Overview : Provision of technical support (business incubation) to the innovative Startups and SMEs in the Western Region of Afghanistan Dear Sir / Madam: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghanistan Country Office hereby invites you to submit your proposal for the Provision of technical support (business incubation) to the innovative Startups and SMEs in the Western Region of Afghanistan. This RFP includes the following documents: • Letter of Invitation • Annex 1 - Description of Requirements • Annex 2a - Terms of Reference • Annex 2b – Evaluation Criteria • Annex 3a - Form for Submitting Service Provider’s Technical Proposal • Annex 3b – Form for Submitting Financial Proposal • Annex 4 – Proposal Submission Form • E-tendering Instructions Manual for Bidders • FAQ for Bidders Your proposal, comprising of documents stated in this RFP, should be submitted to UNDP Afghanistan in accordance with Annex 1 (Description of Requirements) through the “UNDP ATLAS E-tendering system” (https://etendering.partneragencies.org). Kindly go through this invitation letter and other documents attached hereto this RFP. If you are interested in submitting a Proposal in response to this RFP, please prepare your Proposal in accordance with the requirements and procedure as set out in this RFP and submit it by the Deadline for Submission of Proposals set out in Bid Data Sheet. In case your company is not registered in the E-Tendering Module, please use the following temporary username and password to register your company/firm: Username: event.guest Password: why2change Bidders who will be registered on the e-tendering will be able to download the complete bidding documents from the e-tendering website at: https://etendering.partneragencies.org If you need further information, please feel free to send an email to procurement.af@undp.org “Bidders can download the complete tender documentation from the e-Tendering upon registration”. Please acknowledge receipt of this RFP utilizes the “Accept Invitation” function in the eTendering system, where applicable. This will enable you to receive amendments or updates to the RFP. Should you require further clarifications, kindly communicate with the contact person/s identified in the attached Bid Data Sheet as the focal point for queries on this RFP. IMPORTANT NOTE: The amount of the Financial Offer MUST NOT be mentioned anywhere in the submitted documents or eTendering system other than the Financial Proposal. Submitted Financial proposal should be password protected and the Password should be provided only when requested by UNDP. Failure in compliance with the mentioned condition shall result in rejection of the offer. In the course of preparing your Proposal, it shall remain your responsibility to ensure that it reaches the address above on or before the deadline. Proposals that are received by UNDP after the deadline indicated above, for whatever reason, shall not be considered for evaluation. If you are submitting your Proposal by email, kindly ensure that they are signed and in the .pdf format, and free from any virus or corrupted files. Services proposed shall be reviewed and evaluated based on completeness and compliance of the Proposal and responsiveness with the requirements of the RFP and all other annexes providing details of UNDP requirements. The Proposal that complies with all of the requirements, meets all the evaluation criteria and offers the best value for money shall be selected and awarded the contract. Any offer that does not meet the requirements shall be rejected. Any discrepancy between the unit price and the total price shall be re-computed by UNDP, and the unit price shall prevail, and the total price shall be corrected. If the Service Provider does not accept the final price based on UNDP’s re-computation and correction of errors, its Proposal will be rejected. No price variation due to escalation, inflation, fluctuation in exchange rates, or any other market factors shall be accepted by UNDP after it has received the Proposal. At the time of Award of Contract or Purchase Order, UNDP reserves the right to vary (increase or decrease) the quantity of services and/or goods, by up to a maximum twenty-five per cent (25%) of the total offer, without any change in the unit price or other terms and conditions. Any Contract or Purchase Order that will be issued as a result of this RFP shall be subject to the General Terms and Conditions attached hereto. The mere act of submission of a Proposal implies that the Service Provider accepts without question the General Terms and Conditions of UNDP, herein attached as Annex 3. Please be advised that UNDP is not bound to accept any Proposal, nor award a contract or Purchase Order, nor be responsible for any costs associated with a Service Providers preparation and submission of a Proposal, regardless of the outcome or the manner of conducting the selection process. UNDP’s vendor protest procedure is intended to afford an opportunity to appeal for persons or firms not awarded a Purchase Order or Contract in a competitive procurement process. In the event that you believe you have not been fairly treated, you can find detailed information about vendor protest procedures in the following link: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/procurement/business/protest-and-sanctions.html UNDP encourages every prospective Service Provider to prevent and avoid conflicts of interest, by disclosing to UNDP if you, or any of your affiliates or personnel, were involved in the preparation of the requirements, design, cost estimates, and other information used in this RFP. UNDP implements a zero tolerance on fraud and other proscribed practices, and is committed to preventing, identifying and addressing all such acts and practices against UNDP, as well as third parties involved in UNDP activities. UNDP expects its Service Providers to adhere to the UN Supplier Code of Conduct found in this link : https://www.un.org/Depts/ptd/sites/www.un.org.Depts.ptd/files/files/attachment/page/pdf/unscc/conduct_english.pdf Should you have any questions or require any clarification, please feel free to email your questions/clarifications to procurement.af@undp.org. The subject of the email should be “UNDP/AFG/RFP/2022/0000011938 Provision of technical support (business incubation) to the innovative Startups and SMEs in the Western Region of Afghanistan.” Thank you and we look forward to receiving your Proposal. Sincerely yours, Mohammadkhalid Alimkhail Procurement Analyst/Head of Procurement a.i 3/24/2022 |