Heifer is hiring a
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
RFP Release Date:
January 10th 2024
Question/ Inquiry Submission Deadline:
January 19th 2024
Proposal Submission Deadline:
January 29th 2024
Performance Period:
February 26th – May 31st 2024
Electronic submission to the attention of:
Procurement-ng@heifer.org
Contact information for inquiries about this RFP:
Love.Koshi@heifer.org
Terms of Reference
This document is being issued to solicit applications from either an individual consultant or a consulting firm with key technical staff who have substantial experience in the implementation of youth development programs. More specifically, the consultant or lead consultant should have a proven track record in the implementation of innovative youth-focused tech programs. The bidder is free to seek any clarification on the expected deliverables prior to the preparation and submission of the proposal. While Heifer understands that completing this assignment will require the experience of an individual or a single firm with all the requisite expertise, the successful candidate can sub-contract components of the assignment to appropriate qualified firms. However, Heifer Nigeria should be duly informed of the plan from the onset, and this should be clearly stated in the bid as appropriate. It should also be noted that Heifer will make payments to each of the contractors based on submission and Heifer’s approval of deliverables. The award agreement will include a payment schedule with specific deliverables; all payments require 15 business days for processing after approval of deliverables.
II. Background
About Heifer International
Heifer International is a global non-profit organization on a mission to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Since 1944, Heifer International through its work in 21 countries (in Africa, Asia, and the Americas) has supported more than 39 million people around the world to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way, and millions more now on a pathway to living incomes. Working with rural communities across Africa for 48 years, Heifer International supports farmers and local food producers to strengthen local economies and build secure livelihoods that provide a living income. Heifer’s foundation was built on the belief that ending hunger begins with giving people the means to feed themselves, generate income and achieve sustainable livelihoods for their households. Heifer’s global vision for 2020 - 2030 is to close the living income gap for additional 10 million families. This vision is a focused approach for the African continent to support at least 6 million smallholder farmers in Africa reach sustainable living income. As a part of this commitment, Heifer has expanded its presence in Africa to include Nigeria, with a goal of supporting at least two million households to achieve sustainable living income, through (a) strategic private and public sector partnerships, (b) unlocking demand and market opportunities, (c) investing in priority value chains, and (d) leveraging innovation and emerging agricultural technologies to reach transformational scale. More information about Heifer is available at: www.heifer.org
Heifer Nigeria Country Program
Heifer International established its Nigeria Country Program in 2021, and its Signature Program for Nigeria, named “Naija Unlock”, was designed and launched. Naija Unlock program’s aim is to support the unlocking of the potential in Nigeria’s agricultural sector to achieve food self-sufficiency by working with smallholder farmers and local value chain actors to increase their productivity to meet local demand for food and raw material while closing the living income gap for families in the rice, tomato, and poultry value chains, with plans to add cattle, and small ruminant value chains. Naija Unlock is an evidence-based Signature Program designed to close the living income gap of smallholder farmers at scale with permanence of impact. The goal is to assist more than one million households to achieve sustainable living income by 2025, and scale to two million households by 2030, through strategic private and public sector partnerships to (a) build the social capital of smallholder farmers, (b) unlock farmers’ access to innovative financing, (c) unlock demand and market opportunities, (d) increase farmers access to mechanization and emerging agricultural innovations, and (e) increase farmers knowledge and adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. Naija Unlock program activities are being implemented currently in five (5) states in Nigeria (Ogun, Edo, Nasarawa, Benue, and Lagos States) with plans to scale to other states with the potential to make an impact at a transformational scale.
AYuTe (Agriculture Youth and Technology) Africa Challenge Nigeria
There is a transformation going on in the agricultural sector in Africa, Nigeria inclusive. Youth and Technology have been at the heart of these transformations, causing a radical change in the sector. Heifer’s recent survey on The Future of Africa’s Agriculture; An Assessment of the Role of Youth and Technology reveals that youth-led agricultural technology innovations are emerging, capable of transforming the productivity and competitiveness of agriculture in Nigeria. However, poor access to finance and technical assistance is one of the major constraints making it difficult to get them to the scale that would bring about these transformational impacts.
The AYuTe (Agriculture Youth and Technology) Africa Challenge serves as a springboard for identifying outstanding young agritech innovators in various Heifer countries, as well as assisting in the formation of strong partnerships. As a result, the competition will increase visibility for growth and improve smallholder farmers' productivity.
Through a regional competition, Heifer International awards up to US$1.5 million each year to leading agritech innovators across Africa. National competitions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda also award up to $20,000 in each country.
Like the Regional Champions competition, the AYuTe National Champions competition offers prize money and mentorship, helping translate the energy and ideas of young Nigerian agritech innovators into meaningful impact for smallholder farmers across the country, and supporting winners to grow their businesses and profile.
The AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria is an opportunity to identify young, creative entrepreneurs who have launched promising new tech solutions to transform African agriculture for smallholder farmers.
Following the successful execution of the 2022 and 2023 editions of AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria, Heifer Nigeria seeks the services of a consultant to design and implement the 2024 edition of AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria.
Strategic Counsel and Coordination
Media Strategy and Coverage to Raise Awareness
Op-Ed
Social Media/Digital
Stakeholder Engagement/Events
Post-Competition Report
Duration: The implementation period for the AYuTe Africa Nigeria Challenge 2024 is from February 2024 to May 2024
Expected Roles of Heifer Nigeria
Heifer Nigeria is looking for either an individual consultant or a consulting firm with key technical staff who have substantial experience in the implementation of youth development programs. More specifically, the consultant or lead consultant should have a proven track record in the implementation of innovative youth-focused tech programs. The consultant should have expertise in analytical skills and report writing skills in English.
(a) Academic Qualifications
(b) Experience
Individual or Consulting Firm Submission Requirements: All interested individuals or firms will submit their organization’s profile with the following information:
Technical Proposal (not to exceed 10 pages)
General information (not to exceed 2 pages)
Technical Approach (not exceeding 8 pages)
Financial Proposal (in Naira)
Annexes
Interested individuals or firms legally eligible to implement this assignment in the Nigeria are requested to submit a proposal. Please include the name of the person in your organization who will be involved in negotiating the contract as well as your telephone and email contact information. Submissions must be in English and typed single-spaced using Times New Roman font size 12, with a complete set of appendices/attachments as applicable. All pages must be numbered and include the SOW reference number in the cover page, and name of the organization at the bottom of each page.
The successful consulting firm will be required to produce the following documents before entering into Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA) with Heifer:
The technical and financial proposals should be submitted by 29th January 2024 through Procurement-ng@heifer.org copying Love.Koshi@heifer.org Please quote “AYUTE AFRICA CHALLENGE NIGERIA FY24” in the subject line
Heifer retains the right to terminate this RFP or modify the requirements upon notification to the Offerors.
Submitted proposals must clearly demonstrate alignment with the scope of work outlined above and with the appropriate level of detail. Heifer’s goal is to ultimately sign on with the Offeror whose proposal best follows the instructions in this RFP, includes the strong evaluation team, and is most cost-effective. Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Proposal evaluation focus
Percentage
Accuracy and relevance of the proposed technical approach and methodology
20%
Completeness of proposal according to the RFP (general information, activity plan, budget, team expertise, etc.)
20%
Proposed team: expertise and competencies to address project components
20%
Relevance and capability/skill to implement/manage the assignment
20%
Budget justification and costs realism
20%
The selection committee will evaluate the technical proposal based upon the criteria listed above and they will evaluate the financial proposal based on cost reasonableness and cost-effectiveness in the budget.
Proposals submitted shall remain open for acceptance for 14 days from the last date specified for receipt of the proposal. This includes but is not limited to, pricing, terms and conditions, service levels, and all other information. If your organization is selected, all information in this document and the negotiation process are contractually binding.
No.
Activity
Due date
1.
Proposal reception
January 29th 2024
2.
Selection Committee review
February 8th 2024
3.
Notification of award
February 15th 2024
4.
Award agreement negotiation
February 21st 2024
5.
Signing award
February 23rd 2024
Heifer will issue a fixed award agreement based on the submission and Heifer’s acceptance of deliverables. Once an award is issued, it will include the payment schedule with the deliverables specified above.
This Request for Proposal does not represent a commitment to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this RFP, or to procure or contract for services or supplies. Heifer reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted and reserves the right to accept or reject in its entirety and absolute discretion any proposal received in response to the RFP.
a. Ownership Generally.
Any intellectual property (including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, service marks, and patents), intellectual property rights, deliverables, manuals, works, ideas, discoveries, inventions, products, writings, photographs, videos, drawings, lists, data, strategies, materials, processes, procedures, systems, programs, devices, operations, or information developed in whole or in part by or on behalf of Contractor or its employees or agents in connection with the Services and/or Goods (collectively, the “Work Product”) shall be the exclusive property of Heifer International. Upon request, the Contractor shall sign all documents and take any and all actions necessary to confirm or perfect Heifer’s exclusive ownership of the Work Product.
b. Prior-Owned Intellectual Property.
Any intellectual property owned by a Party prior to the Effective Date (“Prior-Owned IP”) shall remain that Party’s sole and exclusive property. Regarding any of Contractor’s Prior-Owned IP included in the Work Product, the Contractor shall retain ownership, and hereby grants Heifer a permanent, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable right and license to use, copy, reproduce, publicly display, edit, revise, perform, and distribute said intellectual property, in any format or any medium, as part of the Work Product.