RFP - Delivery of Tailored Services to Support Agribusinesses and Market Actors by BDSPs

A. TERMS OF REFERENCE

PROGRAMME BACKGROUND
Propcom+, implemented by The Palladium Group, is a £95 million, eight-year (2023-2030), International Climate Finance (ICF), rural and agricultural market development programme. Propcom+ supports climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture that benefits people, climate, and nature. It works with Nigeria’s vibrant private sector to (i) increase productivity, improve nutrition and food security (ii) enhance climate resilience, pursue lower emissions, and protect and restore nature, and (iii) help tackle some of Nigeria’s underlying drivers of conflict and insecurity.

Read more about Propcom+ at https://propcomplus.org/

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The purpose of this request for proposals (RFP) is to establish a network of experienced Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) to support agribusinesses and market actors across Nigeria’s agricultural sector. BDSPs will be engaged to deliver tailored services either 1:1 or in group settings. Services sought fall under two windows:

Window 1: General Business Development Support (BDS). Services under Window 1 are those aimed at improving a firms’ overall business processes and performance, thereby enabling them to become more competitive in the market. These include:

• Financial Planning and Management, e.g., budget development, cash flow forecasting, financial reporting systems, cost control strategies, or multi-year financial modelling.
• Market Expansion, e.g., market research, entry strategy development, branding and positioning, distribution channel identification, and partnership development
• Technology Adoption, e.g., ERP and CRM system implementation, e-commerce platform integration, digital marketing tools, data analytics setup, and cybersecurity upgrades
• Operational Efficiency, e.g., inventory tracking systems, production scheduling, logistics optimization, workflow redesign, and lean management practices.
• Organizational Capacity Assessment/Improvement e.g., leadership development, HR system upgrades, strategic planning facilitation, team performance assessments, and succession planning
• Environmental Compliance and Safeguarding e.g., environmental impact assessments, waste management planning, emissions tracking, staff training on compliance, and sustainability reporting

Window 2: Finance and Investment Facilitation. Services under Window 2 are those that result in new debt financing (i.e. lending) or non-debt financing through outside investors. Services under this window may include, but are not limited to, client coaching, sourcing of finance, deal structuring and mediating with both clients and financial institutions/investors, post-investment support, or any other services required to reach transaction close and disbursement.

Offerors responding to this RFP may submit a proposal to provide services under one or both windows. Requirements for each window are detailed in Section B of this RFP.

TYPE OF CONTRACT
Propcom+ intends to issue multiple awards under this RFP. Selected offerors will be issued a blanket agreement with a specified order ceiling, list of services offered, and cost rates. Following the establishment of the blanket agreements, Propcom+ will “match” qualified BDSPs with agribusiness partners seeking support and/or finance and investment or via Task Orders (TO).

At the task order level, a co-creation meeting will be held with the selected offeror and Agribusiness client (as applicable) to agree on methodology, timeline, deliverables, and budget. Specific requirements may vary based on the nature of support provided, but Illustrative deliverables for TOs under each window are as follows:

Window 1:

• Inception and Diagnostic Report with a gap analysis in the relevant support area; clear proposed methodology and detailed activity work plan, including timelines; and validation plan for the delivery of the Business Development Services to selected agribusiness client.
• Implementation report detailing progress against the initial work plan and the current organizational capacity status of assigned agribusinesses/market actor.
• Final Report that covers all the objectives of this assignment and detailed review, analysis, and recommendation for overarching key performance improvement business plans for assigned agribusinesses/market actors in the Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
• PowerPoint Presentation of findings and recommendations for additional support to the Propcom+ team.

Window 2:

• Inception Report with analysis of the agribusiness’ investor or lending-readiness, including potential organizational development and financial management changes needed; outline of the type of financing sought; and a detailed work plan of activities required to facilitate the financing. BDSPs will be expected to submit revised workplans if any material changes to assistance activities, schedule, of transaction type/value occur during implementation.
• Proof of financing application submitted (debt financing only), as evidenced by a copy of the Agribusiness’ completed financing/load application and proof that the application has been submitted to the applicable financier.
• Investment readiness report (non-debt financing only) documenting that all organizational development and financial management changes identified in the inception report have been achieved and copies of any pitch documents developed.
• Financing disbursement, as evidenced by documentation showing either a signed lending agreement (debt financing) or investment/funding transferred into the agribusiness’ bank account (non-debt financing).

Note that task orders under this contract will not be limited to 1:1 support firm support. Potential task orders under both windows may also include, but are not limited to:

• Development and delivery of group workshops or multi-session “bootcamps”
• Investor match-making event support
• Transaction structuring and legal advisory (as may be required) for relevant Series A to C funds

Offerors with experience providing these types of services are encouraged to highlight this support in their technical application.

ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE
Blanket agreements will be awarded for a period of approximately 12 months, with the option for renewal based on performance and availability of funding, at the sole discretion of Propcom+.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE
The activities to be performed under this agreement will take place in Nigeria.

TIMELINE
This RFP closes on September 10, 2025, at 5:00pm WAT. Submitted proposals must remain valid for a period of 60 days following the date of submission. Propcom+ intends to issue blanket agreements to qualifying offerors within 30 days of the closing date or receipt of a completed proposal with initial task orders issued shortly thereafter.

B. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS
Requirements for proposal submission are outlined below. All required documents must be submitted no later than the time and date specified on the cover page. Offerors must submit their technical and cost proposals using Propcom+ application templates. To receive a copy of the technical and cost proposal templates, please email procurement.propcomplus@thepalladiumgroup.com

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Technical proposals must be submitted using the technical proposal template provided by Propcom+. Responses must be single-spaced, size 10 Arial font. Failure to follow these formatting instructions or abide by the page limits specified below may result in all or part of the technical proposal being deemed non-compliant.

Any non-compliant proposals or non-compliant proposal sections will not be reviewed by the technical evaluation committee (TEC) and may negatively impact the final score.

Technical Proposal requirements are as follows:

1. Offeror Information:

• Offeror Name
• Offeror type (Individual or Organization)
• Offeror contact information (Point of contact name, email, telephone, and address)
• Past donor experience
• Type of BDS services offered
• Type of agribusinesses previously supported
• States in which you have experience working

2. Technical Skills and Approach (5 pages maximum) as outlined below, by window:

Window 1 applicants:

• Overall approach to business development support approach
• Nature of the support anticipated under this contract
• Sector-specific tools or frameworks
• Methodology on how the assignment will be conducted, as demonstrated through responses to one of the case study scenarios included in Annex A (pages 7-8).
• Any other relevant information you wish to provide

Window 2 applicants:

• Overall approach to financial facilitation support
• Nature of the support anticipated under this contract
• Sector-specific tools or frameworks
• Methodology on how the assignment will be conducted
• Any other relevant information you wish to provide

3. Personnel:

List of personnel or consultants who will provide support under this contract with the following information:

• Name
• Role/Title
• Summary of relevant experience/expertise

Offerors should attach copies of personnel CVs (max 2 pages each) to the technical proposal. Individual offerors (consultants) are only required to provide information for themselves.

4. Past Performance.

For each application window, list up to 5 recent and relevant firms supported and briefly summarise the specific support provided to each firm listed. Information provided in this section should:

• Demonstrate experience supporting agribusinesses of various sizes working along different parts of the value chain.
• Outline any quantifiable outcomes achieved as a result your support. Investment readiness/financial facilitation support examples should also include the financing amount sought and status of financing.

Offerors may omit client names or specific business details as required by previously signed confidentiality agreements. However, sufficient detail should be provided to enable the technical evaluation committee to assess the relevance and performance.

In addition to the information provided in the technical proposal, offerors may choose to attach a supplementary capacity statement (not to exceed two [2] pages) and Annex B to the technical proposal. This capacity statement is optional but any information provided within will be considered during the technical proposal.

5. References.

Contact information for three references who can speak to your suitability for this work. At least one reference should be a current or recent client. Propcom+ will reach out to references as part of the proposal evaluation process.

COST PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Offers must submit their cost proposal using the template by Propcom+. The required elements in the cost proposal vary by window:

Window 1 Cost Proposal Requirements:
1. Labor rates for all staff/positions proposed. Each proposed individual/position should include a brief summary of relevant qualifications, including level of education and years’ experience.

2. Case study budget based on the selected case study scenario. The budget should be broken out into the following sub-parts

• Inception Report. Estimated labor and other costs (e.g., travel) required to co-create an implementation workplan. Offerors should include a brief narrative justification (1-2 sentences) for each line item.
• Diagnostic report. Estimated labor and other costs required to conduct initial needs assessment/diagnostics. Offerors should include a brief narrative justification (1-2 sentences) for each line item.
• BDS implementation. Estimated labor and other costs required to implement the BDS support services (not including diagnostics). Offerors should include a brief narrative justification (1-2 sentences) for each line item.

Offerors should also submit copies of any established/published commercial rates for specific services or tools applicable to their BDS services (e.g., ERP platforms, Business Plan Development, certifications), if relevant.

Window 2 Cost Proposal Requirements:

1. Success Fees based on the value and type of financial transaction facilitated (debt vs. non-debt), as follows:

• Less than 500K GBP
• 500GBP to 1M GBP
• 1M GBP to 5M GBP
• 5M GBP to 10M GBP
• 10M GBP and above

Proposed rates should be based on current/recent commercial rates charged for similar financial transactions facilitated. Offerors must indicate the party responsible for payment in the commercial market (i.e., financier/investor or financing/investment recipient).

Offerors should also submit copies of any established/published commercial rates/fees charged for in addition to transaction fees (i.e., fees that are not dependent on securing financing for payment).

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
The following documents must be submitted with the Technical and Cost Proposals:

For organizational offerors:

• Attach a copy of business registration
• Attach a copy of tax clearance certificate received within the last 12 months.
• Confirmation of ability to provide two years of audited financial statements, if selected for award

For individual (consultant) offerors:

• Evidence of proof to work in Nigeria (national ID card or work permit)
• Evidence of tax compliance such as Tax Identification Number

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Proposals must be submitted electronically to procurement.propcomplus@thepalladiumgroup.com by 10 September 2025, 5pm WAT with the following subject line: Offeror Name – Propcom+ BDS Services Proposal

Application submission emails should not exceed 25MB in size. Offerors may submit their proposal via multiple emails if necessary to comply with the size restrictions. In such cases, please indicate the # of emails in the subject heading, as follows: Offeror Name – Propcom+ BDS Services Proposal (email 1 of X)

Propcom+ reserves the right to reject any proposals received past the deadline.

C. EVALUATION AND AWARD PROCESS

Submitted proposals must clearly demonstrate alignment with the terms of reference outlined in this RFP and with the appropriate level of detail. Proposals will be evaluated in two stages and on a rolling basis, according to the order in which they were submitted.

Proposals submitted under each window will be judged separately and independently and offerors who apply under both windows may only be considered eligible for contracting under one window, based on the technical evaluation.

(1) Eligibility. The first set of criteria is graded on a pass/fail basis. Offerors must have minimum eligibility qualification criteria and provide the supporting documentation below:

• For organizational offerors:
  

• Attach a copy of business registration
• Attach a copy of tax clearance certificate received within the last 12 months.
• Confirmation of ability to provide two years of audited financial statements, if selected for award

• For individual (consultant) offerors:

• Evidence of proof to work in Nigeria (national ID card or work permit)
• Evidence of tax compliance such as Tax Identification Number

(2) Technical evaluation. If the minimum eligibility criteria are met, proposals will be evaluated as follows:

Offerors whose technical proposals receive an overall score of 75 and above will be considered eligible for award.

When reviewing cost proposals, Propcom+ will consider the extent to which the labour rates and proposed case study budget are reasonable and appropriate in relation to the methodologies and approaches outlined in the technical proposal and market rates, considering:

• Proposed total price
• Realism and reasonableness of the work to be performed
• Price reflects a clear understanding of the requirements of this document
• Price is consistent with various elements of the technical proposal
• Price is consistent with market rates for similar services from firms of a similar nature

Propcom+ reserves the right to issue awards under this solicitation without further negotiations. As such, Offerors are encouraged to offer their best terms and prices with the original submission

D. LIMITATIONS
This Request for Proposal does not represent a commitment to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this RFP, or to procure, or to contract for services or supplies. Propcom+ Programme reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted and reserves the right to accept or reject in its entirety and absolute discretion any proposal received in response to the RFP.

Propcom+ reserves the right to go back to offerors with questions and/or clarifications on their proposal. Discussions with one offeror does not obligate Propcom+ to open discussions with all offerors.

E. MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
The contracted supplier will report to the Strategy Director, working closely with the Access to Finance Lead and the technical implementation teams.

Annex A - Traditional BDS Case Study Scenarios

Respond to one of the following scenarios in the case study response section of the Technical Proposal.

All companies below are fictional and are not meant to represent any real-life firms or Propcom+ partners. However, the scenarios described represent some of the general challenges faced by Nigerian agribusinesses, and responses to this section may be used to match offerors with firms seeking similar services. As such, offerors are encouraged to select the scenario most closely aligned to their skill set(s).

Scenario 1: Financial Planning and Management
GreenRoots Seeds Ltd. is a mid-sized agribusiness based in Kaduna, Nigeria, specializing in the production and distribution of climate-smart maize and cowpea seeds. The company has experienced rapid growth but struggles with cash flow forecasting, budgeting, and financial reporting which threatens their continued growth and sustainability.

Describe the approach you would take to help GreenRoots Seeds Ltd improve its financial management and planning and your experience providing similar support to other businesses. Responses to this case study scenario should include the following:

a) Methodology and approach.

Detail how you will support GreenRoots Seeds Ltd. to strengthen its financial planning and management systems. Include:

• Needs assessment approach, including data assessment tools and collection methods
• Training and coaching methodologies, including specific tools or systems you would introduce to improve financial management and planning.
• Organizational (firm) offerors only: List of personnel/consultants who would support this activity.

b) Track record of success.

Any relevant experience providing similar financial planning and management support to other businesses, including how financial visibility and decision making improved as a result of your support and any quantifiable outcomes (e.g., cost savings, improved cash flow, access to credit).

Scenario 2: Market Expansion
VitalSnacks Nigeria Ltd. is a growing enterprise in Kano State producing fortified snacks from bio-fortified maize and sweet potato to improve nutritional outcomes for school-aged children and low-income households. The business seeks to expand into urban retail markets and institutional buyers (e.g., schools, hospitals).

Describe the approach you would take to help VitalSnacks Nigeria Ltd. access new markets and your experience providing similar support to other businesses. Responses to this case study scenario should include the following:

a) Methodology and approach.

Detail how you would support VitalSnacks Nigeria Ltd. in expanding its market reach. Include:

• Needs assessment approach, including data assessment tools and collection methods
• Market research methodology
• Training and coaching methodologies, including specific marketing strategies and sales capacity building coaching
• Organizational (firm) offerors only: List of personnel/consultants who would support this activity.

b) Track record of success.

Any relevant experience providing similar market expansion support to other businesses and any quantifiable outcomes (e.g., new market entry, increased sales, or strategic partnerships formed) resulting from your support.

Scenario 3: Operational efficiency
AgroNova Inputs Ltd. manufactures improved organic fertilizers and micronutrient blends in Ogun State. The company faces inefficiencies in production scheduling, inventory management, and logistics, limiting their ability to be competitive in the market.

Describe the approach you would take to help AgroNova Inputs Ltd. improve operational efficiency and your experience providing similar support to other businesses. Responses to this case study scenario should include the following:

a) Methodology and approach.

Detail how you would support AgroNova Inputs Ltd. to improve operational efficiency. Include:

• Needs assessment approach, including data assessment or diagnostic tools and collection methods.
• Training and coaching methodologies, including specific tools or trainings
• Organizational (firm) offerors only: List of personnel/consultants who would support this activity.

b) Track record of success.

Any relevant experience providing similar operational efficiency support to other businesses and any quantifiable outcomes (e.g., improvements in productivity, cost reduction, or turnaround time) resulting from your support.

Scenario 4: Environmental Safeguarding and Compliance
PalmEco Estates Ltd. is a vertically integrated palm oil estate and processor in Cross River State. The company is expanding operations and seeks to ensure environmental compliance and sustainability, particularly around deforestation, water use, and waste management.

Describe the approach you would take to help PalmEco Estates Ltd. ensure environmental compliance and sustainability and your experience providing similar support to other businesses. Responses to this case study scenario should include the following:

a) Methodology and approach.

Detail how you would support PalmEco Estates Ltd. ensure environmental compliance and sustainability. Include:

• Needs assessment approach, including data assessment tools and collection methods
• Community engagement methodologies/approaches
• Training and coaching methodologies, including specific mitigation plans, certifications, or monitoring systems
• Organizational (firm) offerors only: List of personnel/consultants who would support this activity.

b) Track record of success.

Any relevant experience providing similar environmental compliance and safeguarding support to other businesses and any quantifiable outcomes (e.g., reduced environmental impact, improved compliance, or adoption of sustainable practices) resulting from your support.