Selection of a Consultant for the Initial Data Quality Review (RQD) of the Regional Compact of Benin /

1. The United States of America, acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (“MCC”), and the Government of Benin (the “Government”), signed on December 14, 2022 in Washington DC a Compact for a program pursuant to which MCC agreed to provide a grant of up to two hundred two million dollars ($ 202,000,000) (« MCC Funds ») to the Government, as well as a fifteen million one hundred fifty thousand ($15,150,000) contribution from the Government, to facilitate development of a Compact Program to reduce poverty through economic growth in Benin (« The Compact »). The Government acting through Equipe Technique de Formulation du Compact Régional intends to apply a portion of the MCC Funding to eligible payments under a contract for which this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is issued. The Compact and related documents are available on MCC website (mcc.gov) and on the Equipe Technique de Formulation du Compact Régional (www.ucfbenin.bj)

2. The Compact program consists of the following two (2) projects:

• The Corridor Infrastructure Project (CI) which aims to reduce transportation costs along the transport corridor hat runs from Cotonou, Benin, Niamey, Niger;
• The Efficient Corridor Operations Project (ECO) aims to reduce transportation costs along the transport corridor from Niamey, Niger to Cotonou, Benin including vehicle operating costs, time-related costs, injuries and deaths as well as costs related to unreliable processes and market inefficiencies.

3. MCC requires that all beneficiaries of MCC Funding, including the MCA Entity and any applicants, Bidders, Suppliers, contractors, Subcontractors, consultants, and sub-consultants under any MCC-funded contracts, observe the highest standards of ethics during the procurement and execution of such contracts. MCC’s Policy on Preventing, Detecting and Remediating Fraud and Corruption in MCC Operations (“MCC’s AFC Policy”) is applicable to all procurements and contracts involving MCC Funding and can be found on the MCC website at: https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/policy-fraud-and-corruption.

4. This Request for Proposals follows the General Procurement Notice that appeared on the DgMarket (http://www.dgMarket.com), from MCA-Benin Regional (https://www.ucfbenin.bj/) in the local newspaper la Nation, on the website of UNDB Online (http://www.devbusiness.com) as well as the website of Crown Agents UK (https://www.crownagents.com) on July 12, 2023. This notice was amended and published on the same media on July 27 and 28, 2023.

5. L’Equipe Technique de Formulation du Compact Régional now invites proposals from legally constituted consulting firms and other organizations to conduct the initial data quality review for the Regional Compact for a period of ninety (90) days spread over five (5) months (“Proposals”). More details on these services are provided in the Terms of Reference in Section V of the RFP.

6. This RFP is open to all eligible entities (“Consultants”) who wish to respond. Subject to restrictions noted in the RFP, consultants may associate with other consultants to enhance their capacity to successfully carry out the assignment.

7. A Consultant will be selected under the Least Cost Selection (“LCS”) method, an evaluation procedure that is described in sections of the RFP in accordance with the “MCC Program Procurement Guidelines” provided on the MCC website (mcc.gov/ppg). The selection process, as described, will include a review and verification of qualifications and past performance, including a reference check, prior to the contract award.

8. The complete RFP can be downloaded through the following link: https://ln5.sync.com/dl/4b2b4a3b0/9957cj7s-4zxbud44-xjq79jyq-swd2tiht .Consultants interested in submitting a Proposal, must express their interest by filling out the online registration form via the link https://forms.office.com/e/czDut3nrWZ .This will ensure they receive any updates regarding this RFP.

9. The proposals (Technical and Financial) shall be submitted in the manner specified in the PDS ITC 17 no later than December 22, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. – UTC +01:00. Only electronic proposals submitted via the File Request Link (FRL) will be accepted. Late Proposals will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Contact :