Minimum Qualification Criteria and Eligibility of Bidders

The Procuring Entity shall assess the eligibility and qualifications of each consulting firm or joint venture based on the information and supporting documents submitted in the Expression of Interest.

A. Mandatory Eligibility Requirements
No.	Requirement	Minimum requirement

1.Legal registration	The consulting firm, or each member of a joint venture, shall submit a valid certificate of incorporation, registration certificate or equivalent legal document issued by the competent authority in its country of registration.

2.Relevant business activities	The firm shall demonstrate that its registered or declared activities and/or institutional experience are related to consulting services, French-language teaching, French for Specific Purposes, curriculum development, development of teaching and learning materials, TVET, teacher training, education-sector capacity building, accreditation support or other services relevant to the assignment.

3Expression of Interest letter	The EOI letter shall be duly signed by an authorised representative, clearly refer to the assignment and confirm the firm’s interest and availability to undertake the services.

4.Statement of Integrity	The firm shall submit a Statement of Integrity duly signed by an authorised representative.

5.Blacklisting, suspension and debarment	The firm and every joint-venture member shall not be blacklisted, suspended, debarred or otherwise declared ineligible by the Government of Rwanda, the United Nations, the European Union, France, AFD, the World Bank or any other applicable development partner or financing institution. The Procuring Entity shall verify the bidder’s eligibility.

6.Joint-venture documentation	Where the EOI is submitted by a joint venture, the application shall include an agreement signed by all members, identifying the lead firm and defining each member’s role. The agreement shall be notarised by a public notary or authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the bidder’s country, as applicable.

7.Submission through UMUCYO	The EOI shall be submitted electronically and exclusively through the UMUCYO e-Procurement System by the stated deadline. Submissions made outside UMUCYO or submitted late shall not be considered.

These requirements reflect the REOI provisions on registration, relevant activities, joint ventures, sanctions screening and mandatory submission documents.

B. Minimum Qualification Criteria
No.	Criterion	Minimum qualification
1.General institutional experience	The firm shall demonstrate at least five years of relevant institutional experience in one or more of the following areas: consultancy services, education, French-language teaching, French for Specific Purposes, TVET, curriculum development, instructional-materials development, teacher training, capacity building or related institutional-development assignments.

2.Specific experience	The firm shall have completed at least one similar assignment during the last ten years, supported by a certificate of good completion, contract or client reference.

3.Relevance of similar assignments	Similar experience may include French for Specific Purposes, curriculum development, pedagogical-resource development, teaching and learning materials, teacher training, accreditation support, TVET capacity building or education-sector institutional development.
4.Institutional capacity	The firm shall provide a company profile demonstrating its years of operation, relevant services, core business areas and institutional capacity to undertake the assignment.

5.Quality and relevance of experience	Greater consideration shall be given to firms demonstrating longer, more directly relevant and better-documented institutional experience related to the assignment.

The REOI provides for evaluation of institutional experience and capacity and requires at least five years of relevant general experience and one supported similar assignment completed within the last ten years.

C. Shortlisting

Only firms meeting all mandatory eligibility requirements shall be considered for shortlisting. MINEDUC shall shortlist the four to six most qualified firms, subject to the number and quality of responsive Expressions of Interest received.

The shortlisting assessment shall be based on the relevance, quality and verifiability of the firm’s institutional experience and capacity. Individual experts’ CVs shall not be evaluated at the EOI stage and shall be requested from shortlisted firms at the Request for Proposals stage.