Purpose, Scope and Deliverables of the Assignment.
AECF is seeking the services of a consulting firm to provide investment readiness assessment and assistance to eight enterprises in the renewable energy and agribusiness sectors across Africa. AECF will encourage the submission of proposals from a consortium of firms under the coordination and supervision of a lead Consulting firm (The Consultant) responsible for the engagement. The Consultant will be responsible for identifying the key areas of intervention and guiding the beneficiary enterprises in the implementation of recommended actions towards accessing external capital. The Consultant must have good understanding of the small and growing businesses (SGB) sector in Africa and possess significant experience helping companies in raising capital.
It’s to be noted that AECF will provide the capital raising support upon completion of the assignment by the Consultant. However, beneficiary companies reserve the right to appoint AECF or other service providers to carry out their capital raise mandate.
Scope of Work
Under the guidance of AECF, the Consultant will conduct an assessment of each beneficiary company to establish their readiness status and capacity to raise external capital. The Consultant will draw a fundraising plan and prepare the company’s founders and senior management for capital raising. The Consultant will advise each company on the optimal capital structure and provide a shortlist of target investors to engage.
Key activities:
Assess the capacity of select eight enterprises in the following countries [Kenya (1), Tanzania (5), Uganda (1), Mozambique (1)] to raise external capital
Provide a set of recommendations to guide each company in becoming investor ready
Develop a specific fundraising plan including appropriate investment instruments and capital requirements for each company.
Conduct a review of available company documents and put in place a data room for potential investors
Prepare investor marketing material for the company comprising of a PowerPoint presentation, business plan, financial model, and company valuation report where appropriate
Recommend a short list of target investors and advise companies on the engagement approach for optimal results
Prepare the company founders and/or senior management team on how to raise capital
Key deliverables;
Investment readiness status report on beneficiary companies highlighting their respective strengths and gaps in the areas of governance, operations, financial management and team capacity to deliver
A fundraising plan detailing the capital requirements of the company, the optimal capital structure, a shortlist of target investors and engagement approach
A set of investor marketing material including a short pitch deck, a PowerPoint presentation for the company and investment opportunity, a business plan, a financial model and company valuation report (where an equity raise is recommended)
A brainstorming session with the founders and/or senior management team on how to raise capital and secure their buy-in and input on the fundraising plan.
An end of assignment report outlining the key activities undertaken, the results achieved, and recommendations including a financial quotation for any critical follow on activities that may be identified and is outside the scope of this assignment.
Duration of Service
The Consultant is expected to start by 17th June 2019 and work through August 2019.
Proposal submission.
Interested firms must submit a proposal with examples of similar engagements undertaken previously and the results achieved. The proposal must include detailed CVs of the proposed team members for carrying out the assignment, and a quotation of the applicable fees (tax inclusive).
AECF is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on service fees as well as any applicable VAT. Tenderers are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position with regard to the provisions of Kenyan tax legislation when formulating their financial proposals.
Required qualifications and experience of the Consultant:
A duly registered consulting firm with a minimum of two years’ experience helping SGBs in Africa to raise external capital
Team members must possess a minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience in investment banking, financial advisory or impact investing in the continent.
Demonstrated experience working with SGBs in the agriculture or renewable energy sectors in target countries.
Selection Criteria
The successful tenderer will be selected through an evaluation of the technical proposal in line with the attached scoring grid in annexe 1. The financial offers of those tenderers reaching a minimum score will be evaluated to generate an overall assessment for review and selection by the procurement committee of AECF.
Annexe 1: Evaluation Grid**
TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA FORM
RFP: Investment Readiness Consultancy
Name of Tenderer:
No.
Criteria for Assessment
Marks
Score
1. Understanding of the terms of reference-10
Explanation of the background to the sector-3
Description of the problem to be solved-3
Understanding of what AECF is expecting from the work-4
2. Methodology and workplan-20
Relevance of the methodology proposed to the needs of the assignment-5
Local presence or track record delivering assignments in target countries-10
Adequacy of the workplan, including key deliverables and timing-5
3. Technical experience of staff offered-20
Relevant tertiary level qualification-5
Years of professional experience-5
Evidence of similar experience in the relevant industries-10
