RFP/KFW/AP/2026/000012

Annex 1-Terms of Reference (TOR)

Procurement of Marketing Services for Acceleration Programs 2026

1. Background

Accelerate Prosperity (AP) is a global initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Central and South Asia, which follows guidance from the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) Board to develop more formal structures to catalyze enterprises within AKDN’s main area development programs, where economic opportunities remain insufficient. Through patient capital and tailored business advisory to startups and businesses, AP complements broader employment-related programs of AKF and draws significantly on technical expertise from the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development’s (AKFED) Industrial Promotion Services (IPS), and coordinates efforts with the AKDN’s financial institutions, the University of Central Asia and many other national partners.

AP’s approach combines financial and non-financial support, recognizing that standalone business development services and traditional bank financing are inadequate to catalyze start-ups, grow small firms, and deliver job creation in fragile and emerging markets, particularly for marginalized groups in rural areas.

2. About the Program

Start-up Pakistan is a project financed by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and implemented by Accelerate Prosperity. The initiative aims to scale up Accelerate Prosperity’s existing model of technical support and financing for businesses. It will expand into new geographies and across exciting sectors such as education, health, tourism and green economy, prioritizing digitization and environmental sustainability.

3. About the Position

To support the marketing, branding, and logistical needs of its Acceleration Programs, Accelerate Prosperity seeks to engage a qualified firm on a retainership basis to provide dedicated creative on-site graphic designer, event coverage, printing facilities, and additional services as required for our incubation programs.

4. Objectives

The primary objective is to establish a long-term engagement with a firm to provide the following services in relation to Accelerate Prosperity’s Acceleration activities:

• Provide dedicated in-house graphic design and animation support for acceleration programs.
• Deliver high-quality branding materials including banners and standees.
• Ensure professional event coverage across multiple locations.
• Organize and facilitate networking events for entrepreneurs.
• Manage and procure essential digital marketing tool subscriptions required for outreach campaigns.

5. Scope of Work

The selected firm will provide comprehensive marketing, creative, production, and logistical support for Accelerate Prosperity’s acceleration programs.

The scope includes:

1. Provision of a dedicated in-house graphic designer with animation capabilities to support all visual communication needs
2. Design and production of branded materials for events and program visibility
3. Professional photography and videography coverage of multi-city program activities
4. Organization and facilitation support for networking events, on-ground coordination
5. Procurement and management of annual marketing tools subscriptions
6. Ensuring timely delivery, quality control, and adherence to AP branding guidelines across all outputs

The firm will work closely with AP’s Marketing and program teams to ensure alignment with communication objectives and program timelines.

6. Deliverables

The deliverables of work are as follows:

7. Qualification and Experience

The firm must demonstrate the following:

1. Must be a registered marketing, communications, or creative services firm with at least 3 years of relevant experience.
2. Ability to provide a dedicated in-house graphic designer with animation capabilities for high quality visuals and content creation for social media, presentations, and reports.
3. Proven capacity to handle large-scale printing, delivery, and installation of banners, standees, and branded materials, ensuring quality control and adherence to branding guidelines.
4. Experience in professional photography and videography, including multi-location shoots, editing, and production of highlight videos and testimonial videos.
5. Demonstrated capacity to handle large-scale printing, delivery, and installation projects.
6. Experience in planning and managing networking events for entrepreneurs, including meals and venue setups.
7. Experience managing subscriptions and licenses for platforms like Mailchimp, Canva, Bitly, Zoom, Capcut, and Twitter for program and marketing activities.

8. Reporting Line

Both Accelerate Prosperity and the firm will nominate one representative each to ensure open communication, with final deliverable approvals handled by Accelerate Prosperity's marketing lead.

9.  Location

The in-house graphic designer should be based in Islamabad.

10. Payment Terms

• Payment to the firm will be made on a monthly retainer basis for the dedicated in-house graphic designer.
• Remaining services will be paid when the deliverables are completed.
• Payments will be made within thirty (30) days from the date of submission of a complete and accurate invoice.

11. Proposal Submission Requirements

The bids are to be evaluated on the following grounds meeting the following criteria which are mandatory.

Interested applicants must submit the following:

Technical Proposal:

• The applicant firm must provide a certificate of company/firm registration with SECP/relevant regulatory authority and an active NTN number.
• The applicant firm must submit the company profile that outlines that it has 3 years plus experience in the provision of marketing services as mentioned above.
• The applicant firm is required to sign the RFP document along with annexes, and it should be submitted along with the proposal.
• The applicant firm should provide complete profiles of the selected graphic designers and the team, along with CVs and portfolios. You may share a QR code for your portfolio.
• The applicant firms must prepare at least a 2-3 pages description of the proposed content, tools and marketing plan for performing the assignment.

Financial Proposal:

• A financial quotation encompassing the monthly retainer cost breakdown for the graphic designer and other services provided is listed under “Deliverables”.
• The cost should be inclusive of tax.
• The financial proposal should be submitted using the attached financial proposal format with a valid signature and stamp.

12. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

• Technical expertise and experience of the firm (50%)
• Qualifications and portfolio of proposed graphic designer (20%)
• Financial competitiveness (30%)

13. Contract Duration

The initial contract will be for a period of 12 months, renewable based on performance and mutual agreement.