Title of Tender: Developing A learning Management System

Tender Reference Number: SGR/PS/06-2025

Procurement Method: Open Tender

Date of Issue:13th June 2025

Submission Deadline: 27th June 2025

Sustainable Growers is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that specializes in innovative coffee cultivation training techniques for smallholder women coffee farmers, with the goal of increasing their visibility in the coffee supply chain. Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported Sustainable Growers since its inception. This partnership along with the commitment of the governments of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania to women's economic empowerment has transformed the lives of over 56,000 women farmers, creating a secondary impact on 235,132 family members.

2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE.

As the organization scales up its interventions and strengthens its learning and development strategy, there is a pressing need to digitize and streamline the delivery, tracking, and evaluation of capacity-building programs. Currently, training programs rely heavily on in-person methods, which pose logistical, financial, and inclusivity challenges. To enhance learning accessibility, monitor progress, and ensure consistency in training delivery, SGR intends to adopt a Learning Management System (LMS) tailored to the needs of its diverse learner base, including women coffee farmers, agronomists, cooperative leaders, and internal staff. The envisioned platform will address current gaps in delivering training sessions to program beneficiaries, coordinated delivery of training modules, report on users who participate to the training with real-time tracking.

It will serve as a centralized digital platform to deliver trainings to farmers and track the participation of farmers to the training program. Sustainable Growers Rwanda (SGR) is dedicated to empowering women coffee farmers through training, access to markets, and sustainable practices.

1. Technical specifications to develop the Learning Management System

• Digitalize 10 key SGR’s training modules, including 9 on Best Agricultural Practices (BAP) and 1 on Team Savings and Lending (TSL), and upload them to the LMS by July 2025. Predominantly, farmers from Rwanda use MTN Rwanda, farmers in DRC use Airtel, and Farmers in Tanzania use Vidacom.
• Introduce relevant staff and other key personnel involved in trainings delivery on LMS usage by July 2025.
• Deploy voice-based training content to over 20,000 women coffee farmers in Rwanda, Idjwi (DRC), and Songwe (Tanzania) via the LMS by September 2025.
• Provide real-time access to LMS monitoring dashboards to at least 10 key staff for tracking learner progress and generating monthly reports by August 2025.

1. Expected Deliverables

• A fully customized, mobile-first LMS platform (web and app) accessible to more than 21,000 farmers from rural areas of Rwanda, Idjwi from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Songwe from Tanzania.
• Integrated training content (audio) in Kinyarwanda, Swahili, and Kihavu.
• Training and user manuals for staff, partners, and farmers.
• A real-time data dashboard for tracking learner progress and outcomes.
• Offline functionality with SMS/IVR support for low-connectivity areas.
• At least two demo sessions and one pilot testing phase.
• Final technical report, including system design, data privacy features, and analytics capabilities.

2. Key Tasks and Implementation Timeline

3. Key Components of the Learning Management System

User Management

• Learner profiles: Farmers, RCWs, RHCs, Program Leads, M&E.
• Role-based access controls.
• Language preferences (Kinyarwanda, Swahili, Kihavu from IDJWI area).
• Progress dashboards per user and cohort.

Content Delivery Tools

• Mobile-first interface with offline capabilities.
• Push notifications, downloadable materials.
• Feedback channels and audio-visual prompts.

Assessment and Certification

• Pre/post evaluations, quizzes, assignments.
• Certification and progress recognition.
• Performance analytics at module and group levels.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

• Real-time learner analytics and impact dashboards.
• Customized MEL reports by group, region, period of time, course.

Administrative Controls

• Data governance (privacy, user consent).
• Course approval workflows.
• Role-specific content management.

Localization and Accessibility

• Multilingual (Kinyarwanda, Swahili, Kihavu).
• Icon-based navigation and voice narration.
• Accessible design for low-literacy users.
• SMS-based support and IVR learning options.

4. Reporting and Supervision

The consultant/firm will report to the Head of Programs and IT Manager of Sustainable Growers Rwanda. Regular check-ins and deliverables will be reviewed and approved by a designated LMS Taskforce.

Progress and completion reports must include:

• Regular progress updates on dashboards.
• Usability test results
• Final narrative and technical report

7. Qualifications of the Service Provider.

• A registered company with proven experience in developing digital solutions for digital training programs, preferably with Interactive voice response (IVR) technology or any other related technology.
• Proven experience in developing and deploying Learning Management Systems in rural/agricultural contexts.
• Strong understanding of data protection and system security standards
• Previous work with women-focused or agriculture-based training programs would be an added asset.
• Experience working with non-profits or farmer-based organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to support multilingual and mobile-first platforms.
• Strong expertise in digital learning content development (especially audio-based).

8. Evaluation Criteria

10. Submission Requirements

Interested candidates should submit ONE SINGLE PDF file containing the following documents (except the financial offer):

• A technical proposal, with a clear timeframe and a description of the proposed methodology detailing how the deliverables will be achieved, and the team credentials for similar assignments.
• A financial offer detailing the various costs associated with the delivery of the above services, in PDF format and must be a separate document from the technical offer.
• Evidence of the consultant’s experience in doing similar assignments: Copies of similar assignments (with evidence for good completion of the previous similar assignments);
• Submit at least 3 reference certificates of good completion with their contacts and addresses.
• Bank account information including the scanned copy of blank check or document from the bank confirming bank account information (name, account number, swift code, …)

Rwandan firms will submit:

• Company profile;
• RDB certificate,
• VAT registration certificate;
• RRA tax clearance certificate;
• RSSB tax clearance certificate (when applicable).

For Companies without registration in Rwanda, will submit the above requirements or their equivalent official documents from the country of registration as applicable.

3.Other Requirements:

• Detailed breakdown of prices must be provided in Rwandan Francs (RWF) and must include all taxes
• Prices shall not change for the duration of the contract.

1. STANDARD PROVISIONS

3.1. Guidelines, policies and ethics

All bidders must commit to the guidelines in the SGR Procurement Procedures Manual. The procedures followed by Sustainable Growers Rwanda in making any award and contract resulting from this tender, will be in accordance with the:

• SGR Procurement Manual,
• SGR Anti-terrorism and Anti-money laundering Policy
• SGR Anti-fraud, bribery and corruption Policy.

3.2. Conflict of Interest and Disqualification Provisions

Bidders shall not have a conflict of interest, such as submission of more than one bid in the same process, except as alternative offers permitted under the rules; association with a staff member involved in the awarding of the bids and also a bidder must disclose any relation with a staff member.

Sustainable Growers Rwanda encourages all bidders to conduct themselves with integrity.

Sustainable Growers will automatically disqualify the bidder that attempts to:

• Change or omit any information related to this RFQ
• Inappropriately influence this Procurement Process.
• Enter into an arrangement with any other party that such party shall refrain from submitting a tender response.
• Enter into any arrangement with any other party (other than another party that forms part of your consortium bid or is your proposed sub-contractor) as to the prices submitted.
• Engage in direct or indirect bribery, corruption or canvassing by you or your appointed advisers in relation to this Procurement Process
• Obtain information from any of the employees, agents or advisors of the Sustainable Growers concerning this Procurement Process (other than as set out in these RFQ Conditions) or from another potential supplier or another tender response,

Additionally, Sustainable Growers will automatically disqualify the bidder that:

• Are currently blacklisted by the Public Procurement Authority or Sustainable Growers Rwanda itself;
• Have received corruption-related convictions in Rwanda or elsewhere
• Have unresolved disputes with previous service contracts
• Are in bankruptcy proceedings
• Are excluded under applicable regional or international conventions
• Is received after the submission deadline
• Contains omissions, gaps, misrepresentations, errors and/or uncompleted sections
• Contains handwritten amendments with no initial of the authorized signatory.
• Contains ambiguous information that might mislead the tender evaluators.

proposals.

3.4. Withdrawal

Sustainable Growers reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time and without notice and liability. Sustainable Growers reserves the right to accept or reject any quotation without being obliged to give any reasons in this respect.

3.5. Tender costs

You are responsible for obtaining all information necessary for preparation of your tender response and for all costs and expenses incurred in preparation of the tender response. Sustainable Growers Rwanda will not be responsible of any cost you incurred during the preparation of this procurement, irrespective of whether or not your tender response is successful.

3.6. Confidentiality and Information Governance

All documents related to this RFQ shall remain the property of Sustainable Growers. Sustainable Growers reserves the right to disclose all documents relating to this Procurement Process, including without limitation your tender response, to any employee, third party agent, adviser, or other third party involved in the procurement in support of, and/or in collaboration with Sustainable Growers.

3.7.Notification of tender award

In accordance with the evaluation criteria in this RFQ, all bidders shall receive formal notification of bidding outcomes. Successful bidders shall receive detailed award documentation.

3.8. RFQ Validity period

The bid validity period shall be 60 days.

• GUIDELINE FOR BID SUBMISSION

Interested and qualified companies must submit their bid documents electronically via: recruitment@sustainablegrowers.org not later than 27th, June 2025 at 5:00PM (17h00) local time. Late bids will be automatically rejected. 

Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted by email to: recruitment@sustainablegrowers.org by 23rd June 2025, 05:00pm.

Sustainable Growers Rwanda may at any time request further information from potential bidders to verify or clarify any aspects of their tender response or other information they may have provided. In case you do not provide supplementary information or clarifications to Sustainable Growers Rwanda by any deadline notified to you, your tender response may be rejected in full and you may be disqualified from this Procurement Process.