REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Version 2 

Effective date: October 30, 2026 

[TENDER FOR CHILDCARE BASELINE ASSESSMENT AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION SAFEGUARDING RISK ASSESSMENT ] 

RFP DOCUMENT :23/2026 

RFP ISSUE DATE: [October 30, 2026] 

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE: [November 12,2026, 17:00 Kigali Time] 

CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT

PREPARED BY 

CARE RWANDA

1. ABOUT CARE 

At CARE, we seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live with dignity and security. 

This has been our vision since 1945, when we were founded to send lifesaving CARE Packages to survivors of World War II. Today, CARE is a leader in the global movement to end poverty. We put women and girls in the center because we know we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE works in more than 100 countries, reaching millions of people with life-saving and long-term development programs. 

For more information about CARE and our work, visit: https://www.care.org/our-work/ 

2.GENERAL CONDITIONS AND CLAUSES 

2.1. CARE’S GENERAL CONDITIONS 

The enclosed document is not an offer to contract, but a solicitation of a vendor’s proposed intent. Acceptance of a proposal in no way commits CARE to award a contract for any or all products and services to any vendor. 

CARE reserves the right to make the following decisions and actions based on its business interests and for reasons known only to CARE: 

• To determine whether the information provided does or does not substantially comply with the requirements of the RFP 
• To contact any bidder after proposal submittal for clarification of any information provided. 
• To waive any or all formalities of bidding 
• To accept or reject a proposal in whole or part without justification to the bidder • To not accept the lowest bid 
• To negotiate with one or more bidders in respect to any aspect of submitted proposal 
• To award another type of contract other than that described herein, or to award no contract; 
• To enter into a contract or agreement for purchase with parties not responding to this RFP 
• To request, at its sole discretion, selected Vendors to provide a more detailed presentation of the proposal
• To not share the results of the bids with other bidders and to award contracts based on whatever is in the best interest of CARE. 

Any material statements made orally or in writing in response to this RFP or in response to requests for additional information will be considered offers to contract and should be included by vendor in any final contract. 

2.2. CONFIDENTIALITY/ NON-DISCLOSURE 

All information gained by any vendor concerning CARE work practices is not to be disclosed to anyone outside those responsible for the preparation of this proposal. Any discussion by the vendor of CARE’s business practices could be reason for disqualification. CARE, at their discretion, reserves the right to request a non-disclosure agreement. 

Reciprocally, CARE commits that information received in response to this RFP will be held in strict confidence and not disclosed to any party, other than those people directly responsible for the evaluation of the responses, without the express consent of the responding vendor. 

Finally, the information contained within this RFP is confidential and is not to be disclosed or used for any other purpose by the vendor. 

2.3. PUBLICITY 

Any publicity referring to this project, whether in the form of press releases, brochures, or photographic coverage will not be permitted without prior written approval from CARE. 

2.4. LIABILITY 

The selected vendor(s) will be required to show proof of adequate insurance at such time as CARE is prepared to procure the services. The participating vendor will also be required to indemnify and hold harmless CARE for, among other things, any third-party claims arising from the selected vendor’s acts or omissions and will be liable for any damage caused by its employees, agents or subcontractors. 

2.5. FORCE MAJEURE 

• Neither Party shall be responsible for a performance that is delayed, hindered, or is rendered inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible by a “Force Majeure Event.” A Force Majeure event includes, without limitation, an act of nature, a pandemic, emergency, civil unrest or disorder, actual or threatened terrorism, war, fire, governmental action or interference of any kind, power or utility failures, strikes or other labor disturbances, a health warning issued by the Center for Disease Control (or similar agency), any other civil or governmental emergency and/or any other similar event beyond a Party’s reasonable control. 
• The Party that seeks to invoke this Force Majeure provision (the “Affected Party”) shall provide the other Party (the “Unaffected Party”) with a written notice within ten (10) days of the date the Affected Party determines a Force Majeure Event has occurred. 

2.6. ERRORS AND OMISSIONS 

CARE expects the vendor will provide all labor, coordination, support, and resources required based on the vendor’s proposal and corresponding final SOW. No additional compensation will be available to the vendor for any error or omission from the proposal made to CARE. The only exclusions are add-ons, deletions, and/or optional services for which the vendor has received written authorization from CARE. 

2.7. OWNERSHIP OF WORK 

All work created during this assignment (including reports, data collection tools, datasets, codebooks and transcripts) must be original work, and no third party should hold any rights in or to the work. All rights, title and interest in the work shall be vested in CARE. 

2.8. CONFLICT OF INTEREST 

CARE encourages every prospective Supplier to avoid and prevent conflicts of interest, by disclosing to CARE if you, or any of your affiliates or personnel, were involved in the preparation of the requirements, design, specifications, cost estimates, and other information used in this RFP. 

3. BIDDER’S DECLARATION

Yes

No

Ethics: By submitting this Proposal/Quote, I/we guarantee that the bidder has not engaged in any improper, illegal, collusive, or anti-competitive arrangements with any competitors; has not directly or indirectly contacted any buyer representative (aside from the point of contact) or gathered information regarding the RFP; and has not attempted to influence or offer any type of personal inducement, reward, or benefit to any buyer representative.

I/We affirm that we will not engage in prohibited behavior or any other unethical behavior with CARE or any other party. We also affirm that we have read the general clause and conditions included in this RFP and that we will conduct business in a way that avoids any financial, operational, reputational, or other undue risk to CARE.

Conflict of interest: I/We warrant that the bidder has no actual, potential or perceived Conflict of Interest in submitting this Proposal/Quote; or entering into a Contract to deliver the Requirements. CARE Procurement's Point of Contact will be notified right away by the bidder if a conflict of interest occurs during the RFP process.
Bankruptcy: I/We have not declared bankruptcy, are not involved in bankruptcy or receivership proceedings, and there is no judgment or pending legal issues that could hinder the ability to conduct business.
	Offer Validity Period: I/We confirm that this Proposal/Quote, including the price, remains open for acceptance for ninety (90) days from the proposal submission deadline.
I/We understand and recognize that you are not bound to accept any proposal you receive, and we certify that the services offered in our Proposal meet the requirements set out in this RFP and its Terms of Reference.
By signing this declaration, the signatory below represents, warrants and agrees that he/she has been authorized by the Organization/s to make this declaration on its/their behalf

Supplier Name:

Title/Designation:

Company Name:

Date:

Signature

4. CONDITIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL 

4.1. PROPOSAL GUIDELINES 

This Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process. 

All vendors must provide written notification via email to (RWA.Procurement@care.org ) of their intent to participate, or not to participate in the bidding process by [November 4,2026].

Proposals will be accepted until [November 12 ,2026 at 17:00 Kigali time] delivered via email solely to ( RWA.Procurement@care.org), no later than the above specified date. Any proposals received after this date and time will not be accepted. All proposals must be signed by an official agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal. 

If the organization submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal

Additionally, all costs included in proposals must be all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include name and description of the organizations being contracted. 

All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs. 

Contract terms and conditions will be negotiated upon selection of the winning bidder for this RFP. All contractual terms and conditions will be subject to review by the CARE legal department, and will include scope, budget, schedule, and other necessary items pertaining to the project. 

Any verbal information obtained from, or statements made by representatives of CARE shall not be construed as in any way amending this RFP. Only such corrections or addenda as are issued in writing by CARE to all RFP participants shall be official. CARE will not be responsible for verbal instructions. 

5. PROJECT PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION 

CARE is issuing this RFP (Request for Proposal) soliciting qualified bidders to submit proposals intended for the Consultancy for the Childcare Baseline Assessment and the Financial Inclusion Safeguarding Risk Assessment of the SERVE Project. Bidders must propose for both assignments. 

This RFP is an invitation to bid, not an offer of contract. Bidders must submit a response that complies with the minimum requirements contained herein. 

5.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW 

CARE International in Rwanda seeks to engage a qualified consultantor consulting firm to conduct two linked assignments for the SERVE project: (1) a Childcare Baseline Assessment in the three pilot districts (Rulindo, Nyabihu and Kirehe) and two comparison districts to be selected with CARE during the inception phase (2) a Financial Inclusion Safeguarding Risk Assessment of the SERVE financial inclusion pathway, as described in the Terms of Reference (Attached) 

Costing assumption for comparison districts: For costing purposes, bidders should assume two comparison districts, each with the same data collection scope as one pilot district (participant survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews), and show their cost as a separate line item in the financial offer. CARE will confirm the two districts during the inception phase. 

Requirements 

Requirement s Specs	Qty.	Unit of Measurement	Required Delivery Lead Time	Delivery Address	Contract Period
Consultancy for Childcare Baseline Assessment and Financial Inclusion Safeguarding Risk Assessment	2 assessment s (2 final reports)	Assignment	45 calendar days from contract signature (excluding CARE review time)	Rulindo, Nyabihu, Kirehe , Geographical scope under FWA to be determined depending on needs	First assignme nt :45 calendar days; FWA term: two (2) years

5.2. Requirements

Component	Key Activities	Deliverables
A. Inception	Prepare a detailed inception report for each assignment (methodology, research tools, approach, districts, ethical considerations, literature review); propose sampling strategy and sample size; develop data collection tools and upload to Kobo or a similar platform;	Inception report for each assignment within 6 days of contract signature; approved data collection tools on Kobo or similar platform.
B. Childcare Baseline Assessment	Conduct the participant survey, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and site observation in Rulindo, Nyabihu, Kirehe and two comparison districts; analyse childcare needs, arrangements, barriers, care burden, child safety risks, acceptability of proposed models and baseline indicators.	Baseline values for all indicators, disaggregated by sex, age, disability, district, value chain and refugee status (as applicable); draft and final childcare baseline report.
C. Financial Inclusion Safeguarding Risk Assessment	Conduct focus group discussions and interviews with borrowers and non borrowers, key informant interviews with FSPs, insurers, partners, district officials, and review of loan portfolio and project documents; assess safeguarding, protection, accountability and Do No Harm risks.	Risk register rating each risk by likelihood and impact; action plan with responsible parties and timelines; draft and final financial inclusion report.
D. Data Management and Analysis	Train enumerators (including safeguarding, PSEAH and GBV disclosure referral); collect data electronically; clean, anonymise and securely store data; triangulate quantitative and qualitative data.	Clean datasets, codebooks and transcripts.
E. Draft Reports and Validation	Submit draft reports 25 days after the inception report; address CARE comments; hold a validation workshop with CARE and SERVE partners. CARE will cover the cost of the validation workshop. Feedback from the validation meeting must be included in the final reports.	Two draft reports; validation workshop and PowerPoint presentation.
F. Final Reports and Close-Out	Finalise both reports in English with executive summary, methodology and limitations, findings and annexes.	Two final reports approved within 9 days of receiving CARE’s comments, with annexes and clean datasets.

The consultant must apply CARE’s Safeguarding Policy and PSEAH standards at every stage: recruitment and training of enumerators, informed consent, confidentiality, and data protection. Enumerators must be trained to handle disclosures of GBV or distress safely and to refer people through agreed pathways. Data must be anonymised and stored securely, in line with Law No. 058/2021 relating to the protection of personal data and privacy. The consultant will obtain any research authorisation required in Rwanda before data collection. 

Respondents: Data will be collected from adults only: SERVE participants, parents and caregivers, childcare providers and key informants. Children will not be interviewed. Any SERVE participant under 18 will be excluded from the sample unless CARE agrees otherwise during the inception phase, in which case parent or guardian consent and the participant’s own assent are required. Observation of childcare settings must be non-intrusive, done with the consent of providers and caregivers, and must not record photographs or other data that could identify a child. 

Deliverables 

• Inception report for each assignment, showing the methodology, research tools (questionnaires, interview guides), approach and the districts where the assignment will take place, together with ethical considerations and a literature review of existing findings on childcare and on safeguarding risk in financial inclusion. Due within 6 days of contract signature. 
• Approved data collection tools uploaded to Kobo or a similar platform. 
• Clean datasets, codebooks and transcripts in Kinyarwanda, with English translations • Data collection, analysis and draft reports (childcare baseline and financial inclusion risk assessment) presenting the research findings. CARE will review the reports and provide comments to be addressed by the consultant. The draft reports are due 25 days after the inception report. 
• A validation workshop with CARE and SERVE partners to present the draft findings and recommendations (with a PowerPoint presentation). 
• Two separate final reports, both in English: one on the childcare baseline assessment and one on the safeguarding risk assessment of the financial inclusion pathway. Each report must include an executive summary, methodology and limitations, findings, and annexes (final data collection tools, clean datasets, codebooks and transcripts). 
• Childcare baseline report: baseline values for all indicators, disaggregated by sex, age, disability, district, value chain and refugee status (as applicable), and evidence-based recommendations. 
• Financial inclusion report: a risk register rating each risk by likelihood and impact, and an action plan with responsible parties and timelines. 
• The approved final reports are due within 9 days of receiving CARE’s comments on the draft reports. 

Required Qualifications 

The consultant or consulting firm must demonstrate: 

• Lead consultant: master’s degree in economics, social sciences or development finance, with at least 5 years’ experience in financial inclusion, client protection or risk assessments. 

• The team must include: a safeguarding, GBV or gender and inclusion specialist; a childcare, early childhood development or child protection specialist; and a financial inclusion specialist. 
• Each specialist must hold at least a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (social sciences, gender, early childhood development, child protection, economics or finance) and have at least 3 years’ experience in their area of specialisation, including field-based assessments or research. 
• Experience in Rwanda and with youth and agriculture programs; Mastercard Foundation experience is an advantage. 
• Strong mixed-methods, analytical and reporting skills, and fluency in English and Kinyarwanda. 
• All team members, including enumerators, must sign CARE’s Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct and are subject to reference checks. 

5.4. PROJECT TIMELINE

Deliverables	Deliverable and Evidence	Timeframe
Finalize contract between CARE and Consultant	Signed Contract	Day 0 (contract signature)
Inception report for each assignment, including methodology, tools, districts, ethical considerations and literature review	Two Inception Reports	Within 6 days of contract signature
CARE review and approval of inception reports and data collection tools; research authorisation; enumerator training with special consideration on safeguarding	Approved Inception Reports; Approved Tools on Kobo or similar platform	Following inception report [CARE to respond within 3 working days]
Data collection and analysis for both assignments	Clean Datasets, Codebooks and Transcripts	After inception approval
Submission of draft reports (childcare baseline and financial inclusion risk assessment)	Two Draft Reports	25 days after inception report
Validation workshop with CARE and SERVE partners	Workshop and PowerPoint Presentation	With draft reports
CARE review of draft reports and comments to consultant	Consolidated Comments	After draft reports [CARE to respond within 5 working days]
Submission of two final reports with annexes	Final Childcare Baseline Report; Final Financial Inclusion Safeguarding Risk Assessment Report;	Within 9 days of receiving CARE’s comments (total 45 calendar days,

Risk Register and Action Plan

excluding CARE review time)

All bidders are advised to strictly follow the timeline below as noted. 

Any technical questions arising during the preparation of your response to this RFP should be submitted in writing via email to (RWA.Procurement@care.org ) no later than November 6, 2026. CARE’s written responses will be shared with all participating bidders without identifying the source of the question. 

Schedule of Activities/ To-do	Date of the Activity/ Deadline of Submission	Responsible	Remarks
RFP Issued	[October 30, 2026]	CARE
Supplier to notify CARE of intention to participate in bidding	[November 4,2026]	Supplier	Deadlines must be strictly observed.
Deadline for submission of clarification questions to CARE	[November 6,2026]	Supplier	Deadlines must be strictly observed.
CARE to answer all clarifications	[November 9,2026]	CARE
Supplier’s Deadline of Submission of Proposal	[November 12,2026]	Supplier	Deadlines must be strictly observed.
Evaluation of Proposal	[From November 13 to November 27,2026]	CARE
Vendor presentation (Or Physical verification if required)	[December 3, 2026]	Supplier
Finalists selected and Notification of award	[December 16,2026]	CARE	Upon notification, the contract negotiation with the winning bidder will begin immediately.

5.5. EVALUATION CRITERIA 

CARE will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposal, your proposal should be complete and include all of the following criteria: 

Overall Proposal Suitability: The proposed methodology, sampling approach, data collection 

tools, analysis (including the risk register), ethics and safeguarding measures, and work plan must address all objectives, areas of analysis and deliverables of both assignments in the Terms of Reference within 45 calendar days (excluding CARE review time) and be presented clearly. The proposal must also describe quality control measures (enumerator training, supervision and data checks). 

• Previous Work and Awards: Bidders will be evaluated on completed similar assignments, such as childcare, ECD or child protection baselines and financial inclusion, client protection or safeguarding risk assessments, particularly in Rwanda and in youth and agriculture programs (Mastercard Foundation experience is an advantage), supported by samples of similar work and three references. 
• Technical Expertise and Organizational Experience: Bidders must provide descriptions and documentation of the qualifications and experience of the lead consultant (master’s degree in economics, social sciences or development finance and at least 5 years’ experience in financial inclusion, client protection or risk assessments) and team composition : a safeguarding, GBV or gender and inclusion specialist, a childcare, early childhood development or child protection specialist, and a financial inclusion specialist, with strong mixed-methods, analytical and reporting skills and fluency in English and Kinyarwanda. 
• Delivery Capacity and Timeline: Bidders will be evaluated on their capacity to deliver both assessments within 45 calendar days of contract signature (excluding CARE review time), including mobilising and training enumerators, collecting data in the three pilot and two comparison districts and with financial inclusion stakeholders, using electronic data collection (Kobo or similar), and meeting the deadlines for the inception report (6 days), draft reports (25 days after inception) and final reports (9 days after CARE comments). 

Value and Cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the total cost of their offer for the services described in the Terms of Reference, as set out in the itemized financial offer. 

1. Technical Proposal
A. Overall Proposal Suitability (methodology, work plan, quality control, risk management)	25%
B. Previous Work and Awards	15%
C. Technical Expertise and Organizational Experience	20%
D. Delivery Capacity and Lead Time	10%
Subtotal	70%
2. Financial Proposal (Value and Cost)
E. Value and Cost	30%
Subtotal	30%
Total	100%

Only bidders who submit all eligibility documents listed under “Application Process”, item 1 (Company Eligibility and Registration), will be evaluated. A minimum technical score of 49 out of 70 is required to proceed to the financial evaluation.

 

Financial scores will be calculated as: (lowest technically compliant price ÷ bidder’s price) × 30. The price used is the total VAT-inclusive price for both assignments in the itemized financial offer. Arithmetic errors will be corrected by CARE. Bids that are abnormally low may be queried and, where the bidder cannot justify them, rejected.

5.6. APPLICATION PROCESS 

The proposals should indicate the following: 

1. Company Eligibility and Registration 

• Company or consultant profile. 
• Copy of valid business registration certificate (RDB). 
• Copy of VAT registration certificate (where applicable). 
• Valid RRA Tax Clearance Certificate. 
• Valid RSSB Clearance Certificate. 

2. Relevant Experience 

• Samples of similar work (childcare, ECD or child protection assessments; financial inclusion, client protection or safeguarding risk assessments), with evidence of successful completion. 
• Lead consultant with at least 5 years’ experience in financial inclusion, client protection or risk assessments. 
• Experience in Rwanda and with youth and agriculture programs; Mastercard Foundation experience is an advantage. 
• Three (3) references from similar assignments, including client contact details. 

3. Technical Proposal and Capacity 

• Technical proposal with a clear timeframe and a description of the proposed methodology for each objective of the Terms of Reference, for both assignments, detailing how the deliverables will be achieved within 45 calendar days of contract signature (excluding CARE review time). 
• Proposed mixed-methods approach (electronic participant survey, focus group discussions, key informant and in-depth interviews, site observation, and review of loan portfolio and project documents), a preliminary sampling approach (the final strategy and sample size will be set in the inception report, and the childcare sample must allow indicators to be estimated separately for pilot and comparison districts), and a gender-sensitive design inclusive of youth, women, persons with disabilities and refugees.

 

• Data analysis approach: triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data, disaggregation by sex, age, disability, district, value chain and refugee status (as applicable), and development of a risk register rating each risk by likelihood and impact. 
• Detailed CVs of the proposed team, with roles clearly explained: lead consultant; safeguarding, GBV or gender and inclusion specialist; childcare, early childhood development or child protection specialist; and financial inclusion specialist. 
• Ethics and safeguarding plan applying CARE’s Safeguarding Policy and PSEAH standards: enumerator recruitment and training, informed consent, confidentiality, safe handling of GBV or distress disclosures and referral pathways, anonymised and secure data storage in line with Law No. 058/2021, and research authorisation in Rwanda. Confirmation that all team members, including enumerators, will sign CARE’s Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct and are subject to reference checks. 
• Work plan and enumerator deployment plan for the pilot and comparison districts, and the data collection platform (Kobo or similar). 

4. Financial Offer and Capacity 

• Financial offer submitted as a separate PDF from the technical proposal, itemized by assignment and cost category (e.g. inception, enumerator training and data collection, analysis, validation workshop, reporting), including itemized daily rates for each team member. Prices must be VAT inclusive and cover both assignments.
• Payment terms will be agreed during contract negotiation and linked to approved deliverables. 
• Audited financial statements or other evidence of financial capacity for 2023, 2024 and 2025 (where applicable). 

5. Verification 

• Reference checks, including checks on proposed team members, may be conducted for the recommended bidder prior to contract award. 

Interested bidders are requested to submit their offer not later than November 12,2026 at 17:00 Kigali time to the following e-mail address: rwa.procurement@care.org  with Subject Line “ RFP 23/2026 – Consultancy for Childcare Baseline and Financial Inclusion Safeguarding Risk Assessment – SERVE Project”. 

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their proposals and budgets are received by the CARE Procurement team following the instructions, terms and conditions described in this RFP and its Terms of Reference. Failure to adhere to these instructions may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.

 

Kigali, October 30, 2026 Procurement Unit

16 

Prepared by CARE 

Rwanda KG 541

Career Center Building