Expression of Interest (EOI)

Support on the formation of cooperatives in selected districts.

Reference Number: 83489024

Publication date: 15.05.2025

Introduction

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digitalization and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.

Contents

General information. 1

Tender requirements. 4

Qualifications of the (Consultant): 4

1.1 Expert 1 (Consultant): 4

1.1.1 General qualifications. 4

1.1.2 Experience in the region/knowledge of the country. 4

1.1.3 Language skills: 4

Quantitative requirements. 5

Conceptual 5

III. Requirements on the format of the consultant(s) 6

 General information

A federally owned enterprise, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit supports the German Federal Government in achieving its objectives in international cooperation for sustainable development. In Rwanda, GIZ has been operating for over 40 years. GIZ Rwanda is active in the areas of sustainable economic development and employment promotion, good governance and decentralization, information and communications technology and energy.

Brief information on the project

Rwanda’s economic growth has been remarkable, annual growth rates averaged at eight per cent over the past two decades. Yet, according to the 2024 annual report of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) unemployment (14.9%) and underemployment (54.2%) remain high. The majority of the population works in the agriculture sector, where incomes are low. Moreover, the number of young people entering the labour market is increasing. A large proportion of local companies are unregistered micro-enterprises which are not very competitive and cannot harness the long-term potential for growth. Most of them are only creating a handful of jobs at present. Domestic value creation, specifically in the light industrial sector is low and meets international standards only to a limited extent. At the same time, the professional skills of many job seekers do not match the requirements of the labour market. 

With strategies like the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) and the Made in Rwanda Policy, the Government of Rwanda is promoting skills development, the creation of off-farm jobs and domestic value creation. To contribute to the Rwandan Government’s strategy, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) commissioned GIZ to implement the programme “Skills development for economic transformation (SD4T)” from 2023 to 2026, as part of the priority area “Sustainable Economic Development” of the Rwandan-German Development Cooperation. The programme is co-funded by the European Union (EU). The programme’s main political partners are the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) and the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC). As a specific focus, SD4T supports the Government of Rwanda in stepping up its efforts for local inclusion and graduation of refugees out of humanitarian aid, which is reflected in the Joint Strategy on Economic Inclusion of Refugees and Host Communities in Rwanda (2021-2024) by MINEMA and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The programme aims to create jobs and strengthen the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives in the light manufacturing industry (e.g. furniture production, metal processing etc.) according to the principles of inclusivity, productivity and environmental sustainability. This will be achieved by following an integrated approach to employment promotion, consisting of 1) the promotion of technical and vocational education and training to enhance the quality of labour supply, 2) private sector development to raise labour demand, and 3) economic policy advice to improve the matching of labour supply and demand. A specific focus is placed on the economic empowerment of women, refugees, and host communities. 

The overarching objective of the Economic Transformation pillar within the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) 2024 – 2029 is to: “Advance the Vision 2050 pillars of Competitiveness and Integration, Agriculture for Wealth Creation as well as Urbanization and Agglomeration.” Indicators of the pillar include achieving at least 10% annual average GDP growth in the industry sector and creating 1.25 million productive and decent jobs. 

Context

The SD4T programme works with key public and private players to ensure that the support towards target MSMEs and cooperatives operating within the different selected ICPCs countrywide are offered the required technical capacities and skills transfer that eventually contributes to improved service delivery and quality of services delivered. Based on this, the SD4T programme is supporting selected cooperatives in Rubavu, Musanze, Muhanga and Rwamagana districts that are operating in the circular economy sector i.e. repurposing saw dust and recycling plastic wastes. The assignment aims at ensuring that the beneficiaries are supported to form and register cooperatives as well as develop the necessary operational procedures.

• GIZ shall hire the contractor for the anticipated contract term, from June 2025 to October 2025
• The contractor shall provide the following work/service.
• Support the women beneficiaries from the four selected ICPCs i.e. Musanze, Gisagara, Muhanga and Rwamagana districts to establish a proper communication platform that will help them share information and updates among cooperative members.
• Conduct at least one mobilisation/ sensitisation meeting for up to 35 participants per district with the beneficiaries of the above-mentioned projects to gain a better understanding of cooperatives and each member’s responsibility.
• Facilitate the election process for the committee members for each of the cooperatives in the selected districts i.e. Musanze, Gisagara, Muhanga and Rwamagana and develop a clear organisational structure and chart of the initiated cooperative.
• Conduct a training workshop for the elected committee members with focus on topics such as management of cooperatives, Laws and Regulations governing cooperatives in Rwanda, conflict resolution and arbitration within cooperatives, the roles of the elected committee(s) within cooperatives among others.
• Prepare all relevant documents required for the registration and accreditation of cooperatives in accordance with the laws governing cooperatives in Rwanda.
• Support with the development of internal guidelines and structures that will be used as guiding documents by the respective cooperatives during the day-to-day operations.
• Support each of the selected cooperatives to develop a viable business model that reflected the different income generating activities that the cooperative(s) are engaged in and project their prospects for growth.
• A plan of operations/action plan for each of the selected cooperative(s) for the next two to three years should also be developed in close collaboration with the members.
• Support with the development of internal operational and financial procedures for the established cooperatives in accordance with the regulations or law governing cooperatives in Rwanda
• Support with the registration process of the established cooperatives in each of the districts mentioned above as well as help with the processing of any payments for the required application and registration fees within RCA.
• Offer capacity building services to the elected committee members in each of the selected districts on topics such as management skills, communication skills, cooperatives management and compliance.
• A final report and handover of all relevant documents and or materials developed as part of this assignment such as the cooperatives by laws and regulations.

Milestones:

Tender requirements

Qualifications of the (Consultant): 

The consultant(s) is required to propose personnel for the positions specified here and described with respect to the areas of responsibility and qualifications on the basis of relevant CVs. The qualifications specified below represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.

1.1 Expert 1 (Consultant):

1.1.1 General qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in one of the following courses; Business Administration, Economics, Managament, Law, Development Studies, Social Sciences.

Professional experience: 7 years’ experience working on assignments of a similar nature

1.1.2 Experience in the region/knowledge of the country

7 years’ experience working in Rwanda and (or) the EAC region focusing on support towards MSMEs and cooperatives. 

1.1.3 Language skills:

Business fluency in Kinyarwanda and English languages. Select element

2. Quantitative requirements

Calculate your financial bid exactly in line with the quantitative requirements of the specification of inputs above. There is no contractual right to use up the full days/travel or workshops or budgets. The number of days/travel/workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum amounts. The regulations on pricing are contained in the price schedule.

3. Conceptual

The consultant(s) should indicate how the services outlined in Section I.4 (Tasks) are to be provided. Reference should be made to the following criteria:

• 1 A clear understanding of the assignment and deliverables proven by completion certificates
• 2 Experience working on assignments of a similar nature with reference projects, proven by completion certificates
• 3 Company registration certificate and RRA Certificate
• 4 Experience working on assignments of a similar nature with reference projects where the new law on cooperative was applicable. This should be proven by completion certificates.
• 5 Experience working with MSMEs and cooperatives in Rwanda, proven by completion certificates.

Requirements on the format of the consultant(s)

The CV submitted for each expert can have a maximum of four pages. The concept (if required) should not exceed five pages. If one of the maximum page lengths is exceeded, the content appearing after the cut-off point will not be included in the assessment. External content (e.g. links to websites) will also not be considered).

Submission of offer: The Expression of Interest should contain the following:

Technical Proposal:

• A cover letter expressing your interest in this assignment
• Technical Proposal (attached template for technical proposal MUST be used)
• Company registration certificate (RDB)
• VAT-Registration Certificate
• Latest tax clearance certificate
• Up to date CV of proposed expert 
• Self-declaration of eligibility

Financial Proposal: Financial offer indicates the all-inclusive total contract price, supported by a breakdown of all costs as described in the specification of inputs.

Your EoI has to be submitted in 2 separated emails to RW_Quotation@giz.de until 01/06/2025

1.The technical offer has to be submitted in PDF format and as attachment to the email with the subject: Technical offer 83489024

2.The financial offer has to be submitted in PDF format and the price must be in Rwandan Francs and VAT excluded (if applicable) and as attachment to the email with the subject: Financial offer 83489024

If the emails exceed the default email size of 30MB, offers can be exceptionally submitted through https://filetransfer.giz.de/

Offers submitted through any other sharing platform, as google documents or similar will not be considered.

Offers submitted in hard copy will not be considered.

GIZ reserves all rights.

Annex:

• Technical Proposal template
• Technical assessment grid

• Self-declaration of eligibility