Request for Proposal – Policy Liaison Advisor for the Renewable Energy Sector in Somalia, November 2021** At Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund

1.0 About AECF**

The AECF is a leading development finance organization that supports businesses to innovate, create

jobs and leverage investments to build resilience and sustainable incomes for rural and marginalized communities in Africa. AECF’ s goal is to bridge the investment gap between early-stage enterprises and business maturity for entrepreneurs serving the poorest communities.

The AECF provides patient capital to new and innovative business models in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors across Sub-Saharan Africa through various financing instruments, which include grants, zero-interest loans, guarantees, and working capital facilities. AECF’ s financing products are supplemented by three additional growth support services to improve the viability and sustainability of our investees, namely, (i) Advisory Services to improve investee internal capabilities (ii) Investment Support in raising commercial capital in significant volumes and (iii) Knowledge and Insights for learning and evidence gathering for policy influencing and advocacy.

The AECF 2021-2025 new strategy objective is to build resilience and sustainable incomes for rural and marginalized communities in Africa. Through catalytic funding, the AECF surfaces and supports commercialization of new ideas, business models, companies and technologies designed to increase agricultural productivity, expand energy access, and alleviate poverty while also addressing the crosscutting themes of women and youth.

2.0 Renewable Energy and Adaptation to Climate Technologies in Sub Saharan Africa (REACT SSA) Program

REACT SSA is a SIDA funded programme with a total value of US $ 63 Million supporting the private sector in Sub-Saharan Africa to meet the energy needs of rural communities. The target countries include Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

About 510 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) currently have no access to electricity and will not get grid access, resulting in a steady increase in the number of people without electricity until at least 2025. The slow progress and prohibitive cost of conventional solutions to the household energy crisis means that cheaper and more accessible new clean technologies offer a better chance of improved access to energy for rural households. Over the last decade, clean energy technologies have become more economical than conventional generation for many applications, and although the regulatory environment to facilitate their application has improved, there is need for strong renewable energy private sector voices to influence decision-making around policies, laws, and regulations that impact the industry.

The AECF’s engagement in the energy sector under REACT SSA is designed to catalyze the private sector to increase the supply of cleaner fuels, raise awareness of the dangers from indoor air pollution, demonstrate how new knowledge in renewable energy technologies can be put into practice in ways that benefit the poor especially women, and provide evidence on challenges in policy formulation and implementation.

3.0 Background to the assignment

The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) through the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) has developed the Somalia Energy Policy, 2019 and the Electricity Bill, 2020 which provide the primary policy framework for the Renewable Energy (RE) sector. Somalia has five Federal Member

States (FMS) namely Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Southwest and Jubbaland. The FMS have Ministries of Energy who provide oversight of RE sector in their respective regions.

The RE sector in Somalia has enormous potential with an unelectrified population of 9.7 million 1people, and 10% rural electrification2, and access to clean cooking at 3%. However, like many other Sub-Saharan African countries, there are a myriad of policy and regulatory constraints which hinder private sector delivery of energy access.

There are varying policy and regulatory constraints across REACT SSA countries which hamper private sector delivery of renewable energy technologies. Some of the key challenges include:

1. Inappropriate fiscal policy frameworks.
2. Inadequate renewable energy policies and regulations and capacity of regulatory bodies to implement their mandate.
3. Overly controlled market environments, among others.

The key barriers for the RE sector in Somalia include:

• Weak policy and regulatory framework with limited focus on access to renewable energy.

• Multiple sector actors engaging with both the FGS and FMS in an uncoordinated manner resulting in duplication of efforts.

• Distribution of RE products by CSOs and NGOs for free thus undermining private sector delivery of RE products, especially solar.

• Lack of market data to inform policy actions.

• Most of the SAS products in the market are non-quality verified thus affecting market confidence.

• Insecurity and long drawn natural calamities e.g., locust plague and drought which have resulted in a poorer population.

The energy sector in Somalia has many stakeholders including: the FGS, the FMS, international development partners, NGOs, and Somalia’s private sector. However, according to the ECU, many – if not all, of these efforts run in parallel without proper coordination or unified direction resulting in overlaps and duplication of efforts serving as a waste of scarce resources.

3.1 Coordination of the RE sector in Somalia

The improvements in governance in the energy sector such as development of the Energy Policy and Electricity Bill, is attracting much needed development partner funding. The MoEWR through its Energy Coordination Unit (ECU) is designed to coordinate engagements with the FGS and FMS on the

1 International Energy Agency (2019)

2 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.RU.ZS?locations=ZG-BF-ET-KE-LR-ML-MZ-SO Accessed 13/10/21 Data from 2018

development of the RE sector and to provide clarity on the support provided to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the incremental delivery of energy access. However, the capacity of ECU is sub optimal and lacks the capacity to effectively coordinate all activities at both the FGS and FMS level.

The Africa Clean Energy Technical Assistance Facility (ACE TAF) Somalia had partnered with the ECU to design and implement a coordination mechanism to enhance the capacity of ECU to adequately implement their mandate. A coordination mechanism inception report was developed outlining an initial mapping of stakeholders and an engagement strategy proposing the structure of the mechanism, membership to the coordination platform and the leadership structure. The coordination mechanism referred to as the ‘Somalia Off Grid Working Group’ (SOG WG) anticipated the formation of the following sub committees:

1. Policy and regulation
2. Quality Assurance
3. Private sector engagement
4. Resource mobilization
5. Market investment mapping
6. Communication (government and international partners)

However, with the closure of the ACE TAF programme in Somalia, the SOG WG has not been formed. AECF seeks to take the lead role in convening the SOG WG in collaboration with the ECU. AECF will purpose to have an initial two to three sub committees i.e., (a) Policy and regulation; (b) Quality Assurance and (c) Energy investments and Finance.

AECF will work with the ECU to coordinate off grid actors in Somalia and address key issues in the policy and regulatory framework such as lack of standards for the sector. AECF through sub committees in the SOG WG will explore the development of voluntary standards/code of practice for AECF’s grantees, and other companies. Operationalizing the SOG WG is expected to enhance coordinated development of the RE sector; and influence RE regulatory reforms to improve private sector delivery of energy access.

AECF sees an opportunity to strengthen coordination of RE actors to consolidate the RE policy and advocacy issues in the country and increase the likelihood that the most pressing issues for the sector are addressed.

AECF seeks to recruit a Policy Liaison Advisor to enhance the capacity of the ECU to coordinate RE sector actors to address key issues in the policy and regulatory framework. AECF through technical committees in the SOG WG will explore the development of voluntary standards/code of practice for AECF’s grantees, and other companies.

4.0 Scope of Work

AECF seeks to recruit a short-term Somalia Policy Liaison Advisor, to organise coordination platforms designed to:

1. Operationalise the SOG WG by Convening coordination meetings in liaison with the ECU.
2. Facilitate consensus building on the RE sectoral advocacy agenda through SOG WG meetings.
3. Support implementation of AECF advocacy activities in the Somalia by representing AECF at key meetings or developing policy briefs on key issues identified in section 3.1, and any other tasks assigned.

4.1 Roles and responsibilities

1. Develop a concise inception report including an agenda for the first meeting, stakeholder mapping and proposed event organization and calendar of both SOG WG meetings and technical committee meetings.
2. Rally stakeholders and convene, in collaboration with the ECU, the SOG WG meetings:

a. Inaugural event of the SOG WG outlining the agenda and priority advocacy issues.

b. Quarterly coordination meetings and technical committees

c. Annual meeting to review forum progress and design future engagements.

1. Prepare quarterly reports detailing the activity of the SOG WG meetings
2. Pursue AECF advocacy priorities as outlined in section 3.1.
3. Develop research papers or policy position papers/briefs as required (This will be assigned through a Statement of Work)
4. Act as the Policy Liaison Advisor for the AECF policy and advocacy department representing AECF at key events coordinating with the Policy and Advocacy Manager.
5. Deliver a final coordination report incorporating a sustainability plan for the SOG WG.

5.0 Expected output and deliverables

The key deliverables for this assignment include:

1. Inception Report
2. Quarterly coordination meetings, and sub-committee meetings and meeting notes
3. Advocacy agenda for each sub committee
4. Policy briefs as assigned
5. Meeting notes for meetings attended as AECF Policy Liaison Advisor.
6. Final report proposing a sustainability plan due at the end of December 2022

The Policy Liaison Advisor will be required to submit timesheets and attach meeting notes, advocacy agenda or reports and briefs as may be appropriate.

6.0 Qualifications/experience required

The consultant/consultancy firm should possess the following skills and/or credentials:

1. Have at least 10 years’ work experience supporting the renewable energy sector undertake policy and regulatory reforms.
2. Have a minimum of bachelor’s degree in energy, public policy, economics, business, or related

courses.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the country’s renewable energy sector, and particularly have

relationships with key stakeholders in the sector.

7.0 Duration of the assignment

This is a long-term consulting assignment which will be implemented over 5 days per quarter, and individual assignments for research papers and policy briefs assigned separately

8.0 Reporting

The consultant will report to the Policy and Advocacy Manager regarding implementation of this intervention.

9.0 Payment structure

The payment breakdown below will be milestone based, against the Assignment deliverables, and will be made upon satisfactory signoff by AECF. It is expected that this assignment will require 40 working days for the year. Advocacy assignments to develop policy briefs will be assigned separately. The payments will be made upon submission of timesheets and an outline of meetings held, stakeholders engaged and meeting notes.

10.0 Evaluation Criteria

An evaluation committee will be formed by the AECF and shall include employees. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The consultant should ensure that they fully respond to all criteria to be comprehensively evaluated.

The AECF may request and receive clarification from any consultant when evaluating a proposal. The evaluation committee may invite some or all the consultants to appear before the committee to clarify their proposals. In such an event, the evaluation committee may consider such clarifications in evaluating proposals.

In deciding the final selection of qualified bidder, the technical quality of the proposal will be given a weighting of 70**%** based on the evaluation criteria. Only the financial proposal of those bidders who qualify technically will be opened. The financial proposal will be allocated a weighting of 30%** and the proposals will be ranked in terms of total points scored.

The mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are identified in the table below.

NO.**

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT**

Weig**h**ted Award**

A. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL**

70

1. An understanding of the terms of reference**

1.1

Demonstrate understanding of the assignment and expected

outcomes.

5

1.2

Demonstrated RE policy and advocacy experience in Somalia

10

2. Methodology and work-plan that will deliver the best value on the**

assignment**

2.1

Demonstrate the capacity to deliver the task in a timely and efficient

manner.

15

Demonstrate access to relevant sources on the ground (local/regional

databases and human intelligence) that are credible, reliable, and independent.

Demonstrate the best and most practical approach to the assignment.

Provide a workplan on the key deliverables.

3. Qualification and Experience**

3.1

The Team – Demonstrate team capabilities and past relevant

experience in tackling the assignment.

10

3.2

Demonstrate relevant experience in conducting similar engagements.

Provide evidence of similar previous experience including reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments; specification of reporting capabilities; provide samples of reports previously developed.

30

A. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL:** Clarity, relevance, reality to market value/ value

for money of cost for the assignment (inclusive of any applicable tax, reimbursables and travel).

30

To**tal Score**

10**0**

11.0 Proposal submission

Qualified firms are invited to submit the proposal that include the following

1. Methodology and approach for conducting the assignment.

2. Reference list of similar assignments done in the past,

3. Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents.

4. A technical proposal on how to carry out the assignment and proposed timelines to deliver the assignment. (Not exceeding 5 pages).

5. The Financial proposals shall include all applicable taxes quoted separately. If taxes are not mentioned in the financial proposal, The AECF shall consider that they are included in the prices provided. The financial proposal will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and thereafter open only proposals which are deemed qualified and responsive.

12.0 Pricing

AECF is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on service contract fees as well as

ensure VAT, at 16%, is charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position with regards to provisions of Kenya tax legislation when developing their proposals as host Country (Kenya)taxes are applicable.

13.0 Application

14.0 Disclaimer

AECF reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party.