END PROJECT EVALUATION FOR THE “SUPPORT TO SCALE-UP RWANDA NATIONAL DIGITAL PAYMENT SYSTEM (RNDPS)- PHASE II” PROJECT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

PROCUREMENT REFERENCE NUMBER: AFR/RFP-END PROJECT EVALUATION-RNDPS/AUGUST/2025.

INTRODUCTION 

About Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR)

Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) is a Rwandan not-for-profit company established in 2010 to promote financial inclusion and financial sector development in Rwanda. AFR is currently funded by Sweden, MasterCard Foundation, Global impact/ Co-Develop and Jersey Overseas Aid. 

AFR is part of the broader Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) network in Africa, which seeks to contribute to more inclusive and sustainable economic growth through financial inclusion and financial sector development by working with policymakers, regulators, financial service providers, and other market actors. 

AFR supports the removal of systemic barriers that hinder access to financial services by low-income people, particularly the rural poor, women, youth, and MSMEs. AFR is guided by the Market System Development (MSD) approach recognizing that efforts to increase financial inclusion and financial sector development must be market-led, profitable, and sustainable. 

About the project/ Overview of the project

The Rwandan financial sector has made important progress towards interoperability with the development of the Rwanda National Digital Payment System (RNDPS). Implementation of the RNDPS has been guided by the Business Plan for the Rwanda National Digital Payment System (“RNDPS Blueprint”), which was developed with AFR support and agreed to by Rwanda’s financial sector in 2018. After finalizing the blueprint, the industry nominated RSwitch not only as the scheme operator, but also as the scheme manager.

The RNDPS is now at a critical stage of implementation with the launch of two use cases – P2P (Person to Person) transfers and P2B (Person-to-Business) structuring as a public private partnership / public utility. The proposed Phase II of RNDPS implementation focused on bolstering the scheme in its early stages to ensure the successful scale-up of the P2P and P2B use cases and roll-out of new use cases including, P2G (Person to Government), B2P (Business to Person), B2B (Business to Business) and CICO (Cash In Cash Out).

Interoperability is a key supporting function for an efficient and inclusive digital financial system. As an open-loop system, the RNDPS will be accessible to any licensed and approved financial services provider. 

Objectives of the assignment

The overall objective of this assignment is to conduct an end of project evaluation for the above project assessing the extent to which the project has achieved its intended outputs, objectives and outcomes (and potential gaps and challenges) as specified in the project logical framework and the overall organization’s theory of change. 

Furthermore, the assessment also seeks to document learnings and success stories contributing to the overall AFR learning agenda, especially under its pillar.

More specifically, this evaluation will consist of: 

• Review the extent to which the project has achieved its intended targets, objectives, and outcomes and the overall performance against the theory of change.
• Assess the project business model
• Assess how it has contributed to the AFR phase III strategy implementation.
• Review the adoption of innovative approaches to reach the beneficiaries. 
• Reviewing AFR’s role in supporting the project, identifying key gaps, focusing on what worked and what did not work as well as providing recommendations for any potential follow-on project; Analyze stakeholders’ cooperation and identify ways for increasing their buy-in and ownership.
• Provide recommendations to resolve the identified bottlenecks and implementation challenges
• Highlight impact stories and provide recommendations on key improvements to focus on in the next phase. 
• Document key learnings and potential innovations as part of the AFR’s Knowledge Management Objectives.

Interested bidders must confirm their intention to submit a bid by Wednesday September 3, 2025, at 17h00 HRS CAT

Any requests for clarifications to the RFP may be submitted by Monday, September 8, 2025, 17h00 HRS CAT.

Bidders should submit their proposals no later than Monday September 15, 2025, 17:00 HRS CAT

Responding bidders are advised that this solicitation does not in any way obligate AFR to make a contract award or compensate the responding firms for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of their proposals. Additionally, AFR may award a contract without conducting negotiations; all proposals should be submitted initially using your most favorable terms. AFR reserves the right to award any resultant contract to other than the offeror submitting the lowest price proposal based on technical excellence, schedule superiority or client request.

All communications regarding this RFP should be addressed via email: procurement02@afr.rw  

Below is the summary planned procurement schedule:

Note: This procurement is open to locally registered firms. However, collaboration or joint ventures with foreign firms to enhance technical capabilities are permitted.