Technical Assistance for Digital Public Infrastructure Projects in the East African Community

The contractor is required to provide highly specialized advisory and technical assistance through the EAC DPI Acceleration Mechanism. The contractor helps project developers and government agencies design, structure, and scale Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) use cases to bring them to a "bankable" status ready for international financing. The AM delivers four distinct types of specialized support to project promoters: 1. Development Support: Providing technical guidance at any stage of project development. This includes pre-feasibility and feasibility studies covering technical assessments, architectural designs, specifications, environmental impact assessments, regulatory analysis, cybersecurity assessments, hosting/infrastructure needs, and capacity assessments. 2. Structuring Support: Advising on essential operation, business, and financing models to ensure proposals match the expectations of financiers. This involves evaluating Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models, revenue streams, potential African and European private sector operators, and bundling separate projects to de-risk investments. 3. Access to Finance Support: Identifying appropriate financing options and aligning project documentation with the specific requirements of European and international institutions, such as the EU Global Gateway instruments (grants, guarantees, and blended finance like EFSD+). 4. Contract Closing / Transaction Support: Assisting with contractual negotiations during project preparation, including drafting financing transaction terms, term sheets, specialized contractual agreements, or fulfilling conditions. Work Packages The detailed scope of each work package is tailored to each project depending on its scope and maturity. It is not mandatory for a project to go through the entire sequence from EoI to Closing. Work Package 1: Clarification of the Assignment - Participate in initial online alignment sessions and a 2-day physical workshop in East Africa to understand the program vision and stakeholder landscape. - Present initial insights on technical feasibility, financial viability, gap analysis, and potential implementation risks. - Outline a clear process management approach detailing how each project proposal will be handled and which experts will be involved. - Develop a preliminary scope of work and estimate of effort for each selected project proposal. Work Package 2: Expression of Interest (EoI) Screening - Develop a transparent scoring system based on eligibility criteria to objectively rank and prioritize submitted EoIs against their likelihood of attracting financiers. - Conduct preliminary screenings of incoming EoIs, evaluating their alignment with the EAC Digital Transformation Strategy, and noting potential risks or opportunities. - Identify opportunities to "bundle" complementary projects to increase the overall investment ticket size and enhance commercial appeal. Work Package 3: Activity Brief Co-Development Steer a collaborative, iterative co-creation process between the project developer, GIZ, and financiers to complete an Activity Brief. - Review existing master plans, pre-feasibility material, and technical designs, and conduct project needs assessments to pinpoint bankability barriers. - Carry out initial due diligence on institutional setups, public mandates, and legal frameworks. - Provide baseline cost estimates, market price benchmarks, revenue/pricing sensitivity analyses, and financial model operations. - Recommend project-specific PPP models that integrate financial and governance safeguards. - Draft the precise Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the deeper studies needed in the next stage. Work Package 4: Technical Assistance (TA) Execution This core package focuses on delivering detailed technical and financial feasibility studies to serve as investment blueprints: - Technical Feasibility: Evaluate technology choices, tech stacks, hosting, and architecture for population-scale systems (such as e-ID, data-sharing, and payment switches). Ensure solutions incorporate user-centric design, digital sovereignty, and regional interoperability. - Safeguards and Compliance: Analyse project alignment with the Universal DPI Safeguards Framework and Principles for Digital Development. Conduct local/regional regulatory checks on data privacy, data protection, and localization laws. - Risk and Infrastructure Assessment: Conduct cybersecurity assessments, risk analyses, and evaluate the underlying telecommunications, energy, device, and storage infrastructure. - Proposal Refinement and Deal Structuring: Provide one-on-one assistance to refine financial projections, market analyses, and risk matrices. Craft tailored financing and capital structures aligned with instruments like the EFSD+. Work Package 5: Contract Closing Support Support applicants directly during contract negotiations with financiers to secure optimal financing terms. - Finalize necessary supporting documentation, including risk matrices, sustainability and impact analyses, and inclusivity frameworks. - Hand over completed project dossiers to interested investors to ease their formal due diligence and appraisal processes. - Provide tailored documentation to assist government partners through state processes for sovereign debt approval. Work Package 6: Knowledge Management & Communication - Maintain meticulous, results-based documentation of all advisory services, including tracking time-sheets, rates, and expert hours put into each file. - Synthesize aggregated lessons learned and feedback into two distinct "Insight-Papers" (compiled after the 3rd and 7th supported projects). - Organize and participate in a mid-term 2-day physical workshop to discuss learning outputs and adjust process methodologies.