BACKGROUND:

BG Laurel International Nigeria LTE/GTE is an owned subsidiary of Banyan Global, Inc, a women-owned small business and international development consulting firm committed to improving livelihoods through market approaches for a broad and lasting impact. Banyan Global is the prime recipient of the USAID Nigeria Health Workforce Management (HWM) Activity. The HWM Activity is a five-year task order to support the establishment of a cost-effective, well-trained, and motivated health workforce, particularly in targeted rural and remote areas of Bauchi, Ebonyi, Kebbi, and Sokoto States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Nurses and midwives are cadres of frontline healthcare workers with a scope of practice central to the delivery of quality care across all healthcare levels in Nigeria, including primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The practice of these cadres of healthcare workers is licensed and regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN). As part of the training requirement stipulated by the NMCN, the Clinical Procedure Guide is a mandatory text for nurses and midwives both in pre-service training and as a reference for frontline nurse practitioners. This resource serves as a guide for all nursing procedures in patient management. The Clinical Procedure Guide comprises both pictorial and narrative descriptions of relevant procedures to enhance the quality of services the nurses and midwives provide at the frontline.  Recently, the HWM Activity supported the NMCN in revising the Clinical Procedure Guide and now plans to provide additional support to enhance the Guide by engaging a firm to edit, proofread, develop graphic illustrations and conduct desktop publishing of the document. The revised Clinical Procedure Guide is a 1,000-page document.

1. Introduction: Offerors are invited to submit quotations for the services described herein in accordance with the instructions to Offerors and the terms and conditions of this request for quotations (RFQ). Issuance of this solicitation does not in any way obligate the firm or USAID to make an award nor does it commit the firm or USAID to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a quotation.
2. Offer Deadline and Protocol: Offers must be received no later than 00 p.m. on October 30, 2024, by email. All offers must be emailed to hwmprocurement@banyanglobal.com. Please reference the RFQ number in any response to this RFQ. Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of the firm.
3. Questions: Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted no later than 5:00 pm on October 24, 2024, by email. Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification—and the responses thereto—that the firm believes may be of interest to other offerors will be circulated to all RFQ recipients who have indicated an interest in bidding. Only the written answers issued by the firm will be considered official and carry weight in the RFQ process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information received from employees of the firm, or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFQ.
4. Specifications: Please note that, unless otherwise indicated, stated brand names or models are for illustrative descriptions only. An equivalent substitute, as determined by the specifications, is acceptable.
5. Quotations: Pricing must be presented in Offers must remain valid for not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the offer deadline. Offerors are requested to provide quotations on their official quotation format or letterhead. In addition, offerors responding to this RFQ are requested to submit the following:
   1. Organizations responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their official registration or business license, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and their Tax Clearance Certificate (all legal business registration documents and tax identification numbers).
   2. Individuals responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their identification card.
6. Delivery: The delivery location for the items described in this RFQ is Nigeria/Abuja. As part of its response to this RFQ, each offeror is expected to provide an estimate (in days) of the delivery timeframe (after receipt of order). The delivery estimate presented in an offer in response to this RFQ must be upheld in the performance of any resulting contract.
7. Source/Nationality/Manufacture: All goods and services offered in response to this RFQ or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 935 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. The cooperating country for this RFQ is Nigeria. Offerors may not offer or supply any commodities or services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the prohibited country as determined by the U.S. State Department nor in a country on the sanctions list issued by the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control.
8. Taxes and VAT: HWM is exempt from cooperating country taxes, duties, and VAT but will deduct withholding tax based on Nigeria tax law.
9. Eligibility: By submitting an offer in response to this RFQ, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government. The firm will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.
10. Evaluation and Award: The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the RFQ instructions, meets the eligibility requirements, meets or exceeds the minimum required technical specifications, and is judged to be the best value based on the lowest price, technically- acceptable basis and delivery schedule. Please note that if there are significant deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this RFQ, an offer may be deemed “non-responsive” and thereby disqualified from consideration. The firm reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion. Best-offer quotations are requested. It is anticipated that the award will be made solely on the basis of these original quotations. However, the firm reserves the right to conduct any of the following:
    1. The firm may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award.
    2. While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFQ, the firm may issue a partial award or split the award among various offerors, if in the best interest of the firm.
    3. The firm may cancel this RFQ at any time. Please note that in submitting a response to this RFQ, the offeror understands that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented—in writing with full explanations—to the firm for consideration, as USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. The firm, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on the protest for this procurement.
11. Terms and Conditions: This is a Request for Quotations only. Issuance of this RFQ does not in any way obligate the firm or USAID to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer. This solicitation is subject to the firm’s standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:
    1. The firm’s standard payment terms are net 30 days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this RFQ and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.
    2. Any international air or ocean transportation or shipping carried out under any award resulting from this RFQ must take place on U.S. flag carriers/vessels.
    3. United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFQ must ensure compliance with these laws.
    4. The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this RFQ shall be passed to the firm following delivery and acceptance of the goods by the firm. The risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until the title passes to the firm.
    5. The firm is not obligated to pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this RFQ nor is it obligated to award a contract in response to this RFQ.
    6. All eligible offerors may NOT be registered to do business in a prohibited country as determined by the U.S. State Department nor in a country on the sanctions list issued by the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control.
    7. Goods purchased shall not be from a prohibited country as determined by the U.S. State Department. Goods and services are furthermore subject to the Buy American Act and Foreign Assistance Act, which gives priority to U.S. manufactured goods and services.
    8. The prime contract has been assigned geographic code 935; therefore, goods and services may only be purchased from the United States, developing countries, and the cooperating country.
    9. The firm expressly reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel the selection process without making a selection.
    10. The terms and conditions expressed here govern only the selection of the implementation partner. Their actual performance of the activities contemplated under this RFQ shall be governed by a contract between the selected supplier and the firm.

The service provider will be expected to carry out the following tasks between November 2024 and March 31, 2025:

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FIRM

Proposals should include the following:

• Company Profile: An overview of the firm's experience, expertise, and relevant projects.
• Personnel: An overview of the firm’s staff to carry out the SOW.
• Project Timeline: A detailed timeline for implementing the SOW.
• Cost Estimate: Break down the costs associated with implementing the SOW.
• References: References from past clients who can attest to the quality of previous work conducted by the firm.