Terms of Reference: TCCP Gender capacity building for Investees _at Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)

1.0. Background

The Tanzania Clean Cooking Project (TCCP), funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) as part of Sweden’s bilateral support to Tanzania, is implemented by AECF. TCCP is a four-year initiative (2022–2026) aimed at accelerating access to sustainable clean cooking solutions targeting households, small enterprises, and institutions to reduce reliance on biomass, improve health outcomes, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Since its inception in July 2022, TCCP has invested over USD 3.75 million in nine companies, complemented by technical assistance to strengthen business models and market expansion.

Rationale of the assignment

To strengthen business performance, the inclusion and sustainability of TCCP investees, AECF conducted gender assessments to identify gaps in workforce diversity and inclusion, product development and access, workplace policies and practices, among others. While the investees have received targeted capacity-building to address these gaps, there is a need for additional support to institutionalize the recommended solutions and properly mainstream gender across the businesses.

AECF seeks to engage a qualified consultant to deliver a structured gender mainstreaming capacity-building programme for TCCP investees, grounded in previous assessment findings, building on capacity building outcomes, and aligned with AECF’s proprietary Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit.

2.0. Objective of the assignment

The overall objective of the assignment is to strengthen the capacity of TCCP investees to effectively integrate a gender lens into their business operations, leadership structures, and value chains. The consultant will:

• Build investees’ understanding of gender mainstreaming as a business growth and sustainability strategy.
• Support companies to update their existing gender action plans.
• Strengthen the implementation of gender, safeguarding, and inclusion policies.
• Address barriers limiting women’s participation in production and technical roles.
• Facilitate peer learning and practical exchange among investees.
• Strengthen understanding of the business case for gender inclusion.

3.0. Scope of work

The consultant will undertake the following:

Review and planning

• Review gender assessment findings and action plans
• Contextualize AECF’s Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit to the clean cooking value chain
• Identify priority capacity gaps across investees

Training design and delivery

Design and deliver a practical, participatory training programme covering:

• Addressing gender inclusion within a private sector context
• From compliance to practice and institutionalization of gender inclusion
• Gender-responsive recruitment and retention strategies
• Increasing women’s participation in product production and other technical roles
• Leadership, confidence building, and internal mentorship
• Safeguarding, SGBV prevention, and reporting frameworks
• Addressing resistance to equal pay and workplace bias
• Creating male allyship within the workforce
• Surfacing how gender inclusion increases profitability and productivity

Peer learning facilitation

• Facilitate structured sharing sessions among investees
• Highlight practical case studies (e.g., women in production, leadership progression, sales growth)
• Develop a simple peer-support mechanism for ongoing exchange

Practical output development

Support investees to:

• Refine or update gender action plans
• Support the investees in developing clear implementation roadmaps with timelines
• Identify measurable gender performance indicators

4.0. Deliverables

The consultant will deliver:

1. Inception report
   • Training methodology
   • Work plan and timeline
   • Refined training modules
2. Training materials
   • Facilitator guide
   • Participant handbook
   • Practical tools/templates
3. Training delivery
   • Facilitation of the agreed training sessions
   • Peer learning session documentation
4. Updated gender action plans
   • Updated and practical implementation frameworks for each investee
5. Final report
   • Summary of key capacity gaps
   • Participant feedback analysis
   • Recommended follow-up actions

5.0. Duration of the assignment

The assignment is expected to take approximately 1 month, including preparation, delivery, and reporting.
Workplan

Week	Focus Area	Key Deliverables	Key activities
Week 1	Inception, Review & Design	Inception Report, Training Outline	Kick-off meeting with AECF Gender and TCCP teams Review: Gender gap assessments Investee action plans Previous training learnings AECF Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit: Identify priority capacity gaps across investees. Develop training framework and session outlines. Develop a pre-training assessment tool
Week 2	Material Development	Final training toolkit,        training slides & templates	Develop: Facilitator guide Participant handbook Case studies from TCCP investees Action plan templates Monitoring indicator templates Integrate real examples (e.g., women in production, pay parity, leadership progression) Validation meeting with AECF Revise materials based on feedback
Week 3	Training Delivery	Workshops  delivered, pre- and post-training evaluations	Facilitate 2-day capacity-building workshop (in-person)  Conduct capacity building on the identified cross-cutting gaps Facilitate structured peer-learning exchange Support investees in refining action plans Gather insights to inform the final report
Week 4	Consolidation                        & Reporting	Final Report, updated action plans

6.0. Reporting

The consultant will be accountable and report to the Gender Manager, Gender Analyst, and TCCP Portfolio officer, with support from the Country Programme Manager.

7.0. Consultant qualifications

AECF seeks a consultant with:

• At least 8 years of experience in gender mainstreaming within the private sector or SME contexts
• Proven experience in gender mainstreaming training and institutional capacity building
• Strong expertise in safeguarding and SGBV frameworks within the business context
• Strong facilitation and participatory training skills
• Excellent report-writing and analytical skills
• Experience working in energy, climate, or clean cooking sectors is an added advantage
• Experience in East Africa, particularly Tanzania, is an added advantage

8.0. Application process

Interested consultants should submit the following:

• Technical proposal outlining understanding, methodology, and work plan
• Financial proposal (in USD) showing clearly the budgeted cost for the work to be conducted (to be submitted in a separate document from the technical proposal)
• Curriculum Vitae(s) of the consultant(s) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work
• Relevant Experience – Two examples of similar assignments previously conducted
• Three professional references
• Registration and other relevant statutory documents required (Copies of National Identification or valid Passport, Tax Registration Certificate, Tax Compliance Certificate)
• All documents related to the technical proposal must be compiled and submitted as a single PDF, with a clear Table of Contents. The Financial Proposal MUST be submitted as a separate, distinct attachment to the Technical Proposal. Bidders are strictly prohibited from including any financial information, pricing, or fee structures within the Technical Proposal attachment. No links shall be accepted.

9.0 Evaluation criteria

The AECF will form an evaluation committee that includes employees. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The trainer/training provider should ensure they fully respond to all criteria to be comprehensively evaluated.

The AECF may request and receive clarification from any consultant when evaluating a proposal. The evaluation committee may invite some or all the consultants to appear before it to clarify their proposals. In such an event, the committee may consider such clarifications in evaluating proposals.

In making the final selection of a qualified bidder, the technical quality of the proposal will be weighted 80% in the evaluation. Only the financial proposal of those bidders who qualify technically will be opened. The financial proposal will be weighted at 20%, and the proposals will be ranked by total points scored.

Mandatory Requirements for firms:

1. Company profile
2. Certificate of incorporation or Certificate of Registration and other statutory documents
3. Tax Registration Certificate / Tax Registration Proof: Documentation proving you are registered with the tax authority in your country
4. Valid Tax Compliance certificate or its equivalent
5. Audited Financial Statements for the 2024 Financial Year
6. Copy of National Identity Card (ID), Passport, or any other applicable clear copy of your primary national identification document (For individual consultants).
7. N/B: FAILURE TO ATTACH AND ADHERE TO THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION.

No.	Criteria for Assessment	Weighted Award
1	Understanding of the terms of reference
	Demonstrate understanding of the assignment’s objectives as outlined in the TOR.	10
2	Methodology and work plan
	The methodology and work plan are intended to be adopted to implement the tasks. The proposed approach should reflect the Appropriateness of the assessment approach for investees (pre-training needs analysis), the clarity of training delivery steps and participatory methods, the integration of confidentiality, do-no-harm, and survivor-centered principles, and the strength of the proposed post-training evaluation methods.	10
3	Technical experience
	Firm/consultants’ details – Capability statements, company profile, team CVs,	10
	Proven experience (minimum 5 years) in gender mainstreaming in business context, SGBVH prevention, and safeguarding in Tanzania, and similar contexts	15
	Demonstrated experience engaging businesses or enterprises on workplace SGBVH, safeguarding, HR policy strengthening, or similar interventions.	15
	Evidence of designing contextualized training modules and assessment tools for organizations.	10
	Qualifications of consultant(s), including advanced degree(s) in Gender Studies, Human Rights, Social Sciences, or related fields. Strong facilitation, analytical, and report-writing capabilities.	10
4	Financial Proposal Clarity, relevance, and reality to the market of value/value for money of cost for the assignment (inclusive of any applicable tax).	20
Total Score		100

The AECF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The AECF considers all interested candidates based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

All clarifications and/or questions should be sent to: aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by Monday, 23rd March 2026, 5 PM (EAT)

 

TO APPLY

The AECF invites qualified consultants/firms to send a proposal to: aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org clearly marked to read “TCCP Gender capacity building for Investees” to receive no later than the 31st March 2026, 5.00 pm (EAT), addressed to: AECF, Procurement Department.

10.0 Disclaimer

AECF reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice, and the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party.