Consultancy Services to Undertake Feasibility Study on the Design and Operationalisation of the AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund - 2931458

The AFRICAN UNION DEVELOPMENT AGENCY-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) in South Africa from African region had released this tender for Tenders are invited for Consultancy Services to Undertake Feasibility Study on the Design and Operationalisation of the AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund. Closing Date: Friday, April 7, 2023 - 14:30 Sector: Research, Consultancy and Professional Services Description: Consultancy services to undertake feasibility study on the design and operationalisation of the AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund Tender number: 54/AUDA/DOO/DIR/QCBS/2023 Closing date and time: 7th April 2023 at 14:30hrs 1. INTRODUCTION Africa’s leaders are prioritising the implementation of African-driven sustainable funding mechanisms to drive the continent's high-impact programmes and projects. Following the formation of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD), progressive steps have been taken to ensure that the Agency explores and implements adequate funding frameworks for its sustainable financing. The AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund (AUDF) has been established as part of the implementation of the new mandate of the AUDA-NEPAD is the development agency of the African Union. The goal of the Development Fund is to narrow the resource gap through innovative resource mobilization techniques and enhancing domestic financing. Building on the 2003 Assembly/AU/Decl.8 (II), Heads of State undertook to approve and adopt the AUDA-NEPAD's institutional mandate at the 11th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly, in 2018. A key provision in the Agency’s mandate was the task to "undertake a full range of resource mobilisation". Recognising the critical need to expand existing funding streams for the sustainable financing for Africa’s development priorities, the 40th Executive Council (2021) “REQUEST(ED) AUDANEPAD to accelerate steps for the operational establishment of the Development Fund by the end of 2023. The initial steps towards this operationalisation is to conduct a study on the financial and programmatic aspects of the fund for further discussion by the AU policy organs;” Furthermore, the Executive Council, also requested AUDA-NEPAD, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the African Union Commission and other stakeholders, to conduct a feasibility study and submit a proposal, for approval by the Council, on the establishment of a basket fund for unused funds from partners, to support the financing of AUDA - NEPAD-related programmes; The 35th Ordinary Session of the AU endorsed this directive by noting the progress made by AUDA-NEPAD in exploring, developing, and managing flexible funding models to support Member States. Against this backdrop the Heads of State called upon AUDA-NEPAD to expedite the processes for establishing the AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund to be operational by the end of 2023 and to report progress to the HSGOC and other AUDA-NEPAD structures;” 2. OBJECTIVES The overall objectives of the consultancy will be to undertake a feasibility study on the design, development, and operationalisation of the AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund. The following are the specific objectives: i. To conduct a feasibility study on the financial and programmatic aspects of the Development Fund for further discussion in the AU policy organs including recommendations regarding design options. ii. To design the operational structure of the fund, including personnel requirements (attributes and qualifications) of the Fund operational team and the Job descriptions to be used by AUDA-NEPAD to recruit experts. iii. To design the operational guidelines for the fund. 3. SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT The consultant is expected to: 3.1 Review of existing Development Funds for benchmarking and best practices a. Review existing development fund mechanisms in Africa and around the world to derive lessons and best practices that could be applied in operationalising the AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund. b. Review regional and international funding strategies in line with AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund’s funding pillars and their sources of funds and identify those which are relevant. c. Identify and evaluate potential financing partners for the AUDA-NEPAD Development Fund including Member States, Private Sector, and Development Partners taking into consideration ongoing work on alternative sources of funding for the African Union. d. Highlight key issues that should be considered in the design and operationalisation of the Fund. e. The feasibility study should develop a reference framework for effective management and oversight of the AUDF, drawing on international experience of a selected sample of established funds and institutions with similar policy mandate. The studies should pay particular attention to strategies to attract external investors, and to reconcile commercial objectives with economic and social objectives. 3.2 Financing modalities for the Development Fund a. Develop a detailed report of the current status of the financial support pipeline. This should include a detailed listing (table format) analysis of potential funders. b. Develop a forecast of the potential resources available (short term/3 years and medium term/6 years) from African governments, African Union, multilateral institutions, and other innovative funding sources, including private sector, tax/public revenues, investors, wealthy Africans and philanthropist and others. c. Establish the financial needs of the Fund for the coming 10 years, including the minimum investment required to sustain annual funding. d. Develop a financial scorecard for the Fund that could be evaluated on a periodical basis and be used for decision-making. e. Develop criteria for pool funding and Joint Financing Agreements. f. Carryout assessment of the legal and governance requirement to administer the fund. g. Develop the Terms of reference of the fund manager, including the qualifications and expertise required for the fund manager 4. EXPECTED OUTPUTS: a. The design of the Feasibility study, which includes detailed data on similar/benchmark funds, design options for the fund, and suggested design to be selected. b. Methodology and the approach of the proposed assignment c. Report outlining similar/benchmarked funds highlighting lessons learned, and best practices. d. Financial projections report including 10-years financial targets, current contribution pipeline, and analysis of potential gaps (best- and worst-case scenarios). e. A fundraising strategy that includes a detailed financial scorecard of the fund with a clear definition of contributors and potential growth projections. f. Terms of reference for a Fund Manager tasked to maximize investment returns while managing risk. 5. The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. 6. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified and experienced to perform the services. The shortlisting criteria are: a. An Official signed Letter from an authorized official, expressing interest of the firm to participate in the Consultancy. b. Signed declaration of undertaking. c. General profile and background of the firm which should elaborate the following: i. Core Business of the firms ii. Names of authorized representatives of the firms (Power of Attorney). iii. In the cases of Consortiums/Partnerships/Associations shall be required to submit Joint venture Agreements/Joint Association letters stating the lead firm. iv. Commercial Registration of the firms attaching Registrations certificates. d. Experience of the Firm in handling consultancy services of a similar nature with at least 10 years of experience in investment fund management. Firm to include written references from at least 3 institutional clients with contact details; and e. Availability of Professional Key Staff with Suitable Qualifications and experience in the field of assignment. 7. AUDA-NEPAD will shortlist 3-8 best qualified and experienced firms to submit detailed technical and financial proposals. 8. Reporting and Time Schedules: The duration of assignment is expected to last maximum three (3) months. The Consultant will report directly to the Head of Finance. 9. Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications. Firms from African Union Members States and/or joint ventures will have an added advantage. 10. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method set out in the AU Procurement Guidelines. This is an Expression of Interest (EOI) only; submission of Financial Proposals is not applicable at this stage. 11. AUDA-NEPAD reserves the right to verify any information provided by prospective entities/individuals and false information will lead to disqualification. The AUDA-NEPAD Agency reserves the right to cancel or reject any or all EOIs without stating any reason. 12. Only Consulting Firms are eligible for this assignment if they fulfil the following eligibility criteria: a) Have no conflict of interest in relationship to performance of this assignment. b) Are not subject to, and not controlled by any entity or individual that is subject to, a temporary suspension or a debarment imposed by the Africa Union, World Bank or any other multilateral development bank and being listed on the website http://www.worldbank.org/debarr or respectively on the relevant list of any other multilateral development bank. Further, we are not ineligible under pursuant to a decision of the United Nations Security Council along with any of thie sub-consultants, subcontractors, suppliers, or service providers for any part of the contract. c) Have not been convicted by a final judgement or a final administrative decision or subject to financial sanctions by with tender notice no. 54/AUDA/DOO/DIR/QCBS/2023 published on 22 Mar 2023. The tender expired on 07 Apr 2023. This tender is sourced from Official Website and is eligible for suppliers interested in IT services. Interested bidders can obtain further information including complete bid documents or ways to participate by registering on Tender Impulse and referencing via Tender Impulse ID 2931458.