CARE International in Rwanda

Concept Note 

Digitalization of VSLAs methodology training guide into Audio-Visual Materials.

1. Introduction 

Founded internationally in 1945, and in Rwanda in 1984, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome, and all people live in dignity and security. CARE International aims to be a global force and a partner of choice within a worldwide movement dedicated to ending poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women and girls are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve education, health, and economic opportunity. CARE Rwanda has strategically embraced digitalization in response to Rwanda’s evolving digital landscape and the government's commitment to becoming an ICT hub. Since 2020, digital technologies have been recognized as a key driver of impactful program delivery, making digitalization a core pillar of CARE Rwanda's country office strategy to support growth and poverty reduction.

2. Background 

Since 1999, the main value added of CARE’s programs in Rwanda has been to innovate learning by doing approaches/methodologies that enable poor and vulnerable populations, especially women and girls, to get out of poverty through social economic transformation interventions. Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) methodology is one of the CARE Rwanda’s transformational model that is locally owned and self-managed structure where community members meet regularly to save their money in a safe space, access small loans and obtain emergency insurance. 

Since 2006 to date, CARE Rwanda has established and supported above 39,000 VSLAs in all 30 districts with over 1,000,000 VSLA members. In addition, CARE Rwanda has provided VSLA plus interventions including but not limited to a) adult functional literacy and numeracy; b) financial literacy and linkage to MFIs; c) entrepreneurship skills training and coaching; d) business mentorship; e) advanced budget management skills. Through projects such as the Digital CARE Package (DCP) Project, CARE has invested in developing relevant content focused on digital literacy and digital financial education. The project has also supported the distribution of mobile phones to improve access to devices and help bridge the gender digital divide.

About SERVE Project

CARE International in Rwanda, along with consortium partners Duharanira Amajyambere Y'Icyaro (DUHAMIC-ADRI), Pro-Femmes/ Twese Hamwe (PFTH), Association of Micro Finance Institutions Rwanda (AMIR), and Urwego Bank, present SERVE, an agricultural enterprise and financial inclusion intervention delivered over five years, with the objective to build a resilient, sustainable, gender equitable and inclusive entrepreneurial environment that increases dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for 80,000 predominantly female youth in agricultural value chains in 10 districts across Rwanda.

The VSLA model was expected to act as entry point in project targeting of participants and provide complete package for youth business growth and employability. Digitizing the VSLA training module will enable faster onboarding of youth while ensuring effective delivery without any loss of content. It will also support scalable training and improve access for participants in remote areas.

3. Objectives of the assignment 

The primary objective of the assignment is to digitize the VSLA methodology training guides that are user friendly. The digitized content will be used by Village Agents in delivering training to VSLA members by sharing the materials directly to their phones, both smartphones and feature phones. This will allow CARE, partners, and Village agents to save time while effectively cascading the training to VSLAs groups. To achieve the objective, CARE international in Rwanda is seeking to hire a consultant to translate the VSLA methodology training guide into visual audio Kinyarwanda VSLA training modules as applied in Rwandan context. 

4. Scope of the work 

The digitalization of VSLAs methodology training guide will be achieved through the following outputs and activities:

• Translate the current VSLA methodology training guide from English into Kinyarwanda with linguistic accuracy and cultural relevance.
• Develop user-friendly, interactive digital Audiovisual training modules tailored to the Rwandan context. In Consideration of decent language and culture.
• Ensure the audiovisual module has ideal length of 10 to 15 minutes to enhance accessibility and maintain learner engagement.
• Ensure the digital Audiovisual content is accessible on both smartphones and feature phones.
• Adapt the audiovisual content to support basic learner autonomy, where VSLA members can independently navigate and engage with the content at their own pace, even with limited digital literacy.
• Collaborate with CARE Rwanda staff to validate and test content usability.

5. Duration of the Assignment 

The duration of the assignment is 45 Calendar days. Milestones are expected as follow: 

• Week 1: Inception report and planning 
• Week 2 : Kinyarwanda scripts and storyboarding for 10 modules/sessions 
• Week 3 and 4: Audiovisual/animation content development 
• Week 5 : Testing the digital training on CARE and partners staff and Validation 
• Week 6 : Final delivery and reporting

6. Required qualifications and experience

The applicants can be registered firm or individual with the following qualifications and competencies:

Technical Experience:

• Proven experience in translating technical training materials from English to Kinyarwanda with high linguistic and contextual accuracy.
• Demonstrated experience in developing digital audiovisual, interactive training content or e-learning modules.
• Experience in using multimedia or mobile learning tools accessible on both smartphones and feature phones.
• Proof of recent similar work/assignment
• Knowledge and understanding of VSLA methodology or community-based financial models is essential.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong writing and communication skills in both English and Kinyarwanda.
• Ability to design user-friendly and culturally appropriate content.
• Required to travel to the field to engage VSLA 
• Familiarity with adult education, community learning approaches, and digital pedagogy.
• Experience working with NGOs or development projects, particularly in Rwanda or similar contexts.
• Ability to deliver high-quality outputs on time and work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders.
• Able to provide EBM invoice 

7. Reporting line

This assignment will be supervised by the Financial Inclusion Technical Advisor, CARE Rwanda. The consultant will collaborate with the Digitalization Technical Advisor, and other relevant team members.

• Evaluation criteria

All proposals will be evaluated based on the following weighted criteria:

9. Application Procedures 

The application file should contain the following documents: 

• A technical proposal, with a clear timeframe and a description of the proposed methodology detailing how the deliverables will be achieved, and the team credentials for similar assignments. 
• Detailed Curriculum Vitae of the proposed team to carry out the assignment with clear roles and functions. 
• A financial proposal detailing the various costs associated with the delivery of the above services, in PDF format and must be a separate document from the technical proposal. 
• Evidence of the vendor’s experience in doing similar assignments: Copies of similar assignments (with evidence for good completion of the previous similar assignments); 
• Submit at least 3 references with their contacts and addresses.
• Bank account information including the scanned copy of blank check or document from the bank confirming bank account information (name, account number, swift code, …) 
• Consultant firm profile; VAT registration certificate; RRA tax clearance certificate; RSSB tax clearance certificate (when applicable).
• Proof of registration in Rwanda with the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) as a data controller or data processor.

All interested firms are invited to submit their offers electronically with the following title of the assignment “Digitalization of VSLAs methodology training guide into Audio-Visual Materials” to the following email address: RWA.Procurement@care.org no later than January 27th,2026 at 5:00 pm

 Kigali, January 13th,2026

 Procurement Unit