BF aims, through the greening of the local industrial and productive fabric, to promote solar solutions for productive use, and ultimately to create green jobs in the productive sectors. This project is part of the Lux-Development program aimed at supporting private sector initiatives in the energy transition of key sectors of the national economy towards a greener and more inclusive economy.

The project supports private companies (SMEs-SMIs) whose ambition is to promote captive solar installations and equipment within their business; and who also demonstrate that greening their production units can lead to job creation for local populations. The companies targeted by this initiative are those operating in sectors such as waste recovery, sawmills, non-timber forest product value chains (Shea, Moringa, Tamarind, etc.), livestock farming, breeding and fish processing**,** etc. Beneficiaries should demonstrate their co-financing capacity.

The implementation of the project involves the launch and management of two separate competitions aimed respectively at solar system installation companies and at SMEs benefiting from the grant. The main actors of the project, which are the solar system installation companies and the final beneficiaries (SMEs), were selected through a competitive process. The competition resulted in the award of an investment grant to these beneficiary companies to facilitate their acquisition and installation of solar equipment. After nearly a year of implementation, the AECF is looking for a consulting firm or a company that will effectively conduct a mid-term study, initially, as well as the final evaluation of the program.

1. LOT 1: MID-TERM IMPACT STUDY

   1. Purpose of the impact study

The purpose of the PROSSEV mid-term study is to contribute to the management of impact evaluation process to support the production of independent, credible evidence that meets high professional standards in line with international norms and standards. The consultant should conduct a focused impact analysis on the selected investees and propose any corrective management actions or recommendations for the remaining period of implementation to achieve the project objectives.

1. Scope of work

The scope of work for consultancy will include, but may not be limited to:

• Review all relevant sources of information, such as the program documentation (Contracts, logical framework, impact data and indicators, progress reports, etc.), internal evaluation report and any other materials that the duty holder considers useful for this impact study.
• Carry out site visits to installers and final beneficiary companies spread across the 2 regions of the program in order to collect relevant impact data resulting from the implementation of the program by the companies.
• Propose an assessment methodology to assess the indirect jobs created, the households reached and any relevant development metrics.
• Provide job creation baseline and thresholds impact metrics for each value chain: the potential for job creation in the different value chains, the expected increase of productivity due to energy consumption and the impact of the grant on the business economic growth, and social impact are possible outputs.
• Develop an impact outcome map for each investee including the following impact data categories:
• Description of the impact: level of outcome experienced by the stakeholder, outcome threshold (acceptable range), importance of the outcome to the stakeholder and the specific SDG target the outcome relates to.
• Description of the stakeholder: geographic boundaries, outcome level at baseline and stakeholder characteristics.
• Quantify the outcomes of the project in terms of scale, depth and duration.
• Provide information for the evaluation of the project contribution: depth and duration counterfactuals to enable the project team to know what impacts would have happened and/or lasted anyway without the intervention.
• Deepen the project risk analysis by identifying the types of risks that may undermine the expected impact and assess their likelihood and severity.
• Provide the project team with peers and benchmarking impact metrics and facilitate the final reporting to the donor and the final evaluation of the project.
• Present the impact of the project on different types of jobs categories (direct, indirect, temporary, consolidated jobs for example).
• Conduct a meeting with the project partners to validate the study findings and recommendations.

  1. Deliverables and Timeline

The following deliverables are expected:

• Inception report: This report will outline the impact assessment approach, including tools to be deployed and stakeholder engagement processes, preliminary data analysis from desk research and a work plan for the assignment.
• Draft Impact Assessment report: A draft report will be submitted to AECF by the firm/organization. This report will include preliminary findings, especially an Excel file providing the outcomes map data (the impact data are provided per investee and per value chain on two different sheets) and the different assessment methodologies mentioned in the scope of work. In the draft narrative report, the impact should only be presented by value chain.
  • There will be a presentation on the draft report at the AECF within one week of the draft report submission.
• Final report: The final report will be submitted at the end of the impact assessment study and will incorporate the comments given by the AECF on the draft report. The final report will reflect the comments and feedback provided during the presentation.
• Dataset: The firm will also include a set data of collection tools i.e. survey questionnaire, checklist and interview protocol. This final dataset of the study will be submitted to AECF.
• Presentation workshop: The firm will finally make a presentation to the AECF project team reviewing the main conclusions and recommendations of the impact study.

Note: The timeline for submitting each deliverable will be firmed up during the inception phase and the consulting firm should provide deliverables in French and English.

1. Duty station and duration of service

The mission will take place in the two regions of Hauts-Bassins, with Bobo Dioulasso as the main city, and the Centre region, with Ouagadougou as the main city. The consultant will therefore be required to travel between these two regions to collect information relating to the beneficiary companies operating there.

The evaluation will be conducted in April and May 2025 for an estimated 30 working days. The final deliverables of this assignment must be submitted no later than May 30th, 2025.

1. LOT 2: FINAL EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM

   1. Purpose of the final evaluation

PROSSEV-BF is being implemented in 2 regions of Burkina Faso over 17 months (May 2024 – September 2025). This end of project evaluation focuses on the entire implementation period. So, it is imperative to undertake an evaluation to what extent the project has achieved its objectives at the end of the project period. The evaluation will capture effectively lessons learnt and provide information on the nature, extent and where possible, the potential impact and sustainability of results beyond project completion. The evaluation will assess the project design, scope, implementation status and the capacity to achieve the project objectives. It will collate and analyze lessons learnt, challenges faced and best practices obtained during implementation which will provide recommendations for future initiatives.

The emphasis on learning lessons speaks to the issue of understanding what has and what has not worked as a guide for future planning. It will assess the performance of the project against planned results. The evaluation will assess the preliminary indications of potential impact and sustainability of results including the contribution to capacity development and achievement of sustainable development goals. The results of the evaluation will draw lessons that will inform the key stakeholders of this evaluation who are the donor LUXDEV and AECF.

1. Methodology

The consultant is requested to propose a methodological approach that aligns with good evaluation practice including qualitative and quantitative methods. The evaluation should include both desk and field phases and will require primary data collection at the beneficiary level in Burkina Faso. The evaluator could use the following methods:

• Desk review of project documents, reports, and legal frameworks.
• Key informant interviews (in-person) with project managers, employers, workers, and implementing partners. The evaluator should plan a trip to the two regions (Region des hauts-Bassins and region du Centre) to conduct in-person interviews.
• Focus group discussions with target groups/beneficiaries.
• Other relevant sources of information, as deemed necessary by the evaluator.

The consultancy should adopt an evaluation methodology coherent with the participatory approach of the project. The consultant/s is expected to conduct a participatory evaluation providing for meaningful involvement by the project partner, its beneficiaries and other interested parties. Stakeholder participation is to be an integral component of the evaluation design and planning, data gathering, drafting of findings, evaluation reporting and results dissemination. Whilst AECF and its partners will be able to facilitate the evaluation, the applicants should be able to engage independently in all aspects of field research.

1. Scope of work

The scope of work for consultancy will include, but may not be limited to:

• Review all relevant sources of information, such as the program documentation (Contracts, logical framework, impact data and indicators, progress reports, etc.), internal evaluation report and any other materials that the evaluator considers useful for this evidence-based assessment.
• Carry out site visits to installers and final beneficiary companies spread across the 2 regions of the program in order to collect financial and social information and data (creation and/or consolidation of jobs) resulting from the implementation of the program by the companies.
• Develop an evaluation matrix with evaluation criteria, the related evaluation questions, the data sources required to answer the questions, the data collection, and data analysis methods. The evaluation can be based on the five criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.
• Relevance: Appropriateness of the project strategy to the actual needs and priorities of the target groups/beneficiaries taking into account the circumstances.
• Efficiency: Measures the outputs – qualitative and quantitative – in relation to the inputs.
• Effectiveness: Contribution of the project results to the achievement of the project objectives.
• Impact: The positive and negative changes produced by the project, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended. Main effects resulting from the project on the local social, economic, environmental and other development indicators.
• Sustainability: Analyze to what extent the effects and results of the project are likely to last beyond its implementation period. Collect lessons learned and good practices and express recommendations for the partners and stakeholders.
• Prepare an evaluation report providing descriptive overviews, laying out the facts and lessons learned, providing conclusions and recommendations, and finalizing the report upon the feedback from the project team.
• Conduct a meeting with the project partners to validate the evaluation findings and recommendations.

1. Deliverables and Timeline

The following deliverables are expected:

• Inception report (1 week after contract signing): This report will outline the evaluation approach, including tools to be deployed and stakeholder engagement processes, preliminary data analysis from desk research and a work plan for the assignment.
• Draft Evaluation report (3 weeks after inception): A draft report will be submitted to AECF by the firm/organization within 4 weeks of signing the contract. This report will include preliminary findings, observations, lessons learned and conclusions as well as a list of recommendations. There will be a presentation on the draft report at the AECF within one week of the draft report submission.
• Final report (2 weeks after Draft report submission): The final report will be submitted at the end of the evaluation and will incorporate the comments given by the AECF on the draft report. The final report will reflect the comments and feedback from stakeholders, including feedback provided during the presentation. The content and the structure of the final analytical report with findings, recommendations and lessons learnt covering the scope of the evaluation should meet the requirements of the AECF Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.
• Dataset (At the same time as the final report submission): The firm will also include a set data of collection tools i.e. survey questionnaire, checklist and interview protocol. This final dataset of the study will be submitted to AECF.
• Stakeholder workshop presentation deck (At the same time as the final report submission): The firm will finally make a presentation to the project partners including the donor, reviewing the main conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation.

Note: The timeline will be firmed up during the inception phase and the consulting firm should provide deliverables in French and English.

1. Duty station and duration of service

The mission will take place in the two regions of Hauts-Bassins, with Bobo Dioulasso as the main city, and the Centre region, with Ouagadougou as the main city. The consultant will therefore be required to travel between these two regions to collect information relating to the beneficiary companies operating there.

The evaluation will be conducted in August and September 2025 for an estimated 30 working days. The final deliverable of this assignment must be submitted no later than September 12th, 2025.

1. Reporting

The consulting firm will be accountable to the project manager of PROSSEV-BF or to the Technical advisor in case of unavailability of the project manager.

1. Required expertise and qualification

The selected consultant firm should meet or exceed the following minimum qualifications:

• Hold a higher education degree such as a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in any relevant field and providing the knowledge to carry out this mission.
• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in conducting different types of project studies/ survey, market assessments, final evaluation and impact assessment.
• Experience of performing final evaluation / end-line survey under various donor-funded projects and programme design in the development sector.
• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in French. Fluency in spoken English will be and added advantage.
• Have a working knowledge of major agricultural value chains as well as an understanding of how private companies (SMEs-SMIs) operate in Burkina Faso.
• A good understanding of the renewable energy and PUE industry and agricultural SMEs in Burkina Faso will be an added value.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver on time.
• Consultants residing in Burkina Faso or able to work there for a long period are preferred.

1. Proposal submission

Interested consulting firms and companies are invited to submit their proposal(s) including the following elements:

• A technical proposal detailing your methodology and approach to evaluation of the project
• Updated CV(s) of the evaluator(s) highlighting relevant experience (Past experience from similar projects),
• Detailed references of previous evaluation works performed indicating the scope and magnitude of the assignment as well as a letter of expression of interest and availability. It will also be necessary to add the work plan and at least 2 to 3 letters of reference or good execution issued by a client on a similar assignment.
• The registration documents and other relevant statutory documents are required for the firms applying.
• A financial proposal that clearly indicates the professional fees of the consultant(s) hired (daily rate and total amount invoiced in EUR). In case of a team, distribution of days and role and responsibility, along with daily fee of each member should be provided. The financial proposal must also include a specification of reimbursable expenses (travel, communication, etc.).

NOTE: THE TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL OFFERS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN THE FORM OF TWO (2) SEPARATE DOCUMENTS. THE AMOUNTS IN THE FINANCIAL PROPOSAL MUST BE DENOMINATED IN EURO.

1. EVALUATION CRITERIA

MANADATORY EVALUATION CRITERIA.

1. Mandatory Requirements: –
2. Company profile.
3. Trading license or Certificate of incorporation or Certificate of Registration and other statutory documents.
4. Valid Tax Compliance certificate (Applicable to firms).
5. Passport/National Identification of the lead consultant and key personnel (Applicable to independent consultants)
6. An evaluation committee will be formed by the AECF and may include employees of the businesses to be supported. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The consultant should ensure that they fully respond to all criteria to be comprehensively evaluated.

The AECF may request and receive clarification from any consultant when evaluating a proposal. The evaluation committee may invite some or all the consultants to appear before the committee to clarify their proposals. In such event, the evaluation committee may consider such clarifications in evaluating proposals.

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.

The mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are identified in the table below.

Evaluation Criteria

Weighted score

A. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

1. Understanding of the Terms of Reference

10

Demonstrate understanding of the assignment and expected outcomes.

5

Description of the service to be provided

5

2. Methodology and Workplan

25

Relevance of the methodology proposed to the needs of the assignment.

15

Adequacy of the work plan, including key deliverables and capacity to deliver within a realistic timeline based on the consultancy days set.

10

3. Qualification and technical experience

35

Relevant qualification and years of experience of the proposed team; and demonstrated Team Leader’s expertise in one of the technical areas as well as expertise and demonstrated experience in conducting impact studies and designing evaluation methodology and data collection tools.

15

Experience in evaluating donor-funded programmes of a similar nature and scope; including reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments especially in the Renewable energy sector in the Sub-Saharan Africa.

20

B. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL: Clarity, relevance, reality to market of value/ value for money of cost for the assignment (inclusive of any applicable tax).

30

Total score

100

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.

Request For Proposal:Terms Of Reference for Consultancy Services to Conduct A Mid-Term Study and End Project Evaluation for the Prossev-Bf Project in Burkina Faso – April 2025 – AECF

Note: AECF does not charge an application fee to participate in the tender process and has not appointed agents or intermediaries to facilitate applications. Applicants are advised to contact the AECF Procurement Department directly.

How to Apply:

Application details

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.

• Interested consultancies are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 22nd April 2025, 5pm EAT
• All questions should be directed to the procurement email by 14th April 2025, 5pm EAT.
• The subject of the email should *be ‘**TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CONDUCT A MID-TERM STUDY AND END PROJECT EVALUATION FOR THE PROSSEV-BF PROJECT IN BURKINA FASO”.***The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals that are submitted with a different subject or responding to questions that did not meet the deadline as indicated.

Request For Proposal:Terms Of Reference for Consultancy Services to Conduct A Mid-Term Study and End Project Evaluation for the Prossev-Bf Project in Burkina Faso – April 2025 – AECF