(EoI) Facilitating the creation of a Startup Act for Rwanda

EXPRESSION of INTEREST (EoI)  Facilitating the creation of a Startup Act for Rwanda

Introduction

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. GIZ has worked in Rwanda for over 30 years. The primary objectives between the Government of Rwanda and the Federal Republic of Germany are poverty reduction and promotion of sustainable development. To achieve these objectives, GIZ Rwanda is active in the sectors of Decentralization and Good Governance, Economic Development and Employment Promotion, Energy and ICT (Information and Communications Technology).

1. Background information and brief description of the project

This project is joint effort of the Job partnerships and promotion of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in Rwanda (hereinafter SI Jobs) and Make-IT in Rwanda. This cooperation between the two GIZ projects will ensure the long-lasting impact of the Startup act and create complementarities between the two projects. The next three subsections outline the general perspective and clarifies the activities of Make-IT in Rwanda and the Special Initiative Jobs.

1.1 Digital Entrepreneurship

(Digital) entrepreneurship is a driver of economic growth in Africa. Entrepreneurs have the potential to modernize the economies and societies of their countries, to find innovative solutions to development problems, and to create new perspectives and employment opportunities. In order to be successful, entrepreneurs need a conducive environment to foster growth.

Rwanda aims to become a technology and innovation pan-African hub and this requires a supportive and enabling regulatory and business landscape.

1.2 Job partnerships and promotion of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in Rwanda (SI Jobs)

The SI Jobs initiative aims at increasing the growth of African and European companies in Rwanda to promote employment in Rwanda. By facilitating the increase in investment from domestic and foreign companies, new jobs in the middle-class sector (equivalent to the German “Mittelstand”) shall be created.

To achieve the above outlined impact, SI Jobs aims at improving: (1) the conditions for investment in domestic and foreign companies in Rwanda, (2) the capacities of Rwandan SMEs to expand their businesses and (3) the entrepreneurial ecosystem in selected locations.

Regarding the matter of this document – facilitating Startup-Act in Rwanda – SI Jobs will work closely together with the Make-IT in Rwanda programme. Improving the framework conditions for young entrepreneurs in Rwanda is of great advantage to the goals of both programmes. In this joint effort, SI Jobs can significantly contribute to the (3) improvement of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and (1) improve the conditions for investment in domestic and foreign companies in Rwanda. The next paragraph will outline the overall objectives of the Make-IT programme and identify the complementarities in the efforts of the two programmes.

1.3 Tech Entrepreneurship Initiative Make-IT in Africa

GIZ implements the project “Tech Entrepreneurship Initiative Make-IT in Africa” on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tunisia. It is part of the BMZ initiative “Digital Africa” and aims to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystems in Africa’s the digital economy. One specific objective is to support ‘small and growing businesses’ within the digital economy (tech SGBs), with a particular focus on the (self-) employment of women and young tech entrepreneurs.

Therefore, Make-IT provides

1. Better access to finance – by establishing a pan-African ‘“investment pipeline’” for tech start-ups, providing better information about financing opportunities, and matchmaking start-ups with finance partners.
2. Better access to skills and talent – by establishing a benchmark for ‘“partners in acceleration’,” hand in hand with innovation hubs, training institutes and other intermediaries of entrepreneurship promotion.

iii.     Better access to markets – by establishing business-to-business and public-private partnerships with international corporates inform tech and tech-enabled industries, and providing exposure and B2B matchmaking opportunities at local and international levels.

1. Better collaboration within the entrepreneurial ecosystem – by encouraging providing fora for multi-stakeholder dialogue, knowledge sharing, and capacity development for and between partner institutions, associations and other intermediaries.

1.4 Joint effort of Make-IT in Africa and SI Jobs

In order to improve the access to markets and finance, as well as improving the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Make-IT and SI Jobs want to facilitate the development of a Startup-Act in Rwanda. As this goal contributes to the outputs of both programmes, the Startup-Act will be jointly supported by both programmes to take advantage of complementarities in the process.

The consultant team will report to a designated project manager from these projects.

1. Objective of services to be provided

This assignment seeks to achieve the following outcomes:

• Provide recommendations on an enabling legal, policy, tax and regulatory environment to support startup formation and scaleup to drive “Made in Rwanda” technology, create jobs and drive exports
• Develop attractive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for various players in the tech startup ecosystem (tech entrepreneurs, universities, corporates, financial investors, tech entrepreneurial support organizations, tech service providers)
• Develop criteria to be met by firms eligible to receive incentives and other benefits arising from this exercise. The labelling process established by the Tunisian government is a possible point of reference for this outcome.
• Develop an implementation plan to adopt the policy including resources required and roadmap to deliver on Rwanda’s Startup Act
• Support implementation of the Startup Act

This is a full-time engagement reporting to a taskforce co-led by the Make-IT Project, the CEO of the ICT Chamber and the Managing Director of Kigali Innovation City. Other taskforce members include: Ministry of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda Information Society Authority, Smart Africa, National Council of Science & Technology, GIZ and other relevant institutions.

2.   2. Scope of the contract (deliverables)

1. Current State Analysis

Situational analysis of relevant cultural, political, financial, tax, regulatory and economic landscape, labor policies in Rwanda and identify the key gaps / challenges limiting formation and growth of technology or tech-enabled startups.

2.   2. Benchmarking against other Tech Ecosystems

In this section the consultant team will research other tech ecosystems to learn what was successful for them and what Rwanda may borrow to make Rwanda the most attractive hub.In particular, the tech ecosystem of Tunisia and Senegal are relevant, as Startup Acts were passed there already.

3.  3. Interview of stakeholders

Throughout this task, the Consultant team will engage with key players in the Rwandan tech ecosystem as well as a few individuals / firms in successful ecosystems with enabling policy, regulatory and tax frameworks either in-person or remotely for needs finding and real-world evidence on challenges and successful interventions. Research will be conducted through desk research, interviews with startups, VCs, tax authorities, ecosystem intermediaries in Rwanda and in key successful markets, and through stakeholder workshops.

4.  4. Processing of collected information

In this section, the Consultant / Consulting firm will consolidate and process all data and information as well as recommendations collected into a Startup Act / Policy for consideration.

5. 5.  Monitoring of activities

The consultant will closely monitor all activities performed. In particular, the consultant will conduct surveys with the relevant stakeholder in the ecosystem in Rwanda. Make-IT provides an ecosystem online survey the consultant can use. The consultant will interview 7 stakeholders in Rwanda in total. This activity is additional to the field work for the policy development,

Task Conclusion:

1. A Startup Act with recommendations on legal, policy, regulatory and tax amendments for Rwanda including fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, eligibility criteria, etc.
2. An implementation plan that will foster strong, vibrant and competitive technology sector for startups and SMEs
3. Provide implementation support across agreed-upon workstreams

Areas of consideration include:

• Categorization of startups
  • Develop eligibility criteria for startups criteria to be eligible to receive incentives and other benefits arising from this exercise

• Legal, Policy & Regulatory Landscape
  • Allowable Shareholding structures (e.g., minority investor protections, limits on number of shareholders, change of ownership of shares, stock options for employees, minimal requirements to register a business, etc.);
  • Administrative requirements and processing times;
  • Bankruptcy Relief;
  • Exits and tax considerations for investors and employees;
  • Intellectual property rights (registration of brands, trademarks, and inventions, personal data, brand protection, etc.)

• Tax
  • Tax treatment (timing, rate, who incurs the cost) of 1) Investment / liquidity events (e.g., exits to other VCs, private equity / incomes raised) 2) Employees compensation (e.g., employee stock options / ownership schemes, exits by employees) 3) Provision of Services (e.g., exports and imports) 4) Equipment (e.g., ICT equipment, data, data hosting)
  • Cost-benefit analysis of taxation advantages for the digital entrepreneurship sector

• Financing
  • Appropriate financing support schemes across the startup development cycle (e.g., R&D & PoC project funding, equity capital, loan schemes)
  • Incentives for corporate and private investment in startups including Angel Networks

• Cost of Doing Business
  • Overall tax and other regulatory burden on startups from registration including licenses, hosting, etc.

• Talent and R&D
  • Talent Mobility across markets and ease and cost of accessing work permits for foreign talent;
  • Incentives to encourage companies to take part in talent development programs;
  • Ease of recruiting / firing talent;
  • Ease of freelancing (Digital Nomads);
  • Level of diaspora engagement for skill transfer to their homeland;

• Market Access
  • Support mechanisms and incentives for startups regarding market access demand (government procurement, export grants, etc) as well as incentives for corporates and private sector to provide market access to startups and increase demand
  • Promotion of access to public data and APIs allowing for frictionless plug into Rwanda’s digital ecosystem by way of Digital Passport

• Support System
  • Targeted Incentives for tech service providers (e.g., tax credits on training lawyers to build tech capabilities)
  • Tech Transfer program helping companies register IP and find global partners
  • Support for companies to globalize and scale
  • Incentives to develop local infrastructures (research centers, multidisciplinary spaces, etc.)

Overall the consultant team is  required to:

• Conduct extensive interviews and desk research to conduct needs finding and benchmarking
• Steer processes and communication channels with policy-makers and stakeholders
• Plann and execute workshops including pre- and post-event communication with participants and stakeholders

• Other assignment as given by the supervisor

As part of the outlined deliverables, the contractor reports to the Make-IT project as well as SI jobs. Once the contract starts, we will use an effective project management tool such as MS Teams to ensure the regular communication between the three involved parties.

4.   4. Specification of inputs

Assignment of personnel

6. Provisional schedule

Contract Start                                                                       02.  June 2020

Content preparation

Desk research/current state analysis and benchmarking      25. June 2020

Interviews and focus groups                                                   25. July 2020

Processing of information                                                       17. August 2020

Drafting of act and implementation plan first draft                 10. September 2020

Final draft of act and implementation plan                             30. September 2020

Continuous support                                                             15.December 2020

Contract end                                                                         15. December 2020

6. Technical assessment

The application of the contractor will be assessed on the following criteria:

Concept and work plan:

• Interpretation of objectives
• Strategy (technical concept/alternative concepts)
• Implementation methods: Management of processes, Cooperation
• Stakeholder engagement strategy
• Work schedule and time schedule

Qualification of proposed staff:     

The staff plan should include

Project manager (1staff)

• General qualification:  Masters degree in economics, public policy, business administration, entrepreneurship or related fields
• Specific qualification: Minimum 7 years of professional experience in pivate sector development, entrepreneurship, business, policy development
• Specific qualification: Work experience in Rwanda and on pan-African level
• Specific qualification: Demonstrated management experience for teams and to effectively conduct stakeholder workshops and engagement is strongly recommended
• Language: Good English writing skills, Kinyarwanda is an asset

The team of the project manager may include the following number and constellation of staff:

Team member 1: research and policy expert

• General qualification: Masters degree in business administration, public policy, entrepreneurship or related fields
• Specific qualification: Minimum 5 years of professional experience in policy development regarding private sector development, regional experience in Rwanda. Minimum 2 years at top tier consulting firms / startups / organizations in Africa or globally is preferred
• Other: –
• Language: Good English writing skills, Kinyarwanda is an asset

Team member 2: Finance and trade expert

• General qualification: Masters degree in economics, entrepreneurship or other related fields.
• Specific qualification: Minimum of 2 years of professional experience in macro- and micro-economic policy development
• Other: –
• Language: Good English writing skills, Kinyarwanda is an asset

Team member 3: Legal expert

• General qualification: Masters degree in law
• Specific qualification: Minimum of 2 years of professional experience in legal consultancy in the field of trade and private sector development
• Other: Work experience in Rwanda or the region
• Language: Good English writing skills, Kinyarwanda is an asset

Team member 4: Admin expert

• General qualification: Bachelors degree in business administration, accounting or related fields
• Specific qualification: Minimum of 2 years of experience in administrative support for projects related to public institutions
• Other: –
• Language: Good English writing skills, Kinyarwanda is an asset

7. Application

Only consulting firm are eligible to apply to this assignment , individuals will not be accepted.

You can submit your offer electronically or by hardcopy

• For electronic submission , use this email : RW_Quotation@giz.de
• For submission by hardcopy ,send your offer to the adress below

Please submit your EoI documents in separated envelops (for hard copy) or separated attached files (for soft copy). 1 for technical offer and 1 for financial until latest Friday 22 May 2020 at 4:00 pm, at the front desk of

GIZ Office Kigali/Rwanda

KN 41 Street / Nr.17 – Kiyovu

B.P 59 Kigali – Rwanda

The EoI should contain the following:

For Technical Proposal: A Technical Proposal with a brief description of why your Consulting Firm would be considered as the most suitable for the assignment, relevant expertise, and a detailed clear methodology, on how will be your approach and complete the assignment.

The Technical Proposal should also contain The CVs of the personnel proposed in accordance with the EoI The CVs shall not exceed 4 pages.

Information about legal status –  business registration certificates

For the financial Proposal:  indicates the all-inclusive total contract price, supported by a breakdown of all costs. The cost must be in RWF and VAT excluded.

GIZ reserves all rights