Performance Assessment of the Effectiveness of DFC Loan Portfolio Guaranties in Increasing Access to Finance for Agriculture Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa

Update (2/29/24): An updated questions and answers document (dated February 29, 2024) is attached. The new questions and answers are item numbers 19-24. DFC also revised its prior response to question 16; this change is shown in redline.Update (2/27/24):(a) Amendment 3. This amendment makes the following changes: (1) Re-opens this solicitation, with a new Phase I quote submission day and time of Friday, March 1, 2024, at 4:30pm Eastern time, as shown in paragraphs (h)(2)(i) and (q). This solicitation is re-opened for all prospective vendors and is not restricted to vendors who have already submitted a quote. (2) Adds a requirement in paragraph (d) for vendors to complete the representation at FAR 52.212-3(c)(1) to represent that they are a small business concern by the due date and time for Phase I quote submission. (3) Adds new instructions regarding SAM.gov registration in paragraph (h)(1). (4) Adds new requirements regarding Phase I quotes in paragraph (h)(2)(i). (5) Revises the

advisory downselect process as shown in paragraph (h)(2)(ii). (6) Re-opens the question-and-answer period, with questions due by Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 4:00pm ET, as shown in paragraph (r). (7) Deletes paragraph (s) regarding the interested vendors list.All other terms and conditions of this solicitation remain unchanged. Phase I quotes are due by Friday, March 1, 2024, at 4:30pm ET.Update (2/15/24):(a) Amendment 2. This amendment makes the following changes: (1) Adds a question-and-answer period for vendors participating in Phase II. Please see new paragraph (h)(2)(iii) in the solicitation below. (2) Adds the date that DFC anticipates providing the advisory downselect notices in paragraph (h)(2)(ii) in the solicitation below. (3) Redesignates the numbering of select solicitation paragraphs. (4) Revises the statement of work to specify that one financial intermediary will be located in each of the ten countries listed in the statement of work. Please see these revisions in redline in Attachment 1, Statement of Work, dated 02.15.24.All other terms and conditions of this solicitation remain unchanged.(b) An updated interested vendors list (Attachment 4, dated 02.15.24) is attached, along with an updated questions and answers document, also dated 02.15.24. The new questions and answers are item numbers 3-18. There are presently no outstanding questions.(c) The submission deadline for Phase I quotes remains Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 4:30pm ET, by e-mail to Joshua Houston, Contract Specialist, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov.Update (2/8/24): (a) Amendment 1. This amendment makes the following changes: (1) Dates for Phase II of the competition are changed as follows: (i) The due date for the slide deck, resumes for designated key personnel, pricing, and any applicable representations and certifications is changed to March 22, 2024. (ii) The dates for the oral presentation are changed to March 26, 2024, and March 27, 2024. (2) The start of the period of performance for the project and each contract line item (CLIN) is changed to April 8, 2024. (3) The date for the kick-off meeting, deliverable #1, is changed to no later than April 15, 2024. (4) Additional requirements are added to the Phase I experience paper submission. (5) Additional language is added to the price evaluation criteria regarding a realism evaluation of any proposed travel costs.These changes are shown below and in redline in the updated Attachment 1, Statement of Work, attached to this notice. All other terms and conditions of this solicitation remain unchanged.Additionally, an updated interested vendors list (Attachment 4, dated February 8, 2024) is attached, along with a questions and answers document. There are presently no outstanding questions. All vendor questions are due by tomorrow, February 9, 2024.Update (2/2/24): An updated interested vendors list (dated February 2, 2024) is attached.(a) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.(b) The solicitation number is 77344424Q0047. This solicitation is being issued as a request for quotations (RFQ) under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.5.(c) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2024-02.(d) This acquisition is a total set-aside for small business concerns. The NAICS code is 541611 and the small business size standard is $24.5 million. A small business concern means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field of operation, and qualified as a small business under the criteria in 13 CFR part 121 and size standards in this solicitation. In accordance with FAR 52.219-6, quotes are solicited only from small business concerns. Phase I quotes received from concerns that are not small business concerns shall be considered nonresponsive and will be rejected. By the due date and time for Phase I quote submission, vendors shall have completed the representation at FAR 52.212-3(c)(1) to represent that it is a small business concern. This representation may be completed either (1) on SAM.gov or (2) by using the form for FAR 52.212-3 found in Attachment 5 to this solicitation and submitted by e-mail with the vendor’s Phase I quote. If a vendor does not complete this representation at FAR 52.212-3(c)(1) to represent that it is a small business concern by the due date and time for Phase I quote submission, the vendor’s quote will be rejected. Vendors whose Phase I quote is rejected by DFC will not receive any further consideration; they will not be permitted an opportunity to revise their quote and will not be permitted to participate in Phase II.(e) Description. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Office of Development Policy (ODP) seeks an independent consultant to conduct a development impact performance assessment of the effectiveness of DFC's Loan Portfolio Guaranties in increasing access to finance for agriculture-focused small and medium sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa. See Attachment 1, Statement of work. DFC contemplates the award of a single purchase order resulting from this solicitation.(f) Contract line items (CLINs). (1) CLIN: 0001 (i) Description: Final written reports and PowerPoint presentations. Firm-fixed-price line item. Includes deliverable #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7. Period of performance: April 8, 2024, through October 31, 2024. (ii) Quantity: 1 Ea (iii) Price: $____ (2) CLIN: 0002 (i) Description: Delivery of PowerPoint presentations and webinars to DFC staff and external parties. Labor-hour line item. Includes deliverable #8. Period of performance: April 8, 2024, through March 31, 2025. (ii) Quantity: 1 Ea (iii) Price: $____ (3) CLIN: 0003 (i) Description: Travel. The contractor shall obtain written approval from the COR prior to undertaking any travel. All travel will be reimbursed at-cost in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR). Cost only. Period of performance: April 8, 2024, through March 31, 2025. (ii) Quantity: 1 Ea (iii) Price: $____(g) This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions and contract clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The vendor is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the vendor and submitted with its quotation. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the vendor may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision or contract clause may be accessed electronically at the following address: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.(h) The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition. The following addenda apply to this provision: (1) Vendors must be registered in SAM.gov when submitting a quote. If a vendor submits a Phase I quote and is not registered in SAM.gov, that quote shall be rejected. Vendors that have their Phase I quote rejected by DFC will not receive any further consideration; they will not be permitted an opportunity to revise their quote and will not be permitted to participate in Phase II. Please see FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management. Vendors shall include their unique entity identifier (UEI) on all submissions. (2) This procurement will be conducted in two phases. DFC will conduct an advisory downselect between phases. (i) Phase I. In the first phase, vendors shall submit an experience paper and past performance references: (A) Experience paper. A brief discussion of the vendor’s experience assessing the development impact of investments made by development finance institutions, and the vendor’s experience in the financial services and agriculture sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper is limited to five pages.This document shall be formatted on 8.5 inch x 11 inch pages. The five-page limit does not apply to any cover pages, tables of acronyms, and tables of contents submitted with the paper. These elements will be read but not evaluated. The five-page limit includes any submitted cover letters, executive summaries, or any other element not specifically exempted. To calculate the five-page limit, DFC will begin counting pages with the first page in the submission and count subsequent pages in order. Pages which are explicitly exempted from the five-page maximum will not be counted. Once this count reaches the maximum allowable five pages, DFC will stop reading the quote with that final, fifth page. DFC will not consider any pages submitted in excess of the maximum allowable pages. The minimum font size is 10 points for all elements of the document (e.g., body text, graphics, tables). (B) Past performance references. A list of three past performance references, including the name of the customer organization, contract number (if applicable), a short description of the services provided, the name and telephone number and/or e-mail address for a customer point of contact, the dollar value of the contract/project, and the period of performance of the contract/project. References should be for contracts/projects that are either on-going or completed no longer than three years ago as of the due date for Phase I quotes. Vendors are required to submit a response to this requirement. If a vendor does not have relevant past performance references, the vendor shall so state. Phase I quotes are due by Friday, March 1, 2024, at 4:30pm Eastern time (ET), by e-mail to Joshua Houston, Contract Specialist, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov. Vendors may either combine the experience paper and the past performance references into a single document, provided that each element is clearly labeled, or submit the experience paper and the past performance references in two separate documents. Any documents submitted in addition to the experience paper and the past performance references will not be evaluated. If a vendor fails to submit either the experience paper or the past performance references, in accordance with the above instructions, then DFC may find the Phase I quote unacceptable and reject the quote. Vendors that have their Phase I quote rejected by DFC will not receive any further consideration; they will not be permitted an opportunity to revise their quote and will not be permitted to participate in Phase II. Late submissions will not be accepted. (ii) Advisory downselect. DFC will evaluate Phase I quotes under the experience evaluation factor using the vendor’s experience paper. Following this evaluation, DFC will issue advisory downselect notices to all remaining vendors who submitted a Phase I quote. DFC anticipates providing the advisory downselect notices on or about March 6, 2024, but this date is subject to change. The advisory notice will advise the vendor of DFC’s recommendation for the vendor to proceed or not proceed with a Phase II quote, based on the evaluation results in Phase I. The advisory downselect process is designed to reduce the costs and burden to industry to participate in the earliest phase of the acquisition while providing an opportunity for vendors who stand little to no chance of receiving an award to minimize their bid and proposal costs by not continuing to Phase II. Vendors must submit a Phase I quote to participate in Phase II. (iii) Phase II question-and-answer period. Vendors participating in Phase II will be provided an opportunity to submit additional questions in writing. Questions will be due by Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (iv) Phase II. Vendors remaining in the competition will participate in Phase II, which has three parts: (A) Oral presentation. (1) Vendors shall provide a one-hour oral presentation to DFC. The presentation shall address: (a) The vendor’s capabilities to perform development impact assessments. (b) The vendor’s technical approach to the requirement, including the vendor’s understanding of the requirement and strategy for accomplishing each task, including the phasing of tasks and methods to be used. (c) The vendor’s approach to staffing this project, including estimated labor categories and estimated labor hours per labor category per each of the five tasks for this project, and the qualifications of staff. The vendor shall include a discussion of its proposed key personnel. (d) The vendor’s management approach, including organizational structure; management of staff and any subcontractors; stakeholder management; project schedule/timeline; resources, including information technology; communications plan; quality assurance; and approach to any on-site visits in sub-Saharan Africa. (2) The oral presentation will occur on either Tuesday, March 26, 2024, or Wednesday, March 27, 2024. The specific date and time will be scheduled with each remaining vendor following the advisory downselect. (3) Vendors must submit a slide deck to accompany the oral presentation and a resume for any designated key personnel. The slide deck and key personnel resumes are due by Friday, March 22, 2024, at 4:30pm ET, by e-mail to Joshua Houston, Contract Specialist, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov. The project manager/lead shall be key personnel; the vendor shall propose the designation of any other key personnel. (4) DFC intends to hold the oral presentations virtually via a Microsoft Teams meeting. Once the oral presentation is scheduled, DFC will provide the vendor with a meeting invite link. After the Microsoft Teams meeting starts, the vendor’s briefer will be asked to share their screen to deliver the presentation. (5) During the oral presentation, DFC may ask clarification questions or engage in interactive dialogue. Exchanges between DFC and the vendor are viewed as a component of the oral presentation itself and do not constitute negotiations. (6) The vendor is not restricted in the number of briefers that are used to deliver the oral presentation or respond to DFC’s questions. The vendor’s proposed project manager/lead must attend the oral presentation. The vendor’s briefer(s) must be an employee of the vendor or a proposed subcontractor. A vendor may only attend one oral presentation, whether for itself as the proposed prime contractor or as a proposed subcontractor for another vendor. (B) Price. Vendors shall submit pricing information for contract line items (CLINs) 0001, 0002, and 0003. (1) CLIN 0001, Final written reports and PowerPoint presentations. This CLIN includes deliverables #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7, and will be priced on a firm-fixed-price basis. (2) CLIN 0002, Delivery of PowerPoint presentations and webinars to DFC staff. This CLIN includes deliverable #8 and will be priced on a labor-hour basis. Vendors shall price this CLIN assuming the vendor’s participation in five, one-hour long virtual webinars. Vendors shall account for the time required to prepare, coordinate, and deliver the webinars. The vendor shall provide a table of proposed labor categories, labor rates, estimated labor hours, and total price. The vendor shall include a brief narrative supporting the labor categories and estimated labor hours for this CLIN. (3) CLIN 0003, Travel. This CLIN provides funding for estimated travel costs and will be paid at cost. All travel costs will be paid in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR). Vendors shall provide an estimated travel cost corresponding to their proposed approach to conduct on-site visits in sub-Saharan Africa. Vendors shall submit a breakdown for how travel estimates were developed, including airfare/transportation, per diem, and miscellaneous expenses. (4) Pricing is due by Friday, March 22, 2024, at 4:30pm ET, by e-mail to Joshua Houston, Contract Specialist, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov. (C) Representations and certifications. Any required representations and certifications, including, as applicable, FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services; FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; and FAR 52.229-11, Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements—Notice and Representation. Representations and certifications are due by Friday, March 22, 2024, at 4:30pm ET, by e-mail to Joshua Houston, Contract Specialist, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov.(i) The provision at FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies. The specific evaluation criteria to be included in paragraph (a) of that provision are as follows. This is a best value acquisition using a tradeoff process. The non-price factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. (1) Experience. DFC will evaluate this factor using the experience paper submitted in Phase I. This factor will be evaluated based on the vendor’s experience assessing the development impact of investments made by development finance institutions, and the vendor’s experience in the financial services and agriculture sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. (2) Capabilities and approach. The Government will evaluate this factor using the oral presentation in Phase II. This factor will be evaluated based on the vendor’s capabilities to perform development impact assessments; the feasibility and effectiveness of the vendor’s proposed technical approach to this requirement; the vendor’s proposed staffing approach to this requirement, including the suitability, experience, and skill set of the proposed key personnel and other staff, and the sufficiency of the estimated level of effort; and the feasibility and effectiveness of the vendor’s proposed management approach to accomplish this requirement. (3) Past performance. DFC will evaluate this factor using information obtained from the past performance references submitted by the vendor in Phase I, and any past performance information obtained from other sources. This factor will be evaluated based on the vendor’s record of recent successful past performance on similar requirements. (4) Price. DFC will evaluate this factor using the price submitted in Phase II. DFC will evaluate price by adding together the price for CLINs 0001, 0002, and 0003. Additionally, DFC will evaluate any proposed travel costs under CLIN 0003 for realism.(j) Once DFC determines the vendor that is best suited for the requirement (i.e., the apparent successful vendor), DFC reserves the right to communicate with only that vendor to address any remaining issues for negotiation. These issues may involve technical matters and price. If the parties successfully negotiate all remaining issues, DFC will finalize a purchase order with that vendor. If the parties cannot successfully negotiate all remaining issues, as determined at the sole discretion of DFC, DFC reserves the right to communicate with the next best-suited vendor based on the original evaluation results to address any remaining issues for negotiation with that vendor.(k) Vendors are advised to include a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, with their quote, as described in paragraph h(2)(iv)(C) above. If the vendor has completed FAR 52.212-3 at www.sam.gov, then the vendor does not need to provide a completed copy with its quote.(l) The following provisions also apply to this solicitation: (1) FAR 52.204-7 System for Award Management (Oct 2018). (2) FAR 52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Aug 2020). (3) FAR 52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021). (4) FAR 52.216-31 Time-and-Materials/Labor-Hour Proposal Requirements—Commercial Acquisition (Nov 2021). (5) FAR 52.229-11 Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements—Notice and Representation (Jun 2020).(m) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition.(n) The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition. See full text of this clause in Attachment 2, Full text of FAR 52.212-5.(o) The following clauses also apply to this solicitation: (1) FAR 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018). (2) FAR 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Aug 2020). (3) FAR 52.204-21 Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems (Nov 2021). (4) FAR 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification (Apr 1984). (5) FAR 52.224-2 Privacy Act (Apr 1984). (6) FAR 52.224-3 Privacy Training (Jan 2017). (7) FAR 52.227-17, Rights in Data-Special Works (Dec 2007). (8) FAR 52.232-7 Payments under Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts (Nov 2021). (9) DFC.003 GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL MONITOR. See full text of this clause in Attachment 3. (10) DFC.009 CONFIDENTIALITY. See full text of this clause in Attachment 3. (11) DFC.026 ELECTRONIC INVOICING AND PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS - INVOICE PROCESSING PLATFORM (IPP). See full text of this clause in Attachment 3. (12) DFC.028 SECURITY AND PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENTS. See full text of this clause in Attachment 3.(p) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) does not apply to this acquisition.(q) Phase I quotes are due by Friday, March 1, 2024, at 4:30pm ET, by e-mail to Joshua Houston, Contract Specialist, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov.(r) Any inquiries regarding this solicitation must be sent to Joshua Houston, Contract Specialist, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov. Please submit any questions by Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 4:00pm ET. DFC may not answer questions received after this date and time.Attachments: 1 - Statement of work. 2 - Full text of FAR 52.212-5. 3 - Additional clauses. 4 - Interested vendors list. 5 - Form for FAR 52.212-3.