REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

STUDY ON IDENTIFICATION OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS IN PROMOTING AFFORDABLE CREDIT TO FINANCE BIO DIGESTERS UNDER THE FRAMEWORK OF ENERGY FOR AGRICULTURE (E4A) PROJECT

Prepared by

SNV Netherlands Development Organization7 Nkanchibaya Road, Rhodes ParkP. O. Box 31771, Lusaka, Zambia

T : +260-21-125-5174F : +260-21-125-5176

Email:Zambia@snvworld.orgwww.snvworld.org

10th February, 2016

ContentsA. General Provisions...............................................................................................................3

1. Introduction....................................................................................................................3

2. Conflict of Interest.........................................................................................................3

3. Unfair Competitive Advantage......................................................................................3

4. Corrupt and Fraudulent Practices...................................................................................3

5. Eligibility.......................................................................................................................3

B. Preparation of Proposals.......................................................................................................3

6. General Considerations..................................................................................................3

7. Cost of Preparation of Proposal.....................................................................................4

8. Language........................................................................................................................4

9. Documents Comprising the Proposal.............................................................................4

10. Only One Proposal.........................................................................................................4

11. Proposal Validity...........................................................................................................4

12. Clarification and Amendment of RFP...........................................................................5

13. Preparation of Proposals – Specific Considerations......................................................5

14. Technical Proposal Format and Content........................................................................5

15. Financial Proposal..........................................................................................................6

C. Submission, Opening and Evaluation..................................................................................6

16. Submission, Sealing, and Marking of Proposals...........................................................6

17. Confidentiality...............................................................................................................6

18. Opening of Proposals.....................................................................................................7

19. Proposals Evaluation......................................................................................................7

20. Technical Proposals.......................................................................................................7

21. Financial Proposals........................................................................................................7

22. Correction of Errors.......................................................................................................7

23. Taxes..............................................................................................................................7

24. Conversion to Single Currency......................................................................................7

D. Negotiations and Award.......................................................................................................7

25. Negotiations...................................................................................................................7

26. Conclusion of Negotiations............................................................................................8

27. Award of Contract..........................................................................................................8

E. Data Sheet.............................................................................................................................9

E. Terms of Reference............................................................................................................11

A. General Provisions

1. Introduction SNV Zambia intends to select a Consultant in accordance with the method of selection specified in the Data Sheet.

You are invited to submit a proposal for consulting services required for the assignment named in the Data Sheet. The Proposal will be the basis for negotiating and ultimately signing the Contract with the selected Consultant.

The Consultants should familiarize themselves with the local conditions and take them into account in preparing their Proposals; including attending a pre-proposal conference if one is specified in the Data Sheet. Attending any such pre-proposal conference is optional and is at the Consultants’ expense.

SNV will timely provide, at no cost to the Consultants, the inputs, relevant project data, and reports required for the preparation of the Consultant’s Proposal as specified in the Data Sheet.

2. Conflict of Interest

The Consultant is required to provide professional, objective, and impartial advice, at all times holding SNV’s interests paramount, strictly avoiding conflicts with other assignments or its own corporate interests, and acting without any consideration for future work.

The Consultant has an obligation to disclose to SNV any situation of actual or potential conflict that impacts its capacity to serve the best interest of its SNV. Failure to disclose such situations may lead to the disqualification of the Consultant or the termination of its Contract.

3. Unfair Competitive Advantage

Fairness and transparency in the selection process require that the Consultants or their Affiliates competing for a specific assignment do not derive a competitive advantage from having provided consulting services related to the assignment in question. To that end, SNV shall indicate in the Data Sheet and make available to all shortlisted Consultants together with this RFP all information that would in that respect give such Consultant any unfair competitive advantage over competing Consultants.

4. Corrupt and Fraudulent Practices

SNV requires compliance with its policy in regard to corrupt and fraudulent practices. In further pursuance of this policy, Consultant shall permit SNV to inspect all accounts, records, and other documents relating to the submission of the Proposal and contract performance (in case of an award), and to have them audited.

5. Eligibility SNV permits consultants (individuals and firms, including Joint

Ventures and their individual members) from all countries to offer consulting services. Consultants who are sanctioned, prohibited or restricted by the local governments or under the United Nations Security Council will not be eligible to participate in this tender.

B. Preparation of Proposals

6. General Considerations

In preparing the Proposal, the Consultant is expected to examine the RFP in detail. Material deficiencies in providing the information requested in the RFP may result in rejection of the Proposal.

7. Cost of Preparation of Proposal

The Consultant shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of its Proposal, and SNV shall not be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the selection process. SNV is not bound to accept any proposal, and reserves the right to annul the selection process at any time prior to Contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the Consultant.

8. Language The Proposal, as well as all correspondence and documents relating to the Proposal exchanged between the Consultant and SNV, shall be written in English.

9. Documents Comprising the Proposal

If specified in the Data Sheet, the Consultant shall include a statement of an undertaking of the Consultant to observe, in competing for and executing a contract, SNV country’s laws against fraud and corruption (including bribery).

The Consultant shall furnish information on commissions, gratuities, and fees, if any, paid or to be paid to agents or any other party relating to this Proposal and, if awarded, Contract execution, as requested in the budget proposal.

10. Only One Proposal

The Consultant (including the individual members of any Joint Venture) shall submit only one Proposal, either in its own name or as part of a Joint Venture in another Proposal. If a Consultant, including any Joint Venture member, submits or participates in more than one proposal, all such proposals shall be disqualified and rejected. This does not, however, preclude a Sub-consultant, or the Consultant’s staff from participating as Key Experts and Non-Key Experts in more than one Proposal when circumstances justify and if stated in the Data Sheet.

11. Proposal Validity The Data Sheet indicates the period during which the Consultant’s Proposal must remain valid after the Proposal submission deadline.

During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original

Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Key Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.

If it is established that any Key Expert nominated in the Consultant’s Proposal was not available at the time of Proposal submission or was included in the Proposal without his/her confirmation, such Proposal shall be disqualified and rejected for further evaluation, and may be subject to sanctions in accordance with Clause 5 of this ITC.

a. Extension of Validity Period

SNV will make its best effort to complete the negotiations within the proposal’s validity period. However, should the need arise, SNV may request, in writing, all Consultants who submitted Proposals prior to the submission deadline to extend the Proposals’ validity.

If the Consultant agrees to extend the validity of its Proposal, it shall be done without any change in the original Proposal and with the confirmation of the availability of the Key Experts.

The Consultant has the right to refuse to extend the validity of its Proposal in which case such Proposal will not be further evaluated.

b. Substitution of Key Experts at Validity Extension

If any of the Key Experts become unavailable for the extended validity period, the Consultant shall provide a written adequate justification and evidence satisfactory to SNV together with the substitution request. In such case, a replacement Key Expert shall have equal or better qualifications and experience than those of the originally proposed Key Expert. The technical evaluation score, however, will remain to be based on the evaluation of the CV of the original Key Expert.

If the Consultant fails to provide a replacement Key Expert with equal or better qualifications, or if the provided reasons for the replacement or justification are unacceptable to SNV, such Proposal will be rejected.

c. Sub-Contracting

The Consultant shall not subcontract the whole of the Services.

12. Clarification and Amendment of RFP

The Consultant may request a clarification of any part of the RFP during the period indicated in the Data Sheet before the Proposals’ submission deadline. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic means, to SNV’s address indicated in the Data Sheet. SNV will respond in writing, or by standard electronic means, and will send written copies of the response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying its source) to all shortlisted Consultants. Should SNV

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deem it necessary to amend the RFP as a result of a clarification, it shall do so following the procedure described below:

At any time before the proposal submission deadline, SNV may amend the RFP by issuing an amendment in writing or by standard electronic means. The amendment shall be sent to all shortlisted Consultants and will be binding on them. The shortlisted Consultants shall acknowledge receipt of all amendments in writing.

If the amendment is substantial, SNV may extend the proposal submission deadline to give the shortlisted Consultants reasonable time to take an amendment into account in their Proposals.

The Consultant may submit a modified Proposal or a modification to any part of it at any time prior to the proposal submission deadline. No modifications to the Technical or Financial Proposal shall be accepted after the deadline.

13. Preparation of Proposals – Specific Considerations

If a shortlisted Consultant considers that it may enhance its expertise for the assignment by associating with other consultants in the form of a Joint Venture or as Sub-consultants, it may do so with either (a) non-shortlisted Consultant(s), or (b) shortlisted Consultants if permitted in the Data Sheet. In all such cases a shortlisted Consultant must obtain the written approval of SNV prior to the submission of the Proposal. When associating with non-shortlisted firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy, the shortlisted Consultant shall be a lead member. If shortlisted Consultants associate with each other, any of them can be a lead member.

SNV may indicate in the Data Sheet the estimated Key Experts’ time input (expressed in person-days or month).

14. Technical Proposal Format and Content

The Technical Proposal shall not include any financial information. A Technical Proposal containing material financial information shall be declared non-responsive.

15. Financial Proposal

The Financial Proposal shall be prepared using the Standard Forms provided. It shall list all costs associated with the assignment, including (a) remuneration for Key Experts and Non-Key Experts, (b) reimbursable expenses indicated in the Data Sheet.

a. Taxes The Consultant and its Sub-consultants and Experts are responsible for meeting all tax liabilities arising out of the Contract unless stated otherwise in the Data Sheet. Information on taxes in Zambia is provided in the Data Sheet.

b. Currency of The Consultant may express the price for its Services in the 8 | P a g e

Proposal currency or currencies as stated in the Data Sheet. If indicated in the Data Sheet, the portion of the price representing local cost shall be stated in the national currency.

c. Currency of Payment

Payment under the Contract shall be made in the currency or currencies in which the payment is requested in the Proposal.

C. Submission, Opening and Evaluation

16. Submission, Sealing, and Marking of Proposals

The submission can be done by mail or by hand. If specified in the Data Sheet, the Consultant has the option of submitting its Proposals electronically.

An authorized representative of the Consultant shall sign the original submission letters in the required format for both the Technical and Financial Proposal, and shall initial all pages of both. The authorization shall be in the form of a written power of attorney attached to the Technical Proposal.

A Proposal submitted by a Joint Venture shall be signed by all members so as to be legally binding on all members, or by an authorized representative who has a written power of attorney signed by each member’s authorized representative.

Any modifications, revisions, interlineations, erasures, or overwriting shall be valid only if they are signed or initialed by the person signing the Proposal.

17. Confidentiality From the time the Proposals are opened to the time the Contract is awarded, the Consultant should not contact SNV on any matter related to its Proposal. Information relating to the evaluation of Proposals and award recommendations shall not be disclosed to the Consultants who submitted the Proposals or to any other party not officially concerned with the process, until the publication of the Contract award information.

Any attempt by shortlisted Consultants or anyone on behalf of the Consultant to influence improperly SNV in the evaluation of the Proposals or Contract award decisions may result in the rejection of its Proposal, and may be subject to the application of prevailing sanctions procedures.

Notwithstanding the above provisions, from the time of the Proposals’ opening to the time of Contract award publication, if a Consultant wishes to contact SNV on any matter related to the selection process, it should do so only in writing.

18. Opening of SNV’s evaluation committee shall conduct the opening of the

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Proposals Proposals in absence of the shortlisted Consultants. At the opening of the Proposals the following shall be read out:

i). the name and the country of the Consultant or, in case of a Joint Venture, the name of the Joint Venture, the name of the lead member and the names and the countries of all members;

ii). Any other information deemed appropriate.

19. Proposals Evaluation

The Consultant is not permitted to alter or modify its Proposal in any way after the proposal submission deadline. While evaluating the Proposals, SNV will conduct the evaluation solely on the basis of the submitted Technical and Financial Proposals.

20. Technical Proposals SNV’s evaluation committee shall evaluate the Proposals on the basis of their responsiveness to the Terms of Reference and the RFP, applying the evaluation criteria, sub-criteria, and point system specified in the Data Sheet. Each responsive Proposal will be given a technical score. A Proposal shall be rejected at this stage if it does not respond to important aspects of the RFP or if it fails to achieve the minimum technical score indicated in the Data Sheet.

21. Financial Proposals Following the ranking of the Technical Proposals, the top-ranked Consultant will be invited to negotiate the Contract.

22. Correction of Errors Activities and items described in the Technical Proposal but not priced in the Financial Proposal, shall be assumed to be included in the prices of other activities or items, and no corrections are made to the Financial Proposal.

23. Taxes SNV’s evaluation of the Consultant’s Financial Proposal shall exclude taxes and duties in Zambia in accordance with the instructions in the Data Sheet.

24. Conversion to Single Currency

For the evaluation purposes, prices shall be converted to a single currency using the selling rates of exchange, source and date indicated in the Data Sheet.

D. Negotiations and Award

25. Negotiations The negotiations will be held at the date and address indicated in the Data Sheet with the Consultant’s representative(s) who must have written power of attorney to negotiate and sign a Contract on behalf of the Consultant.

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SNV shall prepare minutes of negotiations that are signed by SNV and the Consultant’s authorized representative.

a. Availability of Key Experts

The invited Consultant shall confirm the availability of all Key Experts included in the Proposal as a pre-requisite to the negotiations. Failure to confirm the Key Experts’ availability may result in the rejection of the Consultant’s Proposal and SNV proceeding to negotiate the Contract with the next-ranked Consultant.

Notwithstanding the above, the substitution of Key Experts at the negotiations may be considered if due solely to circumstances outside the reasonable control of and not foreseeable by the Consultant, including but not limited to death or medical incapacity. In such case, the Consultant shall offer a substitute Key Expert within the period of time specified in the letter of invitation to negotiate the Contract, who shall have equivalent or better qualifications and experience than the original candidate.

b. Technical negotiations

The negotiations include discussions of the Terms of Reference (ToRs), the proposed methodology, SNV’s inputs, the special conditions of the Contract, and finalizing the “Description of Services” part of the Contract. These discussions shall not substantially alter the original scope of services under the TOR or the terms of the contract, lest the quality of the final product, its price, or the relevance of the initial evaluation be affected.

c. Financial negotiations

The negotiations include the clarification of the Consultant’s tax liability in Zambia and how it should be reflected in the Contract.

If the selection method included cost as a factor in the evaluation, the total price stated in the Financial Proposal for a Lump-Sum contract shall not be negotiated.

In the case of a Time-Based contract, unit rates negotiations shall not take place, except when the offered Key Experts and Non-Key Experts’ remuneration rates are much higher than the typically charged rates by consultants in similar contracts.

26. Conclusion of Negotiations

The negotiations are concluded with a review of the finalized draft Contract, which then shall be initialed by SNV and the Consultant’s authorized representative.

If the negotiations fail, SNV shall inform the Consultant in writing of all pending issues and disagreements and provide a final opportunity to the Consultant to respond. If disagreement persists, SNV shall terminate the negotiations informing the

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Consultant of the reasons for doing so. After having obtained approval, SNV will invite the next-ranked Consultant to negotiate a Contract. Once SNV commences negotiations with the next-ranked Consultant, SNV shall not reopen the earlier negotiations.

27. Award of Contract After completing the negotiations SNV shall obtain approval to the negotiated draft Contract, if applicable; sign the Contract; publish the award information as per the instructions in the Data Sheet; and promptly notify the other shortlisted Consultants.

The Consultant is expected to commence the assignment on the date and at the location specified in the Data Sheet.

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E. Data Sheet

A. General

ITC ClauseReference

Description Information

1 Method of selection: Open Selection of Individual and Consulting Firms (Qualification and experience based)

This tender is open to local individual consultants and Consulting Firms

1 Name of consultancy service Study on Identification of Opportunities and Constraints in Promoting Affordable Credit to Finance Bio digestersunder the framework of Energy for Agriculture (E4A) Project

1 A pre-proposal conference will be held No

1 Documents to be provided by SNV Project information ( data and reports)

3 Unfair advantage details Proposal evaluations shall be done purely on merit of consultants meeting requirements not because the consultant worked with SNV before.

5 Eligibility Open to local individual consultants and Consulting Firms

B. Preparation of Proposal8 Language of proposal English

9 Statement of undertaking from consultants to observe laws on fraud and corruption (including bribery)

Required (at least a page of statement) duly signed

11 Required proposal validity period 30 days

12 Period for clarification of information on the tender document

Clarifications can be made up to second last day before tender closing.

13 Association as Joint Ventures or subcontract Not permitted

13 Expert time input requirement As specified in the terms of reference

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15 Details on reimbursable expenses As specified on the budget format and terms of reference.

15a Taxes SNV is exempt from payment VAT and any customs duties.

Withholding tax will be deducted by SNV in accordance with the legislation of the Government of the Republic of Zambia.

15b Currency of proposal and payment Zambian Kwacha or Euro

C. Submission, Opening and Evaluation of Proposal16 Mode of proposal submission Electronic copies in PDF or scanned format to

be submitted to rmambali@snvworld.orgAnd cc: pghimire@snvworld.org and printed copies to be submitted to tender box located at the SNV procurement office.

Deadline of proposal submission is Monday 29th February 2016 at 14:30hrs.

The expected start date of the consultancy service is 10th March, 2016

16 Financial Proposal to be submitted together with Technical Proposal as one document

Yes using SNV format provided

20 The Proposal shall comprise the following as qualification requirement:

Primary bid examination: Technical Proposal

a. Team Composition, Experience and Competency of the Consultant:

At least 7 years of related professional experience with a Master’s Degree in economics, finance or business administration or other relevant degree.

Experience in credit administration, financial inclusiveness and investment analysis;

Familiarity with the renewable energy development sector in Zambia and investment landscape;

Familiarity with national and international financing/credit organization supporting/

The scoring system to be used shall be a direct logic point system based on a technical factor of 300 points on a scale of 1-3.

50 points

10 points

5 points

5 points

10 points

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investing credit in Renewable Energy Sector in general and biodigester sector in particular;

Experience working for INGOs, multilateral and bilateral and NGOs, clients, in particular the World Bank, AfDB, DFID and SIDA

Field experience working in emerging or developing economies in general, and Southern Africa in particular, would be a distinct advantage

Demonstrated experience of having undertaken at least two similar services in the recent past; preferably in African Countries.

Demonstrated evidence of clients served (businesses that benefited from the provision of your last assignments of this nature whom SNV can obtain further references)

b. Understanding on the ToR, Approach and Methodology

General Understanding on ToR, objectives and scope of works the ToR

Suggestions to improve to enhance the study outcome

Attractiveness/completeness and suitability of proposed work methodology or approach

Innovative ideas

Work schedule and milestones

Total Points

Financial evaluation; Proposed budget (professional fees and program cost)

5 points

5 points

5 points

5 points

50 points

10 points

10 points

10 points

10 points

10 points

100 Points

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Use the provided SNV format

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E. Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference for the Study on Identification of Opportunities and Constraints in Promoting Affordable Credit to Finance Biodigesters

under the framework of Energy for Agriculture (E4A) Project

Background

Electricity demand in Zambia constitutes only 11 percent of total national energy demand. The dominant energy source is firewood and charcoal, on which more than 90 percent of the rural people depend to meet domestic energy needs. There is a close correlation between the high incidence of poverty in rural areas and the low access to electricity which averages about 5%. Increased application of electricity would increase productivity and incomes, and therefore reduce poverty in rural areas. The main reasons for non-adoption of clean technologies, including biogas, include limited awareness of off-grid technology options, high (up front) cost of installation and a limited quality awareness among the few providers.

Energy poverty is a serious issue in Zambia. Low access rates to energy are a constraint to economic growth and to improved quality of life for the majority of the Zambian population, especially the poor, women, youth and those living rurally. While nationally, 20% of the Zambian population has access to on-grid electricity services, in rural areas the figure is less than 2%. The majority of Zambians either cannot afford or do not have access to on-grid electricity. More than 80% of the population depends on charcoal and/or fuel wood as a source for cooking, heat and light. In urban and peri urban areas charcoal is utilised as the main source of domestic energy for cooking while in rural areas firewood use predominates. For charcoal, urban based demand has catalysed the emergence of a largely informal industry that employs up to 400,000 people and generates as much as 2.3% of GDP ( with an estimated value of US$5 billion in 2008. Most of this money flows into the informal economy.

About 65% of Zambians live in rural areas. The rural population tends to be dispersed and poor, making provision of on-grid electricity services both difficult and expensive. Nonetheless, sustainable energy is seen as critical to improving local development and stimulating local value addition. Given the size of the country, the dispersed nature of the population, the high agricultural potential, the availability of water and land, there is ample scope for development of decentralised energy solutions using alternative energy sources such as biogas, biomass, bio-energy, micro-hydropower and solar-home systems to address issues of access to sustainable energy for production and domestic use. Meeting basic needs such as cooking, heating and lighting, bio digesters fed with cattle dung as raw material can play a vital role in the country. SIDA has supported SNV to implement a nationwide bio digester project named ‘Energy for Agriculture (E4A)’ which aims at developing the biogas market in

Zambia to increase access of households, public services, and businesses to renewable energy technologies. The project aims to develop viable markets for productive biogas that will lead to improved livelihoods through increases savings on conventional fuel sources and income generation from the productive use of bio digester products - biogas and bio slurry. The project targets to construct 7,500 bio digesters in five years.

Need for Bio digester Credit

Even though a bio digester typically has a lifespan of 20 years and has a repayment period of 2 to 4 years depending upon various factors major being the cost of conventional fuels, and cost of installation; the investment is entirely up-front. With investment costs in Zambia averaging around € 900 for an average family sized bio digester, this provides too high a threshold for many potential beneficiaries. Therefore a biogas loan product that is matched to the character of the technology (long life span) and the repayment capacity of farmers is needed for wide-scale dissemination of bio digester technology in the country. Accessible credit is an indispensable part of the bio digester programme to boost production. The lack of cash among farmers and the absence of an affordable credit product has been considered one of the main bottlenecks for the construction of bio digester in Zambia. A well designed loan product for bio digester is therefore required as ordinary consumptive loan is not doing what is anticipated. To exploit the modest potential of some 90,000 bio digesters in the country, provision of accessible credit will definitely play a vital role. The affordable credit conditions include a maturity of up to 4 years and an interest rate not higher than 20% on declining basis.

E4A/SNV therefore envisages to hire a consultant (form or an individual) to carry out a study to assess opportunities and constraints in promoting affordable credits to fiancé bio digesters under the framework of the project in Zambia. This term of reference is developed to seek the services of a consultant/firm to conduct the proposed study.

Objectives of the Study

The overall objective of this study is to identify constraints and opportunities to promote credit (including micro-credit) for the installation of bio digesters in selected provinces in Zambia and to find the ideal biogas credit products modalities. The specific objectives are;

a. Demand Side To assess and analyze the need of credit for the installation of bio digesters in Zambia. To assess willingness and affordability of potential biogas users to invest in bio

digesters. To assess repayment capacity of potential biogas users to repay bio digester credits. To assess factors that is limiting potential farmers to take loans for installing bio

digesters.

b. Supply side

To assess relevant/potential financing institutions/stakeholders, local and international in investing credits (including micro financing) to install bio digesters in terms of their mandate, interest, capacity and position.

To identify constraints and opportunities in credit financing of bio digesters in the country.

To recommend appropriate models and mechanisms to promote credit including micro financing to install bio digesters.

Scope of the Work

The scope of work shall be;a. To assess the existing situation

Overview of bio digester technology and micro finance sector in Zambia. Assessment of micro credit need for biodigester installation in the selected

provinces. Assessment of modalities and exiting practices in financing bio digesters in

Zambia in general, and in the selected provinces in particular.

b. To analyse policy frameworks and carry out Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Constraints (SWOC) analysis of potential stakeholders to invest in bio digesters

Map/inventories financial institutions, both local and international, offering credits to install bio digesters in Zambia in general and in the rural areas of the country in particular.

Analysis of mandate and policy frame work concerning bio digester credits through financing institutes including MFIs.

Assessment of institutional capacity of financing institutes/MFIs in reference to providing micro finance access to the potential users of bio digesters

Assessment of capacity, position, willingness and commitment of financing institutes/MFIs to invest credits for installing bio digesters.

c. To analyse the opportunities and constraints Analysis of opportunities to increase the financing access for bio digester

installation Analysis of existing policies and operational barriers Analysis of the sources of credit for bio digester financing Analysis of risk mitigation measures

d. To develop appropriate financing models Assessment of the need of establishing a wholesale credit fund for the installation

of bio digesters Institutional framework and policies Defined roles of various stakeholders Procedures for wholesale lending to MFIs and on-lending to the farmers

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Necessary interventions required; policy lobbying, capacity building, linkage facilitation

Preparation of action plan for implementation

Methodology

The main instrument for the study will be collection, review and analysis of primary data and information at the household level using structured and semi-structured questionnaires. The consultant should prepare an inventories of related studies carried out in Zambia in the last five years and use the relevant secondary data and information from the reports. The study should be coordinated and led by a competent team leader and the field study should be carried out by experienced data remunerators. After the field data collection is completed, all the data collected from the field and from secondary sources should be cross-checked, verified, entered in to the computer database and cleaned properly before analyzing them using appropriate computer software programmes. The outcome of the analysis should be incorporated in a concise report.

The general methodology should include;

Review the available secondary data and information. Conduct interviews (formal and informal) and interactions with the concerned/relevant

stakeholders, major implementing actors, Users, Biogas Plant Constructors/Masons, financing institutions including local MFIs, micro finance wholesale loan providers etc. (Standard sets of questionnaire needs to be developed to guide the semi structured interviews with various stakeholders.)

Carry out a survey of potential biogas users1 in Southern, Eastern, Lusaka, Central and Copperbelt provinces to assess the need, amount and other modalities of a bio digester credit product (not less than 10 households from each province).

Conduct focus group discussions with existing biogas users and non-users to collect their views and needs. (A check list needs to be prepared.)

Carry out capacity assessment of financing institutes/MFIs working in the country in terms of bio digester financing.

Explore similar experiences in other countries through literature review and assess the possibilities of replications in Zambian context.

Conduct stakeholders’ workshop to collect comments and suggestions on preliminary findings and recommendations

Preparation of the final report

1 Households having at least 20 kg of cattle dung available per day, enough space for bio digester construction, water availability and scope for use of biogas and bio slurry.

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The study should be conducted in close consultation with the National Biogas Support Unit and SNV Zambia. The consultant should propose a detailed approach and methodology including the number of households to be surveyed while submitting the letter of interest.

Structure of the report

The report should be structured as follows:

Situational assessment Stakeholders’ analysis Barriers and opportunities Potential risks and mitigating measures Appropriate financing model(s) for bio digester product Bio digester wholesale credit fund and its operating procedures Recommendations for increasing financial accessibility of poorer households for the

installation of bio digesters Action Plan for the implementation

Deliverables and Time frame

The duration of the study will be 45 days (spread into two months) starting from March 1, 2016. The consultant will submit the following deliverables.

Name of the Report Time RemarksInception report March 15,

2016Soft copy

Draft report for comments April 15, 2016 Soft CopyFinal report April 30, 2009 A soft copy and 2 hard copies of the

report

The consultant should submit the database in excel containing the above mentioned parameters along with the final report.

Budget and ResourcesThe consultant(s) should clearly indicate in his/her/their letter of interest the total costs of conducting the study including remuneration, DSA, travel and transportation fees and any other sundry expenses that may be needed to conduct the study. The consultant should also mention about the supports and resources expected from SNV to successfully carry out the study.

Competency and Qualifications of the Consultant(s)

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The team of the study should be led by an Economist/Credit Expert with proven experiences on economic/financial research and data management supported by experienced data enumerators. The team leader and data enumerators should have previous experiences of conducting similar studies. The team leader should have hands-on experience with data management in appropriate computer software such as SPSS PC+, Epi-Info or any other data management software.

Qualifications

Team Composition, Experience and Competency of the Consultant: At least 7 years of related professional experience with a Master’s Degree in

economics, finance or business administration or other relevant degree. Experience in credit administration, financial inclusiveness and investment

analysis; Familiarity with the renewable energy development sector in Zambia and

investment landscape; Familiarity with national and international financing/credit organization

supporting/ investing credit in Renewable Energy Sector in general and biodigester sector in particular;

Experience working for INGOs, multilateral and bilateral and NGOs, clients, in particular the World Bank, AfDB, DFID and SIDA

Field experience working in emerging or developing economies in general, and Southern Africa in particular, would be a distinct advantage

Demonstrated experience of having undertaken at least two similar services in the recent past; preferably in African Countries.

Demonstrated evidence of clients served (businesses that benefited from the provision of your last assignments of this nature whom SNV can obtain further references)

Evaluation Criteria

The proposals received will be evaluated using the following criteria and other relevant criteria as may be considered appropriate by evaluation / review committee: Relevant qualifications and years of experience. Relevant work experience Depth of proposal in addressing the ToR Research and Analytic ability

The technical proposals fulfilling the minimum required conditions (score more than 60 out of 100) will be considered for further action. Financial proposals of those who do not meet the minimum criteria will not be considered.

The proposals will be ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the 80:20 weights as follows: Total Score = St* 80% + Sf*20%

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The firm/consultant achieving the highest combined technical and quality score will be invited for negotiations.

Application Procedure

Interested consultants should submit separate technical proposal detailing the background, methodology, work-plan, and staff profile amongst others together with separate financial proposal detailing item-wise costs of services to SNV Zambia within two (2) weeks from the date of the advertisement/issue of letters.

Further information is available from:The Renewable Energy Sector Leader,SNV ZambiaEmail: pghimire@snvworld.org

Proposals can be submitted to:The Senior Procurement Officer,SNV Zambia,Email: rmambali@snvworld.org

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