Consultancy for Scaling and Sustaining the VSLA/SGs Model in Rwanda at CARE International Rwanda (Deadline: 31 October, 2025)
CARE INTERNATIONAL IN RWANDA
P.O Box 550 Kigali,54ST Career Center Building 8th floor
Tel: +250 788 306 241/+ 250 788 304 454
Email:care.rw@care.org
www.care.org
Request for Proposal
CONSULTANCY FOR Scaling and Sustaining the VSLA/SGs model in Rwanda
RFP DOCUMENT [_41/2025_]
RFP Issue Date: [October 22, 2025]
Proposal submission DEADLINE: [October 31, 2025]
1. ABOUT CARE
At CARE, we seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live with dignity and security.
This has been our vision since 1945, when we were founded to send lifesaving CARE Packages® to survivors of World War II. Today, CARE is a leader in the global movement to end poverty. We put women and girls in the center because we know we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. In 2019, CARE worked in 100 countries and reached 70 million people with an incredible range of life-saving programs.
For more information about CARE and our work, visit: https://www.care.org/our-work/
2. GENERAL CONDITIONS and CLAUSES
2.1. CARE’s GENERAL CONDITIONS
The enclosed document is not an offer to contract, but a solicitation of a vendor’s proposed intent. Acceptance of a proposal in no way commits CARE to award a contract for any or all products and services to any vendor.
CARE reserves the right to make the following decisions and actions based on its business interests and for reasons known only to CARE:
- To determine whether the information provided does or does not substantially comply with the requirements of the RFP
- To contact any bidder after proposal submittal for clarification of any information provided.
- To waive any or all formalities of bidding
- To accept or reject a proposal in whole or part without justification to the bidder
- To not accept the lowest bid
- To negotiate with one or more bidders in respect to any aspect of submitted proposal
- To award another type of contract other than that described herein, or to award no contract.
- To enter into a contract or agreement for purchase with parties not responding to this RFP
- To request, at its sole discretion, selected Vendors to provide a more detailed presentation of the proposal
- To not share the results of the bids with other bidders and to award contracts based on whatever is in the best interest of CARE.
Any material statements made orally or in writing in response to this RFP or in response to requests for additional information will be considered offers to contract and should be included by vendor in any final contract.
2.2. CONFIDENTIALITY/ NON-DISCLOSURE
All information gained by any vendor concerning CARE work practices is not to be disclosed to anyone outside those responsible for the preparation of this proposal. Any discussion by the vendor of CARE’s business practices could be reason for disqualification. CARE, at their discretion, reserves the right to require a non-disclosure agreement.
Reciprocally, CARE commits that information received in response to this RFP will be held in strict confidence and not disclosed to any party, other than those persons directly responsible for the evaluation of the responses, without the express consent of the responding vendor.
Finally, the information contained within this RFP is confidential and is not to be disclosed or used for any other purpose by the vendor.
2.3. PUBLICITY
Any publicity referring to this project, whether in the form of press releases, brochures, or photographic coverage will not be permitted without prior written approval from CARE.
2.4. LIABILITY
The selected vendor(s) will be required to show proof of adequate insurance at such time as CARE is prepared to procure the services. The participating vendor will also be required to indemnify and hold harmless CARE for, among other things, any third-party claims arising from the selected vendor’s acts or omissions, and will be liable for any damage caused by its employees, agents or subcontractors.
2.5. FORCE MAJEURE
a. Neither Party shall be responsible for a performance that is delayed, hindered, or is rendered inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible by a “Force Majeure Event.” A Force Majeure event includes, without limitation, an act of nature, a pandemic, emergency, civil unrest or disorder, actual or threatened terrorism, war, fire, governmental action or interference of any kind, power or utility failures, strikes or other labor disturbances, a health warning issued by the Center for Disease Control (or similar agency), any other civil or governmental emergency and/or any other similar event beyond a Party’s reasonable control.
b. The Party that seeks to invoe this Force Majeure provision (the “Affected Party”) shall provide the other Party (the “Unaffected Party”) with a written notice within ten (10) days of the date the Affected Party determines a Force Majeure Event has occurred.
2.6. ERRORS AND OMISSIONS
CARE expects the vendor will provide all labor, coordination, support, and resources required based on the vendor’s proposal and corresponding final SOW. No additional compensation will be available to the vendor for any error or omission from the proposal made to CARE. The only exclusions are add-ons, deletions, and/or optional services for which the vendor has received written authorization from CARE.
2.7. OWNERSHIP OF WORK
All work created during this evaluation must be original work, and no third party should hold any rights in or to the work. All rights, title and interest in the work shall be vested in CARE.
2.8. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
CARE encourages every prospective Supplier to avoid and prevent conflicts of interest, by disclosing to CARE if you, or any of your affiliates or personnel, were involved in the preparation of the requirements, design, specifications, cost estimates, and other information used in this RFP.
3. BIDDER’S DECLARATION
Yes | No | |
☐ | ☐ | Ethics: By submitting this Proposal/Quote, I/we guarantee that the bidder has not engaged in any improper, illegal, collusive, or anti-competitive arrangements with any competitors; has not directly or indirectly contacted any buyer representative (aside from the point of contact) or gather information regarding the RFP; and has not attempted to influence or offer any type of personal inducement, reward, or benefit to any buyer representative. |
☐ | ☐ | I/We affirm that we will not engage in prohibited behavior or any other unethical behavior with CARE or any other party. We also affirm that we have read the general clause and conditions included in this RFP and that we will conduct business in a way that avoids any financial, operational, reputational, or other undue risk to CARE. |
☐ | ☐ | Conflict of interest: I/We warrant that the bidder has no actual, potential or perceived Conflict of Interest in submitting this Proposal/Quote; or entering into a Contract to deliver the Requirements. CARE Procurement’s Point of Contact will be notified right away by the bidder if a conflict of interest occurs during the RFP process. |
☐ | ☐ | Bankruptcy: l/We have not declared bankruptcy, are not involved in bankruptcy or receivership proceedings, and there is no judgment or pending legal issues that could hinder the ability to conduct business. |
☐ | ☐ | Offer Validity Period: I/We confirm that this Proposal/Quote, including the price, remains open for acceptance for the Offer Validity. |
☐ | ☐ | I/We understand and recognize that you are not bound to accept any proposal you receive, and we certify that the goods offered in our Quotation are new and unused. |
☐ | ☐ | By signing this declaration, the signatory below represents, warrants and agrees that he/she has been authorized by the Organization/s to make this declaration on its/their behalf |
Supplier Name: |
Title/Designation: |
Company Name: |
Date: |
Signature |
4. CONDITIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL
4.1. PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
This Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process.
All vendors must provide written notification via email to (rwa.procurement@care.org ) of their intent to participate, or not to participate not later than October 25,2025
Proposals will be accepted until 5:30 PM [October 31, 2025],
delivered via email solely to rwa.procurement@care.org , no later than the above specified date.
Any proposals received after this date and time will not be accepted. All proposals must be signed by an official agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal.
If the organization submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. Additionally, all costs included in proposals must be all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name and description of the organizations being contracted.
All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs.
Contract terms and conditions will be negotiated upon selection of the winning bidder for this RFP. All contractual terms and conditions will be subject to review by the CARE legal department, and will include scope, budget, schedule, and other necessary items pertaining to the project.
Any verbal information obtained from, or statements made by representatives of CARE shall not be construed as in any way amending this RFP. Only such corrections or addenda as are issued in writing by CARE to all RFP participants shall be official. CARE will not be responsible for verbal instructions.
4.2. PROJECT PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION
CARE is issuing this RFP (Request for Proposal) soliciting qualified bidders to submit proposals intended for Consultancy for Scaling and Sustaining the VSLA/SGs model in Rwanda
This RFP is an invitation to bid, not an offer of contract. Bidders must submit a response that complies with the minimum requirements contained herein.
4.3. PROJECT OVERVIEW
CARE is seeking a provider to submit proposals intended for the Consultancy for Scaling and Sustaining the VSLA/SGs model.
2. General objective of the assignment
This consultancy aims to analyze the different community structures, their opportunities and
challenges, and propose a standardized and sustainable model.
3. Specific objectives of the assignment
Based on the above background, CARE Rwanda is looking for an experienced consultancy firm
and/or individual to:
– Analyze the current VSLA/SGs landscape in Rwanda, including coverage, performance,
and stakeholder roles.
– Identify gaps, opportunities, and enabling factors for scale and sustainability for
VSLAs/SGs.
– Conduct a review and adapt the community-based structure to support and sustain
VSLAs/SGs
– Propose a scalable and sustainable business model/plan for the Community based
structure, including monitoring, evaluation and learning plan
– Propose a plan to strengthen and build skills for the community structure to implement
the business plan
– Develop a cost implementation framework including sources of funding.
4. Key deliverables and timeline
1. Community-based structure to support and sustain VSLAs/SGs proposed and validated – By December 2025
2. Scalable and sustainable business model/plan for VSLAs /SGs developed- By January
2026
3. Structured MEAL plan with SMART indicators developed – By January 2026
4. Detailed community structure capacity strengthening plan developed – By February
2026
5. Cost implementation framework including source of funding proposed – By Mid-March
2026
5. Required expertise for the consultancy firm
- Proven extensive experience in designing social and economic value through business change.
- Proven experience of at least 5 years in defining and supporting business plans in rural economic development contexts.
- Hands-on experience in diversified civil society organizations (CSOs) strengthening,
- especially those in less/developing countries; including INGOs, will be an added
- advantage.
- Registration in Rwanda is preferred; external companies will be subjected to a 15% withholding tax according to the local taxation policy
- Evidence of defined and supported operational rural economic development business
- plans that can be adapted to the scope of work
- Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines
- Ability to work independently within scope of job description
- Proven experience in financial inclusion, VSLA programming, and business model
- development.
- Strong understanding of Rwanda’s socio-economic and policy context.
Requirement & Specs | Qty. | Unit of Measurement | Required Delivery Lead Time | Delivery Address | Contract Period |
Consultancy for Scaling and Sustaining the VSLA/SGs model in Rwanda | 1 | Each | April 2026 | 5 Months |
4.4. PROJECT TIMELINE
All bidders are advised to strictly follow the timeline below as noted.
Any technical questions arising during the preparation of your response to this RFP should be submitted in writing via email to rwa.procurement@care.org no later than [October 27, 2025].
Schedule of Activities/ To-do | Date of the Activity/ Deadline of Submission | Responsible | Remarks |
RFP Issued | [October 22, 2025] | CARE | |
Supplier to notify CARE of intention to participate in bidding | [October 25, 2025] | Supplier | Deadlines must be strictly observed. |
Deadline for submission of clarification questions to CARE | [October 27, 2025] | Supplier | Deadlines must be strictly observed. |
CARE to answer all clarifications | [October 29, 2025] | CARE | |
Supplier’s Deadline for Submission of Proposal | [October 31, 2025] | Supplier | Deadlines must be strictly observed. |
Evaluation of Proposal | From [November 03, 2025] to [November 18, 2025] | CARE | |
Vendor presentation (if required) | From [November 19, 2025] to [November 25, 2025] | Supplier | |
Finalists selected | [November 27, 2025] | CARE | Upon notification, the contract negotiation with the winning bidder will begin immediately. |
4.5. EVALUATION CRITERIA
CARE will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposal, your proposal should be complete and include all of the following criteria:
- Overall Proposal Suitability: proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner
- Previous Work and Awards: Bidders will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining to the requirement as well as client testimonials and references
- Technical Expertise and Organizational Experience: Bidders must provide descriptions and documentation of staff technical expertise and experience. Bidders also need to provide their experiences as an organization which include but not limited to years of experience, financial stability, expertise, and edge to other competitors.
- Value and Cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their solution(s) based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project.
Note for Country Offices (CO): The specific criteria must closely represent the objective and scope given the nature of the procurement required. Evaluation criteria reflected above can be added and or adjusted depending on the requirement and the type of purchase. The final evaluation criteria must be reflected above prior to releasing of this RFP.
CARE will review proposed budgets and pricing after the initial review of the criteria above.*
Application process
The proposals should indicate the following:
- Vendor profile and detailed CVs of key people to be assigned to the work
Evidence of the vendor’s experience in similar assignments (at least 3 references with contact or address of referees). At least 10 years of experience in recruitment service
- Technical proposal, including a description of the proposed methodology detailing how deliverables will be achieved with a clear time frame.
- Financial offer detailing various costs associated with the delivery of the above services, in PDF Format and must be a separate document from the technical offer.
- List of major customers in the field of recruiting firm: public, private and International NGOs
- Copies of similar assignments (with evidence for good completion of the previous similar assignments).
- VAT registration certificate; RDB registration certificate; RRA tax clearance certificate; RSSB tax clearance certificate .
- Minimum 3 certificates of similar work done in the past.
- Proof of registration in Rwanda with the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) as a data controller or data processor.
Interested companies are requested to submit their offer not later than Wednesday October 31, 2025, at 5:00 pm local time to the following e-mail address:
rwa.procurement@care.org with mention “Consultancy for Scaling and Sustaining the VSLA/SGs model in Rwanda”.
Kigali, October 22,2025
Procurement Unit
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