PART 1: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 

Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan) [AKF (P)] (hereinafter referred to as “the Client”) has obtained financing from Agence Française de Développement (hereinafter referred to as “AFD”) to finance the cost of [Rural Development and Climate Resilience Project- Gilgit Baltistan (RDCRP- GB)]. The Client intends to use part of the funds to make payments eligible under the Contract for which this Request for Proposals is issued.

AKF (P) now invites proposals for the provision of consulting services titled: Technical Advisory Services for the Procurement and Selection of an Accredited Financial Institution (AFI) –RDCRP-GB. The project aims to enhance climate resilience and improve living standards through investments in drinking water supply systems, sanitation infrastructure, climate-resilient and energy-efficient housing, renewable energy solutions including micro-hydels and solar, and development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

For further information about the Project and consulting Services, please consult the attached Terms of Reference (ToR).

1. Eligibility, conflict of interest and prohibited practices 

AFD requires the Contract selection procedure and performance to comply with its rules and conditions regarding eligibility, prohibited practices, conflicts of interest and environmental and social responsibility, as set out in Appendix A – Rules on Fraud and Corruption and Environmental and Social Responsibility of Section 5 – Draft Contract, and in the Statement of Integrity, Eligibility and Environmental and Social Responsibility (the “Statement of Integrity”) in the Appendix of the Technical Proposal Submission Letter.

The Consultant shall sign the Statement of Integrity in the Appendix of the Technical Proposal Submission Letter and undertakes to comply with the content thereof.

For enforcement purposes, the Consultants (including their subcontractors) shall authorize AFD to inspect the accounts, accounting records, statements and other documents relating to the submission of the Proposal and the performance of the Contract (in the event of award) and to have them audited by auditors appointed by AFD.

Furthermore, the Consultant is required to provide professional, objective, and impartial advice, at all times holding the Client’s interest’s paramount and, when giving advice, to ensure that there is no conflict with other assignments or its own corporate interests, and act without any consideration for a potential future mission.

The Consultant shall inform the Client of any situation of actual or potential conflict of interest likely to prevent it from serving the best interest of the Client. Failure to inform the Client of the existence of such situations may lead to the rejection of the Consultant’s Proposal or the termination of its Contract.

2. Validity of Proposals

The validity period of the Proposal shall be 90calendar days from the date of submission of Proposals.

In exceptional circumstances, prior to the expiration of the validity period of the Proposals, the Client may request Consultants to extend the validity period of their Proposal. The request and the responses shall be made in writing. A Consultant may refuse to extend the validity of the Proposal. A Consultant responding positively to the request shall not be required or permitted to modify its Proposal. 

3. Unfair competitive advantage

Fairness and transparency in the selection process require that the Consultants competing for a specific assignment do not derive a competitive advantage from having provided consulting services related to the assignment in question. To this end, the Client makes available to all Consultants the following information, reports and other documents relevant to the project related to the assignment, in order to assist with the preparation of the Proposals:

[“N/A”]

4. State representatives and public officials 

State representatives and public officials may not be engaged as staff in the Request for Proposals, unless this recruitment is in compliance with the applicable Law and providing (i) that they are on unpaid leave, have resigned, or are retired; (ii) that they are not engaged by the organization for which they were working immediately before their departure on unpaid leave, their resignation, or their retirement; and (iii) that their employment does not give rise to a conflict of interest.

5. Joint ventures and subcontracting 

Consultants who consider that they may strengthen the expertise required for the Services by involving one or several Consultant(s) in the form of a Joint venture may do so with full name of the Joint Venture and the names of each member to form a Joint Venture or the Joint Venture Agreement shall be provided. The Agreement shall clearly state the Lead Consultant.

The Consultant shall not subcontract all the services.

6. Remuneration

The Contract shall be based on “lump-sum deliverables basis with reimbursable expenses on actual basis”.

Price revisions shall not be permitted.

7. Preparation of Proposals

The Consultant shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of its proposal, and the Client shall not be responsible nor liable for such costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the Request for Proposals process.

The Proposals shall be written in English, as well as any correspondence between the Consultant and the Client concerning the Proposal.

The Proposal shall comprise the following documents:

1. A technical Proposal containing:

• The technical proposal submission letter,

• Power of Attorney to sign the Proposal,

• In the case of a Joint venture, a copy of the Joint venture Agreement concluded between all its members, indicating the contributions of each member of the Joint venture and how the tasks will be shared,

• The signed Statement of Integrity, 

• A description of the methodology and work plan, 

• The composition of the team and CVs of the key experts.

The technical Proposal shall be established using the forms attached to this Request for Proposals document. It shall not comprise any financial information, or present an alternative approach, and a single CV shall be submitted for each key expert, failing which the Proposal shall be rejected.

Any Proposal for which the technical Proposal submission letter has not been signed or is not accompanied with a power of attorney will not be considered.

2. A financial Proposal containing:

• The financial Proposal submission letter,

• The breakdown of the financial Proposal established using the forms attached to this Request for Proposals detailing the remuneration of the experts and other expenditures.

The Consultant shall express the price for its Services in Pakistan Rupees. For the purposes of evaluation and comparison. 

Payments under the Contract shall be made in the authorized currencies used for the financial Proposal. 

The financial Proposal of the Consultant shall clearly identify the taxes, duties and fees set out in Article 25 of the Contract, which shall be estimated and presented separately in the price tables. The taxes, duties and fees applicable in the Client’s country will be finalized during the negotiations for the Contract and added to the Contract price exclusive of tax.  

The evaluation will be carried out on the basis of the Consultant’s financial Proposal excluding all taxes, duties and fees.

A tax exemption has not been obtained for this Contract, as specified in Article 25 of the Contract.

The financial Proposal of the Consultant shall be deemed to include all the other taxes, duties and fees.

8. Pre-Proposal Conference

A pre-proposal conference will be held on August 26, 2026, at 11:00 AM via Zoom link which is provided below. 

Topic: Pre-Proposal Meeting

Time: Aug 26, 2026 11:00 AM Islamabad, Karachi, Tashkent

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86736159791?pwd=Eir2IdaBh51WXSuhNQFcfRwyqCYLus.1

Meeting ID: 867 3615 9791

Passcode: 312424

The Consultant shall reach the undersigned for the link related issue. 

9. Clarifications

Any request for clarification regarding this Request for Proposals shall be sent in writing to Mr. Arslan Adil, Senior HR Officer, [email protected] no later than 5 Days before the deadline for the submission of Proposals. The Client will send a copy of its response to all the Consultants, including a description of the subject of the request for clarification, without identifying the inquirer.

10. Confidentiality

From the time the Proposals are opened to the time the Contract is awarded, the Consultant should not contact the Client on any matter related to its technical and/or financial Proposal. Information relating to the content, examination, evaluation and comparison of Proposals and award recommendations shall not be disclosed to the Consultants who submitted the Proposals, or to any other party not officially concerned with the process, until the Contract award has been notified to the Consultants in accordance with Article 15 below.

However, should a Consultant wish to contact the Client on any matter related to the selection process, between the time the Proposals are opened and the time the Contract is awarded, it should do so only in writing.

11. Safeguarding and Equal Opportunity

AKF(P) is committed to safeguarding and is an equal opportunity organization. The selected consultant and its personnel shall comply with applicable AKF(P) safeguarding and conduct requirements.

Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS): All offers will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which include criminal record checks. AKF also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. Further information is available at https://misconduct-disclosure-scheme.org/.

12. Submission of Proposals

1. Complete, initialed and signed Proposals shall be submitted comprising all the documents indicated in Article 7 above by courier or hand.

The original of the technical Proposal and a copy on a USB drive shall be placed inside a sealed envelope clearly marked “TECHNICAL PROPOSAL, [Name of the Services]”, reference number, name and address of the Consultant, and with a warning “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL TECHNICAL PROPOSAL OPENING”.

Similarly, the original financial Proposal and a copy on a USB drive shall be placed inside a sealed envelope clearly marked “FINANCIAL PROPOSAL, [name of the Services]”, reference number, name and address of the Consultant, and with a warning “DO NOT OPEN WITH THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL”.

These two envelopes containing the technical Proposal and financial Proposal shall be placed in one outer envelope. This outer envelope shall bear the Proposal submission address, the name of the Services, the name and address of the Consultant, and shall be clearly marked with the warning “DO NOT OPEN BEFORE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL OPENING”.

The address for the submission of Proposals is as follows:

To: Mr. Arslan Adil, Senior HR Officer

Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan)

Level Nine, Serena Business Complex, G-5/1, Islamabad

Contact:051-111-253-254, Ext. 137, Mobile: 0092-300-5154082

2. The deadline for the submission of Proposals is on or before September 07, 2026 at 03:00 PM. 

The Consultant remains responsible for ensuring that the Client receives their Proposal file before the closing date and time for the receipt of Proposals and in accordance with the method of submission indicated above. 

13. Opening of technical Proposals 

The technical Proposals will be opened by the Client’s representatives after the closing date and time for the submission of Proposals. 

The opening session for the technical Proposals will take place at the following address, date and time:

 Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan)

Level Nine, Serena Business Complex, G-5/1, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Date: September 07, 2026     Time: 03:30 PM

The Consultant’s attendance at the opening of the technical Proposals is optional and is at the Consultant’s choice. Those who wish to attend shall contact the undersigned via email. The financial Proposals shall remain sealed and shall be kept in a safe place until their opening, in accordance with Article 13 below.

No minimum number of Proposals received is required in order to proceed with the opening of the technical Proposals.