Expression of Interest (EOI) 

Solar mini-grid project implementation in rural areas of Rwanda 

Reference Number: 83442770

1. Context

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.

1.1 EnDev

EnDev is an international flagship programme for providing energy access, which has reached well over 20 million people in over 20 countries around the world. EnDev’s drive is to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, ensuring no one is left behind. Economic opportunities and green jobs are created by building modern off-grid energy markets based on renewable energy, which improve the energy supply of off-grid households, social institutions, and small and medium-sized companies. It is an approach which aims to empower structural, self-sustaining change; kickstarting market and sector development.

By the end of 2021, EnDev had supported 25.8 million people to gain access to electricity, improved cooking technologies and access to modern form of energy for productive use. EnDev also reached 30,900 social institutions, 81,700 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and 31,900 people have additional employment. Through EnDev interventions, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by more than 2.55 million tonnes per year.

The driving force behind EnDev is the partnership of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland; donors who are committed to accelerating energy access and socio-economic development. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) act as the principal agencies for programme coordination.

EnDev Rwanda is promoting solar Mini-Grids in off-grid areas in Rwanda through a new Results-based financing programme launched in January 2022, which will provide financial incentive to companies that aim to invest into small-scale power generation and distribution based on Solar Photovoltaic renewable energy technologies.

1.2 Results Based Financing

RBF is a modality where a funder (this can be a donor, an implementing organisation, a national government, or other institution) disburses funds to a recipient (in this case a private mini-grid company) only once a pre-agreed set of results is achieved and verified. This approach involves three key principles: Firstly, payments are made only after the results are achieved; secondly, the recipient may independently choose how to achieve these results; and lastly, independent verification of results is the trigger for disbursement.

1.3 Rwanda mini-grid RBF objectives and targets

The main objective of the Mini-Grid RBF is to accelerate access to electricity for households, social institutions and small and medium-size business in off-grid areas as defined by the NEP through the provision of RBF financing to eligible mini-grid companies. The Rwanda Mini-Grid RBF project offers RBF incentives to companies developing and operating mini-grids to supply electricity to off-grid connections. The general principle is that payments are made against pre-specified results. Therefore, companies are required to take on the full risk until the delivery of the contracted results. This means there are no advance payments

1.4 Project duration

The project will run from October 2023 to September 2025

It is against the above background that GIZ Rwanda would like to procure mini-grid companies for developing and operating solar PV mini-grids projects as described in the lots here below:

N.B. Bidders are allowed to bid for 1 lot or both in separate files.

2. Tasks to be conducted by contractor

2.1 Tasks

• Pre- finance the solar mini-grid project through equity and/or debt and/or other investment.
• Construct a mini-grid and successfully commission with connections to households, businesses, and social institutions. The mini-grid must be built in compliance with the Ministerial Guideline’s on Mini-Grid Development (MININFRA, 2019), Guidelines on Minimum Technical Requirements for Mini-Grids (RURA, 2019) & the Regulation Governing the simplified licensing framework for rural electrification in Rwanda (RURA, 2019), and the EnDev Rwanda Mini-Grid RBF Operations Manual (Annex I)
• Submit the results according to the requirements as stated in the EnDev Rwanda Mini-Grid operations manual; including a claim form with a complete customer list, remote monitoring data and information of expenses (including invoices) incurred upon completion of the mini-grid project
• Assist in all verifications of the Mini-Grid
• Contribute to the programme annual review of the EnDev RBF mini-grid Program

2.2.  Milestone

The milestone to release payment is the technical and customer verification as outlined in the EnDev Rwanda Mini-Grid RBF Operations Manual (Annex 1) and the service contract between the mini-grid company and GIZ Rwanda.

Upon successful verification, the EnDev Mini-Grid RBF has set a flat RBF grant amount per connection. The incentive amount has been set at EUR 350 per mini-grid connection with a maximum cap set at 70% CAPEX.

3. Concept and required format of the bid

In the bid, the bidder is required to show how the objectives defined in Chapter 2 are to be achieved, through the provision of the below documents, which are the minimum requirements to consider a complete application. The company must submit all documents/information in Table 1 to consider a complete application for evaluation.

Please calculate your price bid based on the cost table as outlined in the solar mini-grid technical proposal (Annex 2) and EnDev Excel financial model (Annex 4)

The bidder is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter 2) and the requirements outlined in the EnDev Rwanda Mini-Grid RBF Operations Manual (Annex 1). The bidder presents and justifies the strategy with which it intends to provide the services using the documents below in Table 1.

Table 1: Documents required to outline the strategy and submit the bid

Given that all government approvals (additional documents and certificates) may not be issued on time by responsible government authorities, the mini-grid company can submit available documents and describe the status for pending documents/certificates. However, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) with MININFRA and RURA tariff approval are a prerequisite to sign a contract.

A site visit will be conducted prior to contract signing to ensure there is no ongoing grid construction or any other existing grid.

4. Reporting 

During the mini-grid construction, the contractor will submit a construction progress report, to be used by EnDev/GIZ Rwanda to conduct a mid-term field visit. 

Upon commissioning of the mini-grid by the contractor, the mini-grid developer will be required to submit access to their remote monitoring system and a summary report highlighting the number of connections, power availability and consumption levels to initiate verification by EnDev. Aggregated and anonymized mini-grid data can be shared and utilized to develop public reports on the status of the mini-grid sector. EnDev Rwanda will require permission to publish any company specific data. This data can also be used to better inform mini-grid business models and potential future RBF grants and projects. 

As part of the verification, the contractor will provide documentation revealing expenses incurred consisting of documentation including a comparative budget and invoices demonstrating the actual costs of the Mini-Grid compared to the initial estimated costs during the application phase.

5. Project management of the contractor

The bidder is required to explain its approach for coordination with the GIZ project.

• The contractor is responsible for selecting, preparing, training and steering the staff/experts (international and national, short and long term) assigned to perform the Mini-Grid project tasks.
• The contractor makes available equipment and supplies (consumables) and assumes the associated operating and administrative costs.
• The contractor manages costs and expenditures, accounting processes and invoicing in line with the requirements of GIZ.

The contractor reports regularly to GIZ in accordance with the AVB of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH from 2023

6. Submission of offer:

Please deposit your Expression of Interest in two copies in 2 separated envelops until latest 25^th August 2023 at 4:00PM, at the front desk of GIZ Office Rwanda / KN 41 St. / Nr.17, Kiyovu, P.O. Box 59, Kigali. You must write on each Envelop the following:

• 1^st envelop: “83442770 -Technical offer” including (1 original and 1 copy)
• 2^nd envelop: “83442770 - Financial offer” including (1 original and 1 copy) 

GIZ reserves all rights.