REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR SERVICES

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

The Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund (KCGF) is an independent legal entity established under Law No. 05/L-057 on the Establishment of the Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund, amended and supplemented by Law no.08/L-138.

KCGF was created to assist in meeting the need for increased access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Kosovo, with the aim of creating jobs, increasing domestic production and value-added services, improving the trade balance and expanding financing opportunities for MSMEs.

All questions related to the content of this Request for Proposals must be submitted to the email address indicated above by the deadline indicated above. After the deadline for receiving questions, a document containing all anonymized questions, along with KCGF’s responses will be sent to all proposers at their specified email addresses in the email for the RFP request and which should be indicated inside the technical part of their proposal. Questions made by phone will not be accepted and will not receive a response.

No information in this Request for Proposals constitutes a formal bid to contract for the provision of Non-Financial Services: Training and Networking Services for Women in Business and the publication of this Request for Proposals does not oblige KCGF to proceed with the selection of any proposer.

KCGF reserves the right to reject any or all proposals if they are considered technically or financially non-responsive to this Request for Proposals.

KCGF is not and will not be responsible for any costs associated with preparing and submitting proposals, possible direct presentations, negotiation process or other activities related to the selection process.

II. PURPOSE OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The purpose of this Request for Proposals is to invite professional companies to submit proposals to provide Non-Financial Services to KCGF: Training and Networking Services for Women in Business. The successful tenderer will be invited to negotiate a contract for Non-Financial Services to KCGF: Training and Networking Services for Women in Business. The contract term will be for a period of one (1) year with the possibility of an extension for one (1) additional year, starting from year 2025.

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III. MANDATORY CRITERIA

Proposers must clearly demonstrate that they meet the mandatory criteria set out below or they will be excluded from further consideration during the evaluation process:

• The Service Provider should be a company /consulting firm with at least 3 years of relevant project experience in organizing networking events and organizing and conducting training as required by this ToR.
• The work should be undertaken by a company expert who has relevant skills and experience in digital marketing and communication, can propose the curricula for the training, and can conduct this specific training for the targeted group as per ToR.
• Submit the file with the CVs of the experts as per requirements in ToR
• The Company should have successfully implemented similar contracts for delivering digital marketing training and organizing networking events in the past.
• References for similar projects in the last three years

The Company may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications.

IV. REQUIRED SERVICES

Except for the financial component, the KCGF will offer non-financial services to women in business aimed at enhancing their knowledge of digital marketing (basics) and communication skills in the sense of promotion of their products (services), negotiation, and networking.

Training in digital marketing and communication skills for women in business shall provide them with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate the digital landscape, access markets, and compete on an equal footing.

To achieve this goal, the KCGF intends to engage a service provider specialized in providing training to targeted groups of women in business as outlined in this RFP.

Moreover, the service provider will be responsible in cooperation with KCGF to:

• design, develop, implement, and oversee training programs for our target group - women in business,
• to organize one networking event in the form of a conference and/or fair for women in business when the implementation of the training has been finalized.
• Mentor and support MSMEs within the project duration that were part of the training program whenever needed regarding the above-mentioned issues.

Scope of work

The service provider (company) will be required to provide the following services for KCGF, as follows:

• Prepare the training content/curricula/presentation on digital marketing and communication in close cooperation with KCGF.
• Select the venue where training will be held and facilitate all necessary logistic services that accompany the successful conduction of the training.
• Identify, reach out, and invite the participants.
• Conduct all training sessions as foreseen in ToR.
• Organize one networking event with all participants in the training and relevant stakeholders (The company is free to bring their creative ideas on this matter).
• Provide the written report to KCGF at the end of the training and event within the timeframe set.

For these services, the offer shall include:

• Logistic facilitation and organization of at least 50 (fifty) training/mentoring /presentation sessions for at least 500 (five hundred) participants in total.
• The venue where training will occur and lunch, as well as the costs of transport and travel within Kosovo.
• Venue of the networking event and idea of how this event will be organized.
• The training group shall contain at least seven (7) participants.
• The training sessions shall be held in seven (7) main cities of Kosovo.

These training/presentation sessions shall be provided for:

• MSME with Unique Identification Number (UIN) from KBRA
• MSME must either (i) be owned or co-owned by at least one woman or (ii) be managed by at least one woman in an executive position.

Project manager and experts:

The winning company is obliged to appoint an expert(s) who has relevant skills and experience in digital marketing and communication to perform the work. Also, a project manager should be assigned by the company for this project. A project manager in close cooperation with the people responsible for the KCGF will be responsible for coordinating and executing the terms of this contract. The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of this contract, including team management and support coordination between parties involved, and will act as the main point of contact for communications and reporting. He/ She will ensure that all the resources required are available for the high-quality production of the contracted products and activities.

V. CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL

The proposal can be submitted in Albanian, Serbian, or English languages and consists of two (2) parts, a Technical Part and a Financial Part. The Technical Part and Financial Part must be signed by an authorized representative of the company and placed in separate envelopes in which it should be marked whether it is the Technical Part or Financial Part.

The two envelopes shall be then placed in a larger packaging or envelope in which the following information is noted:

The proposal shall be submitted only in hard copies at the address indicated on the first page of this Request for Proposals.

The proposal must be submitted at the specified location before the deadline.

VI. TECHNICAL PART

The purpose of the technical proposal is to demonstrate the qualifications, competencies and capacity of companies that will perform Non-Financial Services: Training and Networking Services for Women in Business in accordance with this Request for Proposals (RFP). The technical proposal must demonstrate (1) The company’s and its team’s ability, and (2) The proposed strategy.

1. The company’s and its team’s ability

The company should highlight:

• The location and overall size of the company, experience and current abilities of its partners, managers, and staff related to this task;
• The availability of the company’s resources to ensure that deadlines are met;
• The company’s quality control/peer review programs;
• The proposed team to be engaged in this task, should have relevant experience and abilities;
• It is preferred that the staff responsible (manager) have at least three (3) years of work experience and relevant qualifications;

1. Company’s proposed strategy

The proposal should specify a work plan, including an explanation of the methodology to be followed, to perform the services required in this Request for Proposals:

VII. FINANCIAL PART

The cost proposal should be quoted with VAT (Value Added Tax).

The cost proposal should include fulfillment of all requirements specified in this RFP.

Evaluation method

The submitted proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by a commission composed of KCGF representatives. Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

The contract will be awarded based on the “most economically advantageous” principle. If KCGF determines that a proposal is technically superior, but more expensive, the more expensive proposal may win the contract based on the evaluation that represents the best overall value, taking into account the price/technical offer balance.

KCGF will not select a proposer for a contract award based on a superior technical proposal without considering the cost. The cost will be evaluated based on the matrix of proportional point distribution by evaluating with maximum points the lowest cost, except when the price offered according to KCGF’s evaluation is considered abnormally low for the requested service. In that case, KCGF will request additional information from the respective proposers.

After evaluating all of the proposals, KCGF may create a competitive range of the most valued proposals for further negotiations. Proposers, included in the competitive range will be invited in writing to submit revised cost/technical proposals based on comments from KCGF.