Development of BEDCO’s virtual Expo Platform

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution. The AfDB was founded in 1964 and comprises three entities: The African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund. The AfDB’s mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting the investment of public and private capital in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries (RMC).

The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho has received financing from the African Development Fund towards implementation of the Economic Diversification Support Project and intends to apply part of the agreed amount for this loan to payments under the contract for Development of BEDCO’s virtual Expo Platform for the government of Lesotho.

The aim of the project is to address marketing-related challenges through establishment of an electronic marketplace for MSME’s in Lesotho.

The overall objective of the assignment is to engage the consultancy firm to assist BEDCO in the development and implementation of a Virtual Expo Platform for desktop and mobile applications. The scope of the consultancy services include: a) Assessment of current ICT environment within BEDCO and MSMEs to determine the requirements for implementing a virtual EXPO b) Design of a virtual EXPO platform; c) Development of Web-based virtual expo software platform; d) Training of BEDCO staff and identified MSMEs on the use of the platform; e) Assistance to identified MSMEs on how to produce and load content on the platform; f) Provision of technical support during the EXPO.

The assignment must be completed within six (6) months with the actual EXPO expected to be hosted during November 2021.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry now invites eligible consultancy firms to indicate their interest in providing these services ((brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.). Interested consultancy firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services. Consultants may constitute joint-ventures to enhance their chances of qualification.

Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the Procurement Policy and Methodology for Bank Group Funded Operations, dated October 2015, which is available on the Bank’s website at http://www.afdb.org using the Selection Based on the Consultants’ Qualifications procurement method.