Terms of Reference

Task Background

Revenue Mobilisation, Investment and Trade (REMIT) programme is a technical assistance programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), United Kingdom to support Pakistan in implementing strategic reforms in the realm of economic development, trade, investment and revenue mobilisation. This assignment is a continuation of REMITs effort to strengthen the support offered to Women Entrepreneurs. Previously under this umbrella REMIT, collaborated with SMEDA to develop Pakistan’s first Women Entrepreneurship policy. This assignment will include implementation of the Women Entrepreneurship Policy’s Womenpreneurship portal which will be a specifically tailored online platform for women entrepreneurs to assist and aid them by offering access to resources, services, trainings, mentorships and market insights, while at the same time addressing the cultural and systemic barriers that hinder their growth. This platform is much more than a website or portal as it will allow customisation and design responsiveness for the specific needs of women entrepreneurs also used as an online marketplace – the advantage of it is in the adaptability and customisation. 

 Objectives of the Assignment 

The overall objective of the initiative is to collaboratively develop a first of its kind ‘Womenprenuership Platform’ (WP) aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs by addressing their unique challenges, especially those related to information asymmetry. The platform will serve as a comprehensive digital hub, allowing female entrepreneurs with the resource material and relevant information to update and refine their skillsets and expand their businesses. 

Additionally, supporting women entrepreneurs in Pakistan aligns strongly with the UK’s priorities of inclusive economic growth and deepening trade and investment partnerships with high-potential markets. Women in Pakistan represent a largely untapped economic resource and enabling their participation through improved access to critical information and digital tools not only has the potential to improve household income but also unlock new opportunities for economic expansion. 

Scope

Womenprenuership Platform (WP) will be a first-of-its-kind unified access portal (powered by AI, ML, and LLMs) that brings together all public and private incubation and support providers to build a nurturing ecosystem that will enable women to realise their entrepreneurial aspirations—one stop for WEs. The platform (with muti-lingual audio, script, and video) will pave the way for the provision of relevant information and services by leveraging partnerships. It is to be designed as an aggregator platform and will look to host information and services relevant to WEs. The platform will look to bring together the following services and resources:

• Develop an informal WE community and offer networking (this can be done via active chatbots)

• Linking with information regarding funding and concessional schemes by the government 

• Guiding WEs about grants and financial assistance programmes

• Linking with incubation support and accelerator services 

• Supporting with registrations, compliances, and tax matters 

• Strengthening the linkages with entrepreneurial skilling and mentoring (an online AI-generated mentoring programme for beginners leading more hands-on mentorship) 

• Providing information and linking with marketing and market information and supporting in developing linkages and building networks 

Brief Description of Activities

• Develop a virtual platform for women entrepreneurs to network and access resources. 

• Design the Women Entrepreneurship platform to be intuitive, scalable, and optimized for seamless use on mobile devices.

• Examine international good practices and standards of online platforms, specifically from countries with similar socio-economic contexts, to develop the WP in accordance. 

• Incorporate resources on marketing strategies and market trends, information regarding funding and concessional schemes and grants and financial assistance programs.

• Implement interactive chatbots that enable women entrepreneurs to network informally and access essential information and guidance on various entrepreneurial subjects.

• Exploring the use of AI to personalize content based on user preferences and needs ie. develop AI-powered chatbots to assist with common queries and provide user support.

• Implement LLM-powered machine translation to provide content in multiple languages, ensuring accessibility for a diverse target audience.

• Implement robust data security practices and ensure adherence to relevant regulations to protect user information on the platform.

• Suggest international materials/networks/toolkits (especially from UK) that can be a part of this portal to educate women entrepreneurs

• Closely collaborate with SMEDA and Ministry of Industries & Production to define the work plan, design and development of the platform. 

Key deliverables and timelines

Qualifications and Experience 

The responsible Firm responsible for the development of the platform should have the following capabilities: 

• Proven track record of developing user-friendly and scalable web platforms with a strong focus on mobile responsiveness

• The firm should have a team with expertise in applying AI/ML/LLM technologies for relevant tasks like:

• Content personalization: Using AI to personalize information and resources based on user needs and interests.

• Chatbots or virtual assistants: Developing AI-powered chatbots to answer common questions, guide users, and provide basic support.

• Machine translation: Ability to use machine translation (powered by LLM) to offer content in multiple languages relevant to the target audience.

• Strong understanding of data security practices and adherence to relevant regulations.

• The firm should demonstrate a clear understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs in developing countries.

• Familiarity with the cultural context, language, and digital landscape of Pakistan is crucial for developing relevant and accessible content.

• Ability to collaborate with local women's organizations, NGOs, government agencies and other institutional stakeholders to ensure the platform reflects local needs and leverage existing resources.

• The firm should demonstrate a commitment to building a platform that promotes sustainable solutions and empowers women entrepreneurs for long-term success.

• The platform should be designed with accessibility in mind, considering potential limitations like low bandwidth internet access in some regions.

• Expertise in user-centered and service design to create an intuitive and engaging platform that is easy for women entrepreneurs to navigate.

• Ability to develop a plan to track the platform's impact on women's entrepreneurship and demonstrate its effectiveness.

1. Instructions to Bidders

Bidders should examine all Instructions, Terms and Conditions as given in the RFP. Failure to furnish information required in the RFP or submission of Bids not substantially responsive or viable in every respect will be at the Bidder’s risk and may result in rejection of the bids. Bidders should strictly submit the Bid as specified in the RFP, failing which the bids will be held as non-responsive and will be rejected. 

Bids shall compromise a single package containing two folders: 

1. Technical Proposal  

2. Financial Proposal 

Bidders should send soft copies of the Technical and Financial Proposal to the following address: 

Soft copies to be sent to: [email protected]

Proposal Weightings 

1. Technical Proposal 

2. Financial Proposal 

Prospective firms must be legally registered under the laws of the country in which they are organized and possess all licenses, permits and government approvals necessary for performance of the work. 

2. Proposal Terms

1. Prospective Firms’ Understanding of the Solicitation

Prospective contractors are responsible for understanding the solicitation in its entirety and each of its elements and should make inquiries to ASI as necessary to ensure such understanding. ASI reserves the right to disqualify any prospective vendor that it determines, at its sole discretion, does not understand the solicitation or any of its elements. Such disqualification shall be at no fault, cost, or liability whatsoever to ASI.

2. Information from ASI

All information provided by ASI in this solicitation is subject to change at any time. ASI makes no certification as to the accuracy of any item and is not responsible or liable for any use of or reliance on the information or for any claims asserted therefrom.

3. Communication

All communications related to the RFP must be in writing via email to the above-mentioned point of contact. 

1. Formal Communications shall include, but are not limited to the following:

• Questions concerning this solicitation must be submitted in writing to the contact person mentioned above. 

• Errors and omissions in this solicitation, as well as enhancements. Prospective firms should notify ASI of any discrepancies, errors, or omissions that may exist within this solicitation. Prospective vendors should recommend to ASI any enhancements to the work described in the solicitation which might be in ASI’ best interests.

• Inquiries about technical interpretations must be directly asked from contact person (Alex Harris).

2. Addenda: ASI will make a good-faith effort to provide a written response to the questions or requests for clarifications in the form of written responses.

3. Posting Online: Copy of this solicitation, will be available online at:  www.BrightSpyre.com.

4. Non-Disclosure Agreement

ASI reserves the right to require the prospective firms to enter into a non-disclosure agreement.

5. No Collusion

Collusion is strictly prohibited. Collusion is defined as an agreement or compact, written or oral, between two or more parties with the goal of limiting fair and open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding a third party.

6. Companies Owned or Controlled by Government

The prospective vendor must disclose in writing with its Response if a government, its agents, or agencies, have an ownership or managerial interest in the company. Failure to disclose a government ownership of managerial interest in the company will result in the prospective contractor’s offer being removed from consideration.

7. Subcontracting

The prospective contractor must disclose in writing with its Response any subcontracting that will take place under an award. Failure to disclose subcontracting relationships will result in the prospective contractor’s offer being removed from consideration. (if permitted by the solicitation)

8. Costs

The solicitation does not obligate ASI to pay for any costs, of any kind whatsoever, which may be incurred by a prospective contractor/vendor or third parties, in connection with the Response.

9. Intellectual Property

Prospective vendors may not use any intellectual property of ASI including, but not limited to, all logos, trademarks, or trade names of ASI, at any time without the prior written approval of ASI.

10.  Prospective Contractors’ Responses

All accepted Responses shall become the property of ASI and will not be returned.

11.  Partial Awarding

ASI reserves the right to accept all or part of the Response when awarding a contract.

12.  No Liability

ASI reserves the right to accept or reject any Response or to stop the procurement process at any time, without assigning any reason or liability. ASI shall not be liable to any prospective contractor, person, or entity for any losses, expenses, costs, claims, or damages of any kind.