GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE

 PAKISTAN

Poverty Graduation of Extremely Poor and Flood Effected Households (PGEP)

Mode of Financing: Installment Sale and IsDB Grant

Financing No. PAK1061

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has signed a Financing Agreement with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) amounting to US$118.4 million equivalent for the implementation of the Poverty Graduation of Extremely Poor and Flood-Affected Households Project and it intends to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, works, related services and consulting services to be procured under this project.

The Project will have five main components: (A) Livelihood Improvement, (B) Capacity Development and Knowledge Sharing, (C) Project Management Support, (D) Project Financial Audit and (E) Contingency for Emergency Response, along with contingencies.

 Component 1 - Livelihood Improvement:

 This component entails transfer of assets, provision of access to finance, and training for the target households. The productive asset package is designed with customized training to ensure that the livelihoods of the targeted poor become more resilient, sustainable, and natural resource based. The main target groups who will receive the productive assets will be the households who fall under the PSC 0 -32 (i.e., recipient of cash transfer program of BISP, landless worker, people with disabilities). 146,703 households will receive productive assets augmented with capacity building training on climate smart agriculture and livestock techniques, financial literacy, enterprise development, asset management. The assets will be procured through community procurement processes with the assistance of Partner Organizations.

1.1           Small-scale Rainwater Harvesting and Climate Resilience. In addition to providing productive assets, the project will also build small-scale rainwater harvesting facilities through community procurement. The facility will help the villagers in accessing water for domestic consumption and agricultural purposes (horticulture and livestock feeding). It may include rainwater harvesting with solar based water filtration system and/or water bore holes. The POs will facilitate the community consultation processes on designing the facilities and in determining the best type of technology to use.

Access to Finance – Qard Hasan. This sub-component will be fully financed by the GOP. The borrowers will be the households that have received assets transfers and/or are BISP beneficiaries with a PSC between the 0-32 poverty band. It is estimated that 55,539 households will receive financial support. Loan cycles on average extend over one year or are linked to agriculture seasons (thus seasonal loans could be 6 months or longer). Each loan will be re-cycled at least 3-4 times during the life of the Project.

1.2 Partner Organizations. The Project will recruit 5 to 6 Partner Organizations from among the experienced and established local civil society organizations that will be working with the target households, facilitating the preparation of Livelihood Investment Plan and subsequently supporting implementation and monitoring the community procurement. The POs will also train selected villagers, who are considered entrepreneurial talents, to become Business Service Providers (BSPs). The BSPs will provide various agricultural services to the village communities as well in the area of health services, i.e., pre-clinical assistance (health record and follow-up). It is estimated that 1,276 BSPs will be formed under this Project.

 Component 2 - Capacity and Knowledge Development

This component entails the capacity development and knowledge interventions under the project. Digital skill training for the rural youth is targeted to help them enter the job market. Approximately 2,500 rural youth in project area will receive customized digital skills training on the following areas: (i) Freelancing (Fiver and Amazon trainings – virtual assistant services), (ii) E-Commerce Management, (iii) Digital Literacy, QuickBooks, (iv) AutoCAD, (v) WordPress, (vi) Graphic Design, (vii) Creative Writing, SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Establishment and promotion of Village Social Enterprises (VSE) through Technical Assistance in terms of market assessment, business plan, market integration platform, etc., total of 16 Village Social Enterprises (VSE) will be identified and established through mapping of Livelihood Investment Plans that will be prepared by the target households as well as outcome of market assessment. Impact Study: A consultant will be engaged to assess and verify the economic status of the target households after Project interventions as an input and knowledge source on practical application of social protection policy in the country.  

Component 3 - Project Management Support

This component entails support to PMU in staffing and supplies, MIS development and reporting. This component will also finance communication and visibility activities, as well as familiarization visits, workshops, project progress reviews and training for EA and PO staff.

 Component 4 - Project Financial Audit

A reputable, independent audit firm will be hired to conduct project financial audits, including special account audits. The project will also have a second layer of external auditing from the GoP’s Supreme Audit Institution, which is headed by the Auditor General of Pakistan.

Component 5 - Contingency for Emergency Response

This standalone zero-value component is embedded in the project to allow for the use of the present project resources to cover emergency response activities in case of highly unpredictable events such as disasters, pandemics, etc., as a support to the Government’s rapid emergency response efforts in the future.

Procurement of contracts financed by the Islamic Development Bank will be conducted through the procedures as specified in the Guidelines for Procurement of Goods, Works and related services under Islamic Development Bank Project Financing (April 2019 edition, revised in February 2023), and is open to all eligible bidders as defined in the guidelines. Consulting services will be selected in accordance with the Guidelines for the Procurement of Consultant Services under Islamic Development Bank Project Financing (April 2019 edition, revised in February 2023).

Specific procurement notices for contracts to be bid under the Islamic Development Bank’s International Competitive Bidding – Limited to IsDB’s Member Countries (ICB/MC) procedures and for contracts for consultancy services (QCBS-MC and LCS methods) will be announced, as they become available, on IsDB Website.

This General Procurement Notice is published for the purpose of providing general information regarding the Project and its planned activities. Each procurement activity under the Project shall, however, be undertaken separately in accordance with the applicable procurement guidelines and procedures of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), as well as the relevant rules, regulations and procedures of the Government of Pakistan, as applicable.

Interested eligible firms and individuals may contact the Beneficiary at the address provided below for further information regarding specific procurement opportunities during the actual procurement process. Detailed procurement notices for individual procurement packages will be published separately, as and when required, through the relevant forums and in accordance with the applicable procurement procedures:

“Poverty Graduation of Extremely Poor and Flood Effected Households (PGEP)”

Mr. Abdul Hanif Chachar  

Deputy Secretary (P&D), Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (MoPASS)

Evacuee Trust Building, 4^th Floor; Islamabad

Email: [email protected]