Notice For the Design, Manufacture, And Supply of Adapted Toilet Seats for Universal Access tender at Water For People

1. INTRODUCTION

Water For People is an international non-profit organization that aims to improve access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene education. Water For People works locally, nationally, and globally to influence governments’ water and sanitation policies to serve the interests of the needy. The water For People program in Rwanda began in 2008, with an overall objective to help all communities, schools, and healthcare facilities gain access to sustainable water, sanitation services, and hygiene behavior change in Rulindo, Kicukiro, Gicumbi, and Karongi Districts of Rwanda.

Water For People has secured funds from the United States Government through the Department of State to finance the Isoko y’Ubuzima Project, which is a five-year Rwanda Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activity. The activity is being executed by a consortium led by Water For People and includes IRC, CARE International, VEI, and a local partner, African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE) in Rwanda. The project operates in 10 districts: Rwamagana, Kayonza, Ngoma, Kirehe, Nyagatare, Ruhango, Nyanza, Nyamagabe, Ngororero, and Nyabihu.

The overall goal of the Isoko y’Ubuzima project is to improve access to and utilization of safe, sustainable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services. This will be achieved through three interrelated and mutually reinforcing strategic objectives (SO):

SO1. Improving Decentralized WASH Governance

SO2. Improving Rural Drinking Water Services

SO3. Improving Rural Sanitation and Handwashing Services and Products. 

2. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

In sanitation, the Isoko y’Ubuzima project acts as a market facilitator to help Rwandans gain access to affordable sanitation and hygiene products and services with a focus on private sector-driven sanitation and hygiene interventions.

Isoko y’Ubuzima will help an estimated 100,000 people gain access to improved household sanitation. To reach these targets, Isoko y’Ubuzima uses a Social behavior change and market-based sanitation strategy focusing on creating demand for sanitation and hygiene products and services, improving the supply and availability of sanitation products and services in the private sector, and influencing access to finance for sanitation businesses and households.

Since the start of its implementation, the Isoko y’Ubuzima Project has facilitated more than 89,000 People gaining access to basic sanitation in 10 districts through various self-financing mechanisms, including village saving groups and microloans. However, we also learned that the toilet prototypes that are being constructed do not accommodate all social, economic, and physiological aspects, including limited mobility.

The common mistake in implementing a market-based sanitation approach is to relate low technology adoption to the financial and behavioral barriers, and technology development, which is also a major barrier to sanitation access.

It is against the above background that Water For People, under the Isoko y’Ubuzima project, seeks an experienced company to design, manufacture, and supply 300 adapted toilet seats designed for a wide range of user needs. These seats will serve as model products to support sales and market penetration in rural areas. The company will supply them to 10 districts of the Isoko y’Ubuzima project.

3. OBJECTIVE

This activity aims to design and manufacture 300 sanitary toilet seats tailored to user needs and ease of use, to be integrated into the sanitation market by stimulating the sanitation supply chain actors to include the fabricated tools in their selling list of products. This activity is not a one-off business type; rather, it is a starting point to introduce the technology in the community and build a sanitation market.

4. PROTOTYPE DESIGN

The toilet seat prototype must fulfill the following key criteria:

Toilet Seat Design:

• Must cater to a range of user needs while also meeting hygienic and safety requirements for household toilets. It is made of either wood, metal, fiberglass, or any other locally acceptable material. The sizing must be adapted according to the existing toilet norms and standards (the sitting bowl should be in the range of the normal ceramic bowls available on market, not less than 26 cm in length 22 cm in width, and 40cm in height) to allow the user to sit comfortably, with a supportive backrest and preferably with sturdy handrails.

• The bidder is required to demonstrate /provide at least a sample with three different sizes (Large, Medium, and Small, considering all relevant dimensions, including height, width, and length, to maximize the beneficiaries' preferences).

• Water For People, through the Isoko y’Ubuzima project, may propose design upgrades or modifications to the provided samples where applicable to better meet user needs. The final product model will be agreed upon before proceeding with bulk production and supply.

• Considerations during production

• Use durable, non-toxic, non-corrosive, and easy-to-clean materials.
• Ensure adherence to relevant safety, hygiene, and quality standards.
• Affordability and local availability of raw materials

5. TENDER REQUIREMENTS

• Administrative requirements

The company must provide the following administrative documents

• A copy of the Trade License/Certificate of company registration provided by RDB.
• VAT registration certificate
• Valid Certificate of tax clearance by Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA),
• RSSB clearance certificate (when applicable)

• Technical proposal

The bidder must demonstrate proven experience in the manufacturing, production, or sale of sanitation products, with particular emphasis on universally accessible toilet seats. This should be supported by submitting product designs, descriptions of materials used, and the most recent estimated unit prices intended for local end-user distribution. In addition, the bidder is required to provide physical samples of products featuring different sizes or types (Large, Medium, and Small). All samples must be delivered to Water For People’s office within ten (10) days following the deadline for submission of the technical and financial proposals.

The bidder will indicate the minimum time it will take to design, manufacture, and supply the 300 adapted toilet seats. A bidder who can design and manufacture, and supply the products within a short timeframe, ideally 30 days, would be an added advantage.

• Financial proposal

The financial proposal should provide a detailed breakdown, including the unit cost per adapted toilet seat and the total cost for the design and production of 300 units, covering three different sizes or types. It should also specify the transport cost for delivering the 300 units to ten district offices, namely: Rwamagana, Kayonza, Ngoma, Kirehe, Nyagatare, Ruhango, Nyanza, Nyamagabe, Ngororero, and Nyabihu. Finally, the proposal must indicate the total cost for the entire assignment, which should be inclusive of all applicable taxes and quoted in Rwandan Francs (RWF).

Notes:

• Please do not include any financial/price information in the technical proposal; the inclusion of any price information in the technical proposal shall lead to bidding rejection.
• Both technical and financial proposals must be in separate documents/attachments but in the same email, and the financial proposal must be password protected.
• The product price for the local end user stipulated in the technical proposal is separate and independent and may not affect the financial cost of this proposal.
• The product price indicated for the local end user in the technical proposal should be provided for product informational purposes separately and does not influence the financial cost of this proposal.

6. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria

Stage I: Administrative documents: All mandatory administrative documents must be submitted without exception.

Stage II: Technical evaluation

1. Company experience in sanitation products supply (General experience, and specific experience) with evidence: 15%
2. Design/sample or prototype: 70%
3. Products delivery time: 15%

Only bidders who get 80% of the technical proposal will go to the financial evaluation process. However, the marks obtained during technical evaluation do not influence the financial evaluation in any way.

Stage III. Financial evaluation

The lowest and most responsive bidder included in the financial evaluation will be awarded.

Evaluation Matrix

The selected bidder will be contractually required to comply with Water For People’s Vendor Code of Conduct https://www.waterforpeople.org/Vendor-Code-of-Conduct and will be required to deliver a Conflict-of-Interest Certificate before execution of the contract. The Conflict-of-Interest Certificate requires the disclosure of any potential or actual conflicts of interest with Water For People employees or their relatives, including past, current, or proposed business transactions, employment or offers of employment, or certain gifts or entertainment. Water For People will evaluate any disclosures of conflicts of interest. If Water For People determines it cannot waive or mitigate the conflict of interest, it will result in the disqualification of the selected proposer. 

7. COPYRIGHTS

Copyright of all material on the assignment will be retained by Water For People in Rwanda.

8. RIGHTS RESERVED

A. Water For People reserves the right to cancel the entire procurement process without incurring any liability whatsoever.

B. Water For People reserves the right to amend any segment of the terms of reference before the announcement of selected candidates.

C. Water For People also reserves the right to remove one or more of the services from consideration for this contract should the evaluation show that it is in Water For People’s best interest to do so.

D. Water For People also may, at its discretion, issue a separate contract for any service or group of services included in this RFP. Water For People may negotiate a compensation package and additional provisions to the contract awarded under these terms of reference.

E. Water For People reserves the right to debrief the applicants after the completion of the process due to the expected high volume of applications to avoid compromising the process.

9. HOW TO APPY

If you feel qualified and interested in the assignment, please send your documents (including the technical and financial proposals as two separate documents in the same email) to: rwprocurement@waterforpeople.org no later than 31st August 2025 with the following subject: “Design, manufacture and Supply of adapted toilet seats for universal access”.  Hard copies and late submissions shall be rejected.