Request for Proposals
Partner Management and Organizational Strengthening Consultancy
Reference No.: RQ9557
Date Published: 02/20/2026
Due Date for Responses: 03/09/2026
Background
ReGenerate Rwanda is a five‑year program funded by the Swedish Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by TechnoServe in Rwanda, running from 2023 to 2027. The program aims to sustainably increase the income of 30,000 individuals, 70% of whom are women and youth, in the Western and Southern provinces of Rwanda, through a market systems development approach that catalyzes and scales systemic solutions in rural economies.
The program partners with a diverse set of actors, including agribusiness SMEs, cooperatives, processors, input suppliers, off‑takers, financial institutions, and NGOs, to deliver inclusive, sustainable solutions to rural women and youth. While many of these partners have strong technical offerings, they often face constraints in internal management, governance, operational systems, and performance management, which limits their ability to scale, absorb investment, and consistently serve rural, low‑income clients.
Without targeted organizational strengthening, these limitations could undermine the sustainability and scalability of the interventions.
This consultancy is designed to directly support these partner organizations to strengthen their management and organizational capabilities, thereby improving the effectiveness and sustainability of ReGenerate Rwanda’s interventions.
Scope of Work
Objective of the Consultancy
To diagnose and strengthen the management, organization, and operational systems of selected ReGenerate Rwanda partners (primarily agribusinesses and relevant NGOs) in Western and Southern Rwanda, and to build their capacity to operate more efficiently, transparently, and inclusively. The consultant/company will deliver tailored technical assistance that leads to measurable improvements in business performance, governance, and the ability to reach and benefit rural women and youth.
Scope of Work
1. Partner Diagnostics and Capacity Assessment
The consultant will:
Develop or adapt a practical organizational capacity assessment tool suitable for agribusinesses, cooperatives, and NGOs (covering governance, leadership, HR, financial management, operations, sales/marketing, impact tracking, and gender/youth inclusion). Conduct structured assessments with a portfolio of selected partners (to be agreed with ReGenerate Rwanda), including interviews with management, staff, and where relevant, board members and key clients/suppliers.
Identify strengths, weaknesses, and critical gaps in:
Strategic planning and business model clarity.
Governance and decision‑making structures.
Human resource management, roles, and performance management.
Financial management, cash flow planning, and basic controls.
Core operations (procurement, production, aggregation, logistics, quality control).
Sales, customer management, and rural outreach.
Systems for tracking performance and impact, especially related to women and youth.
Produce a concise diagnostic report for each partner with prioritized recommendations and proposed capacity‑building interventions.
2. Strengthening Governance and Leadership
The consultant will:
Support partners to clarify and/or formalize governance structures (e.g., board roles, management committees, decision‑making processes, delegation of authority).
Facilitate working sessions with boards and senior management to:
Refine organizational vision, mission, and strategic priorities.
Clarify roles and responsibilities between governance and management.
Establish or improve policies related to conflict of interest, accountability, and oversight.
Develop simple governance tools and templates (e.g., board charters, meeting agendas/minutes, decision logs) and train partners on their use.
3. Organizational Design, HR, and Internal Processes
The consultant will:
Review current organizational structures and staffing for selected partners, with attention to critical functions (operations, finance, sales/marketing, procurement, quality, M&E).
Propose improved organizational structures where needed, including clear job descriptions, reporting lines, and performance expectations.
Support partners to put in place or improve:
Basic HR policies and procedures (recruitment, induction, performance management, disciplinary processes). Staff performance management systems including KPIs, targets, and simple performance review tools.
Internal communication practices (regular team meetings, documentation, information flow between field and management). Provide targeted coaching to key managers and team leaders to improve leadership, planning, and delegation.
4. Operational and Financial Management Improvements
The consultant will:
Map core operational processes for each partner (e.g., sourcing from farmers, aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, last‑mile delivery) and identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and risks.
Design or refine standard operating procedures (SOPs) for key processes, including practical checklists and visual aids where appropriate.
Support partners to implement basic operational performance tracking (e.g., volumes handled, turnaround time, shrinkage/wastage, quality-rejection rates).
Review financial management practices with a focus on:
Cash flow planning and working capital management.
Cost tracking and basic cost accounting by product or business line.
Invoicing, credit management, and collections.
Internal controls relevant to small and medium agribusinesses.
Provide hands‑on support to set up or improve simple tools (e.g., Excel‑based cash flow, stock tracking, basic management reports) aligned with partners’ capacities and existing systems.
5. Commercial, Customer, and Partner Relationship Management
The consultant will:
Help partners clarify their customer segments, value proposition, and key revenue streams, with emphasis on rural low‑income customers, women, and youth.
Support partners to strengthen basic sales and customer management practices, including:
Simple sales planning and target setting.
Customer relationship management (e.g., basic CRM tools, customer records, feedback mechanisms).
Channel management for rural outreach (agents, agro‑dealers, cooperatives, community‑based organizations). Facilitate reflection on existing relationships with farmers, suppliers, agents, and other program partners, and identify opportunities for improved coordination and mutually beneficial agreements.
Where relevant, support partners to develop or refine partnership MoUs and collaboration agreements that clearly define roles, expectations, and performance indicators.
6. Gender and Youth Inclusion Within Partner Organizations
The consultant will:
Assess how partner organizations currently engage, employ, and serve women and youth (as staff, suppliers, agents, and customers).
Identify organizational barriers to women and youth participation (e.g., recruitment practices, workplace culture, leadership pipelines, operational constraints).
Support partners to:
Integrate gender and youth considerations into HR policies (e.g., non‑discriminatory recruitment, flexible arrangements, safeguarding).
Set realistic, actionable gender and youth targets related to staffing, leadership, and client base.
Develop simple tracking mechanisms for gender and youth disaggregated data in key business metrics.
Provide practical guidance on how partners can design or adapt products, services, and outreach strategies that better respond to the needs and constraints of women and youth in rural areas.
7. Tailored Capacity‑Building and Coaching
The consultant will:
Co‑develop with each partner an organizational improvement action plan with clear priorities, timelines, responsibilities, and expected outcomes.
Provide tailored training sessions, coaching, and on‑the‑job support to management and staff based on the agreed plans (e.g., financial basics for non‑finance managers, basic data use for decision‑making, leadership skills).
Use practical, applied approaches (e.g., working with real partner data, real cases, and existing tools) rather than purely theoretical training.
Monitor progress against action plans and adjust support as needed in consultation with ReGenerate Rwanda and the partner. 8. Coordination with ReGenerate Rwanda and Learning
The consultant will:
Coordinate closely with the ReGenerate Rwanda team to align interventions with overall program objectives and other ongoing support to partners.
Participate in periodic review meetings with the program team to share progress, challenges, and emerging lessons from the field. Document good practices, case studies, and success stories that can inform broader program learning and future partner engagement models.
Provide recommendations to ReGenerate Rwanda on how to institutionalize partner capacity‑building, including potential toolkits, minimum standards, and follow‑up mechanisms.
Deliverables
Inception Report:
Refined understanding of objectives and scope.
Methodology and tools for partner assessment and capacity‑building.
Detailed workplan and timeline, including list of partners to be supported and level of effort per partner.
Partner Diagnostic Reports:
Individual diagnostic reports for each selected partner, including:
Summary of assessment findings.
Key gaps and risks in management, organization, and operations.
Prioritized recommendations.
A consolidated synthesis note highlighting cross‑cutting challenges and opportunities across the portfolio.
Organizational Improvement Action Plans:
Co‑developed action plans for each partner, detailing:
Priority areas for improvement.
Specific actions, responsible persons, timelines, and required support.
Simple indicators to track progress.
Capacity‑Building Materials and Tools:
Training materials, templates, SOPs, and simple management tools developed or adapted for partner use (e.g., organizational charts, job description templates, cash‑flow templates, reporting formats).
Guidance notes on integrating gender and youth considerations within partner management and operations.
Progress Updates:
Short periodic progress briefs (e.g., monthly or bi‑monthly) summarizing activities conducted, progress against action plans, emerging results, and key challenges.
Final Report:
Comprehensive report summarizing:
Partner diagnostic findings and improvements achieved.
Key capacity‑building interventions delivered and their outcomes.
Case examples from agribusiness partners demonstrating operational and management improvements.
Recommendations for continued support and for scaling similar interventions to additional partners.
Annexes with final versions of tools, templates, and action plans.
Duration of the Assignment:
The assignment is expected to be completed within four months from the date of contract signing, with the expectation of staggered and iterative support to partners over this period rather than one‑off engagements.
Anticipated Start Date
04/01/2026
Performance Location
The consultancy will take place at TechnoServe office and/or on field when needed.
Additional Information
Qualifications and Experience
The consultant/company should meet the following criteria:
- Advanced degree in Business Administration, Agribusiness Management, Organizational Development, Economics, or a related field.
- At least 7 years of experience working with SMEs and/or cooperatives, preferably in agribusiness, on organizational development, management systems, and operational improvements.
- Demonstrated experience providing hands‑on technical assistance and coaching to businesses/NGOs in Rwanda or similar contexts, including rural areas.
- Proven experience in strengthening financial management, governance, HR, and operational systems for growing enterprises. 5. Experience integrating gender and youth considerations into enterprise management and employment practices. 6. Strong facilitation and training skills, with the ability to translate management concepts into practical tools suitable for low‑ to medium‑capacity organizations.
- Excellent analytical and report‑writing skills.
- Fluency in Kinyarwanda and English.
How to apply
The following documents are must for a proposal to be considered:
- A letter of interest addressed to the Technoserve country manager
- A Technical proposal showing the interpretation of the ToR and indicating a detailed proposed methodology.
- A detailed financial proposal (expressed in Rwandan Francs indicating the cost required for the undertaking of the work required) and specifying payment terms and conditions.
- A CV of the consultant (s) and any supporting team members showing previous relevant experience including at least 3 references for similar research with a description of the work done and the dates performed.
- Valid RDB full registration certificate
- Valid RRA tax clearance certificate and proof of using EBM.
- Proof of last year’s Corporate Income Taxes(CIT) Certificate.
- Bank Letter Signed and Stamped by the bank with bank account information.
- VAT registration certificate
Response Instructions
To ensure consideration, all responses must be submitted no later than 03/09/2026, written in English with prices stated in RWF. All responses must:
Contain a detailed cost with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified.
Provide requested payment terms and conditions.
Include a contact name, email address, and telephone number.
For quotes from a firm, provide a brief outline of the company and services offered, including the company's full legal name and address, the jurisdiction of incorporation, the full legal name and country of citizenship of the company's owners/principal officers,
and the year the business was established.
If a consortium of firms or a team of consultants submits a quote jointly, the above information should be provided for each member of the team.
Only include attached files that are 10 MB or smaller in size. Do not include compressed (ZIP, RAR), executable, or other unusual file formats as these will be rejected.
Submit responses to: buy+RQ9557@tns.org
Note: DO NOT email your response to any employee of TechnoServe or deliver your response in hard copy to a TechnoServe office. Failing to adhere to these instructions may make your response ineligible for consideration.
Terms and Conditions
This solicitation shall not be construed as an offer by TechnoServe.
Responses must be submitted on or before the date indicated.
Any quotes that are unresponsive will be summarily rejected.
Responses to this solicitation shall be deemed binding offers and must remain valid for acceptance for no less than 90 days from the closing date of this solicitation.
Any purchases resulting from this solicitation will be governed by TechnoServe's contractual terms and conditions, and may be subject to additional terms as required by donors funding the purchase.
TechnoServe expressly reserves the right to accept or reject any quote or to cancel the solicitation process at any time without explanation, with no liability to any respondent.
TechnoServe may, at its discretion, accept all or part of a respondent's offer.
All information provided by TechnoServe in this solicitation is given in good faith; however, details are subject to change. TechnoServe may require respondents to enter into a non-disclosure agreement as a prerequisite for consideration. Respondents bear sole responsibility for all costs incurred in connection with the preparation of their response, including any third- party expenses.
All responses shall become the property of TechnoServe.
Respondents must fully disclose any conflicts of interest pertaining to this solicitation. Failure to comply may result in disqualification.
Request Files
The following attached files, if any, represent an important part of this solicitation.
No Request Files Found
Selection Criteria
Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria and rating methodology.
Selection Criteria Max Points
|
Financial Proposal |
40 |
|
Proposed methodology and approach. |
30 |
|
Relevant experience and qualifications. |
20 |
|
Proposed Timeline and Deliverables |
10 |