PROGRAMME FOR IMPROVING FISHERIES GOVERNANCE
AND BLUE ECONOMY TRADE CORRIDORS IN SADC REGION (PROFISHBLUE)
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REOI)
CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO DEVELOP THE NATIONAL AND REGIONAL
E-COMMERCE IN THE FISHERIES SECTOR IN SADC REGION
(Firm Selection)
Grant Number: 2100155041083
Project ID Number: P-Z1-AAF-015
Date: 30 January 2023
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat has received financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB), being a grant under the African Development Fund (ADF) to finance the Programme for Improving Fisheries Governance and Blue Economy Trade Corridors in SADC region (PROFISHBLUE). The Secretariat plans to apply part of the agreed amount for this grant to payments under the contract for Consultancy services to develop the National and Regional E-Commerce in the fisheries sector in SADC region.
The SADC Secretariat through the PROFISHBLUE Project intends to develop a functional national and regional e-commerce platform aimed at facilitating regional trade within the Blue Economy context which should be linked to the SADC Agriculture Information Management System (AIMS). The e-commerce platform is aimed at being an electronic marketplace for fish and fishery products within and among the Member States. The platform is designed to connect value chain actors and buyers in the region.
Objectives of the assignment
The specific objectives of the consultancy are:
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- To assess the available e-commerce platforms at national level in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in all the SADC Member States with special reference on Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
- To develop or upgrade the e-commerce platform at national level in an appropriate language with necessary security features focusing on Comoros, DRC, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
- To develop the regional e-commerce platform that incorporates all the four regional languages which are English, French, Portuguese and Swahili focusing on Comoros, DRC, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
- To link all the national (Comoros, DRC, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) e-commerce platforms to the regional e-commerce platform with necessary security features.
Scope of Work:
This assignment is aimed at linking all the value chain actors in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the region to a common platform for easier transactions within the blue economy. This will involve interacting with the value chain actors and policy makers in all the sixteen (16) Member States which are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Consulting firm will be engaged for a period of seven (07) months in which all necessary meetings, consultations data collections, e-commerce platforms upgrade and development will be completed.
The SADC Secretariat now invites eligible Consulting firms to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services. The shortlisting criteria are: (a) firm’s relevance to the assignment (core business); (b) number of years in business; (c) relevant experience; and (d) regional experience. The firm should have the following Experts among its team of Experts to carry out this assignment: (i) Master of Science in ICT with experience in Fisheries/Aquaculture and statistics and Five (5) years professional experience in e-commerce development platforms; (ii) Fisheries/Aquaculture Specialist with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture or related fields and Five (5) years professional experience in the aquaculture sector and/or fish farming management.
Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure of Consultants’ Qualifications Selection (CQS) shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s Procurement Framework, which is available on the Bank’s website at https://www.afdb.org. Full Terms of Reference will be shared with the shortlisted firms.
Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Botswana time.
Expressions of interest must be submitted electronically via this LINK: https://collab.sadc.int/s/ZrKypxtfE5QzgZb (by midnight Botswana time) on 20 February 2023 and mention “Development of the National and Regional E-Commerce in the fisheries sector in SADC region’’.
Attn:
The Procuring entity: SADC Secretariat
Contact person: Thomas Chabwera, Head of Procurement
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat
Plot 54385 New CBD, Private Bag 0095
Gaborone, BOTSWANA
Telephone: +267 3951863
E-mail: tchabwera@sadc.int and copy gsalima@sadc.int, mhlatshwayo@sadc.int and akefi@sadc.int
