INVITATION TO TENDER: RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT TO ASSIST WITH ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION

RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT TO ASSIST FAGACE WITH ISO 9001 : VERSION 2015 CERTIFICATION

1. GENERAL PRESENTATION OF FAGACE

The Fonds Africain de Garantie et de Coopération Economique (FAGACE) is an international financial institution specializing in the promotion of public and private investment.
Its mission is to contribute to the economic and social development of its member states, individually and collectively, by facilitating the financing and implementation of development projects through loan guarantees.
The 14 member states of FAGACE are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo.
The Fund’s head office is in Cotonou, in the Republic of Benin. It also has two (2) regional offices in Cameroon and Rwanda.
Detailed information on the environment, organization and activities of the Fund is available on its website: www.fagace.org.

2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR THE ASSIGNMENT

In accordance with its 2021-2025 strategic plan, whose vision is “to make FAGACE a modern institution that contributes fully to the economic and social development of its member states”, FAGACE has planned to implement a Quality Management System (QMS) in accordance with standard 9001 version 2015, in order to ensure continuous improvement in the quality of its services and processes.

The purpose of these Terms of Reference (“ToR”) is to define the terms and conditions for the recruitment of a consultant who will support the Fund in its process of implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) in accordance with standard 9001 version 2015.

3. OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTATION

FAGACE hereby invites eligible candidates to express their interest in assisting it in implementing its quality system in accordance with the ISO 9001 version 2015 standard, in order to capitalize on the experience and know-how acquired to improve the structuring of the organization.

4. BENEFICIARIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The beneficiaries are all the Fund’s stakeholders: internally, the shareholder States and General Management, and externally, the Fund’s banking and financial partners.

5. TASKS, ACTIVITIES AND BREAKDOWN OF THE ASSIGNMENT

As part of this ISO 9001 version 2015 quality certification support assignment, the consultant will be responsible for the following main tasks for each of the project phases:

Phase 1: Diagnosis and assessment of FAGACE’s current situation in relation to ISO 9001 version 2015 (Initial Audit)

A quality diagnosis and assessment of the situation will be carried out through a series of interviews and meetings in order to :

• understand FAGACE’s organization and the structure of the existing system,
• assess existing constraints and available resources
• assess the current system against the requirements of ISO 9001 version 2015,
• map processes,
• measure gaps,
• help the organization identify and prioritize improvements, and draw up an action plan.

Phase 2: Support in implementing a detailed action plan, including training for all staff:

• draw up a detailed action plan based on the diagnosis, and support the Fund in its implementation, leading to the setting up of a quality management system compliant with ISO 9001 requirements,
• train and sensitize the Fund’s staff, i.e. at least 16 executives (14 members of the Board of Directors and 02 direct employees of the Operations and Marketing Department), on the requirements of the ISO 9001 v 2015 standard,
• train and certify internal auditors (at least four (04) people),
• draw up and define the task allocation schedule,
• estimate the number of days required for: design and planning, effective implementation and verification of the system,
• assist the Fund in updating and/or drafting procedures, work instructions and quality manuals,
• actively support FAGACE throughout the document system drafting phase,
• once the documentation system has been drawn up, assist FAGACE in implementing all the requirements of the standard,
• assist FAGACE in implementing the internal audit and management review processes.

Phase 3: Certification support

The activities associated with this phase of the assignment are as follows:

• identification of additional needs: assessment of the status of the quality system implemented during phases 1 and 2, and identification of additional corrective measures to be implemented,
• assistance with the implementation of corrective measures: in conjunction with the implementation structure, draw up and plan all measures complementary to those of the 1st and 2nd phases, to ensure that the quality system complies with the ISO 9001: Version 2015 standard, and prepare FAGACE for certification,
• pre-certification audit: assist FAGACE in implementing corrective actions and in preparing the certification file, ensuring follow-up until certification is obtained.

Any other task compatible with those mentioned above and whose contribution to the achievement of the mission’s object could be defined and integrated by the consultant.

6. EXPECTED RESULTS

• Quality diagnosis of the existing system,
• development of an action plan enabling FAGACE to obtain ISO 9001-2015 certification,
• staff training and awareness-raising,
• certification of 4 internal auditors, achieved,
• implementation of a complete QMS, adapted and compliant with ISO 9001: v 2015,
• FAGACE quality reference manual drawn up and validated,
• certification audit successfully completed.

7. DELIVERABLES

• Diagnostic report,
• detailed action plan resulting from the diagnosis,
• procedure manual and related documentation available,
• training certificates,
• pre-certification audit report,
• internal audit certificates,
• final mission report.

Deliverables, written in French, must be provided in a form satisfactory to FAGACE. Once validated, all reports will be sent to FAGACE in hard copy, in three (3) copies, with a parallel e-mail (in Word and PDF format).
The final mission report must be sent to FAGACE within fifteen (15) days of the end of the mission.

8. CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFILE

To take part in this consultation, the consultant must demonstrate that he possesses all the skills and guarantees required to carry out this assignment under the best possible conditions. He must provide proof of :

• accreditation,
• ISO 9001 version 2015 quality certification,
• at least 10 years’ professional experience in ISO 9001 certification,
• at least three (03) assignments in the last three (03) years to support the implementation of an ISO 9001 version 2015 quality management system in banking or international financial institutions. Experience in supporting or certifying a guarantee fund would be an asset,
• Relevant experience in supporting and implementing QMS projects, training and ISO 9001 v 2015 certification,
  third-party quality auditor.

9. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Interested consultants should submit to the Fund their proposals for service offers, written exclusively in French and comprising a technical offer and a financial offer.
Bids will be evaluated in accordance with FAGACE procedures.
Tenders (technical and financial) must be drawn up in four (4) copies, including one (1) original and three (3) copies, in two separate envelopes marked: “TECHNICAL TENDER” for one and “FINANCIAL TENDER” for the other, all placed in a large sealed envelope marked: “Mission d’accompagnement à la certification ISO 9001 : version 2015 du FAGACE”.
Tenders must reach the Fund’s headquarters in Cotonou, in a sealed envelope, no later than July 14, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. (local time), at the following address:

African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund
298, Boulevard CEN-SAD
Rue 12 044 Cotonou
01 BP 2045 Cotonou (Benin)

For the attention of

Monsieur le Directeur Général du Fonds Africain de Garantie et de Coopération Economique

Technical proposals scoring less than the minimum technical score of seventy (70) points will be rejected and the corresponding financial proposals will not be opened.

The technical proposal must not include any financial information.

Bidders’ technical proposals must include:

a) a letter of application, duly completed, dated and signed,
b) a certified copy of the original approval,
c) documentary evidence of the bidder’s experience,
d) a list of similar assignments carried out by the bidder over the last ten (10) years, supported by supporting documents (contracts, etc.),
e) a description of the proposed methodology for carrying out the assignment,
f) the proposed schedule for carrying out the assignment within the proposed timeframe,
g) a detailed proposal for the training program in tabular form,
h) a summary detailing the titles of the various modules, their objectives, the expected results and the number of hours allocated to each,
i) a data sheet summarizing the objectives and expected results,
j) the consultant’s work schedule,
k) a copy of the bid in electronic format.

FAGACE reserves the right to verify the information provided by the bidder.

10. MODIFICATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

FAGACE may, for any reason whatsoever, on its own initiative or following a request for clarification submitted by a bidder, modify the expression of interest by publishing, as the case may be, an Addendum or a Corrigendum on the official FAGACE website, www.fagace.org.

The Addendum or Corrigendum will be notified ten (10) days before the deadline for receipt of proposals.

11. PROGRESS OF THE ASSIGNMENT AND REPORTS

To carry out the assignment, the consultant will :

• collect all necessary documentation and information;
• carry out documentary analysis;
• conduct interviews;
• maintain adequate and permanent communication with the resource persons designated by the Fund;
• assist the Fund’s teams in the adoption and implementation of the new standards.

The Mission’s activities will take place at the Institution’s headquarters in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.
The Mission’s intervention period is from August 2023 to January 2024, with a start-up as soon as possible.
The deadline for completion of the assignment is January 31, 2024.
The Fund will set up an internal steering committee which will be the consultant’s focal point during the project.
All deliverables will be submitted by the contractor to the steering committee within 15 days of the end of the assignment.
A phase is considered completed once the corresponding deliverables have been received.
When validating the deliverables, FAGACE may :

• either accept the reports without reservation, which implies their approval,
• or invite the contractor to make any necessary corrections, additional analyses or adjustments.

In the latter case, the consultant will have a period of 2 days, which will not affect the contractual deadline, to make the necessary corrections and adjustments and submit the reports after FAGACE has formulated its remarks and requests for additions.
The Fund reserves 15 days to assess the final report.

12. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Technical proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their compliance with the ToR and using the following evaluation criteria:

– specific experience of the consultant relevant to the assignment ;
– suitability of the proposed methodology and work plan to the ToR;
– qualifications and experience of key personnel;
– adequacy of the program for the appropriation of the new standards by the Fund’s staff.

The scoring grid for technical bids is as follows: