Benin Vocational Education and Entrepreneurship for Jobs Project

Recruitment of consulting firms for the conduct of environmental and social impact assessments of projects of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) benefiting from the Rise and Next Impact Programs.

Bid Reference: BJ-ADSC-555641-CS-CQS
Procurement method: Consultant Qualification Selection
World Bank project No. : P175768

REPUBLIC OF BENIN

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PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC

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SEME CITY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOI)

Subject: Recruitment of consulting firms for the conduct of environmental and social impact assessments of projects of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) benefiting from the Rise and Next Impact Programs.

Reference: STEP: BJ-ADSC-555641-CS-CQS

Source of Funding: World Bank

Credit No.7012-BJ

July 2026

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOI)
 

Subject: Recruitment of consulting firms for the conduct of environmental and social impact assessments of projects of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) benefiting from the Rise and Next Impact Programs

STEP Reference: BJ-ADSC-555641-CS-CQS

Notice No. BJ-ADSC-555641-CS-CQS/26/ADSC/PRMP/FP2E-C3/CM/SPM/A-SPM dated 07/10/2026

1. Context

This call for expressions of interest (EOI) follows the STEP public procurement plan for the VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR EMPLOYMENT PROJECT IN BENIN, Component 3 (FP2E / C3) published on the World Bank procurement web portal on February 11, 2026.

The Government of Benin has received financing from the World Bank to fund the Vocational Training and Entrepreneurship for Employment Project in Benin (FP2E) and intends to use part of these funds to make payments under the intellectual services contract relating to the Recruitment of consulting firms for the conduct of environmental and social impact assessments of projects of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) benefiting from the Rise and Next Impact Programs.

The general objective of the mission is to assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) benefiting from the Rise and Next Impact Programs in obtaining the environmental and social compliance certificate for their projects, in accordance with national regulations and World Bank requirements.

2. Mission Objective

The consulting firm’s services include:

• Describe the current conditions of the workspaces and project sites (including current pollution levels and potential risks);
• Present the financed projects through their activities to allow a comprehensive identification of the main potential impacts with an emphasis on the products and equipment to be used;
• Analyze the national and international legal and institutional framework for the implementation of each project;
• Identify and describe the ecosystems present as well as the different planned usages;
• Determine the main socio-economic issues related to the projected development works with particular focus on the targeted reception areas;
• Exhaustively identify environmental and social risks and impacts of the different interventions planned by the SMEs;
• Prescribe measures to mitigate potential negative impacts, maximize potential positive impacts, prevent and manage related risks. If necessary, determine compensation and improvement measures to be integrated into the implementation of projects to prevent risks; mitigate or compensate environmental and social impacts;
• Assess the projects’ vulnerability to climate change and propose adaptation measures;
• Analyze risks related to Gender-Based Violence (GBV), increased cases of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), Sexual Harassment (SH) and Violence Against Children (VAC) that may be caused or exacerbated by the implementation of project activities;
• Develop an emergency response plan in case of accidental spillage of a significant amount of polluting products into a watercourse, soil, or in case of fire;
• Develop the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) with costs and responsibilities for implementation of the various stipulated measures;
• Develop an environmental monitoring and follow-up program for the implementation of the ESMP;
• Propose environmental and social clauses (ESC) to include in the contract for the execution of the ESMP to be signed with the SMEs, including the ESMP specifications;
• Propose an information dissemination plan and a specific grievance management mechanism capable of collecting and processing sensitive complaints, including those related to cases of SEA/SH;
• Produce reports required by SMEs following the updated environmental and social screening recommendations;
• Submit the study report for validation to the Benin Environment Agency (ABE) in order to obtain the Environmental and Social Compliance Certificate for the various projects and initiate procedures related to the implementation of the ESMPs by the SMEs;
• Contribute, together with the project environmental and social safeguard specialists, to strengthening SMEs’ capacities on good environmental and social practices to integrate into the implementation and monitoring of their activities.

3. Duration of the mission:

The estimated duration of the mission is sixty (60) calendar days.

Services will mainly take place in Cotonou, with possible travel throughout the national territory.

4. Profile and qualifications of candidates:

This notice is open to consulting firms regularly constituted, with proven experience in carrying out environmental and social studies, notably Environmental and Social Impact Studies (ESIA), Environmental and Social Impact Notices (ESIN) or similar assignments.

Candidates must provide notably:

• a duly signed letter of expression of interest;
• a presentation of the firm;
• documents certifying its legal existence;
• general references of the firm;
• references of similar assignments carried out over the last ten (10) years, accompanied by attestations of satisfactory completion or copies of corresponding contracts;
• the list and curricula vitae of the proposed key personnel.

Candidates may form a consortium to strengthen their competences.

5. Preselection criteria:

The applications will be evaluated based on the qualification criteria specified in the preselection dossier, notably:

• the general experience of the firm;
• the specific experience in similar assignments;
• the qualifications of the proposed key personnel;
• the technical and organizational capacities of the firm.

Interested candidates are invited to express their interest for the services described above by providing information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (nature of the firm's activities, the candidate's qualifications in the field of services, including diplomas, professional references concerning the execution of similar contracts through certificates of satisfactory completion and/or previous contracts and the list of key personnel to be assigned to the mission).

6. Selection method:

The consultant will be selected following the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method, in accordance with paragraph 7.11 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for Investment Project Financing Borrowers (IPF) (edition 2016, revised in November 2017, August 2018, November 2020, September 2023 and February 2025).

7. Conflicts of interest:

Consultants' attention is drawn to the provisions of paragraphs 3.14, 3.16 and 3.17 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations relating to conflicts of interest.

8. Obtaining the preselection dossier:

Interested candidates may obtain the preselection dossier free of charge from 07/13/2026 from the Secretariat of the FP2E-C3 Project.

The consultation dossier may also be obtained by electronic mail or downloaded from the ADSC website, after registration for withdrawal in accordance with the procedures in force. This withdrawal is formalized by a release form established according to a model provided by the ARMP.

9. Submission of expressions of interest:

Expressions of interest must be written in French and must be submitted in two (02) physical copies, namely one (01) original and one (01) copy, as well as one (01) scanned electronic version on a USB key in PDF format, to the following address: Secretariat of the Professional Training and Entrepreneurship for Employment Project Component 3 (ADSC/FP2E-C3) no later than 07/24/2026 at 10:00 AM (GMT + 1). Failure to submit expressions of interest in accordance with the above modalities will be eliminatory. Applications not received by the specified deadline will be rejected outright and returned unopened, at the expense of the concerned candidates.

Secretariat of the Professional Training and Entrepreneurship for Employment Project in Benin – Component 3 (FP2E-C3)

Development Agency of Sèmè City (ADSC)

Djominhoutin District, opposite Montaigne School

"SEME ONE" Building

Cotonou – Republic of Benin

Any expression of interest received after the deadline or not complying with the above modalities will be rejected.

10. Request for information:

Interested candidates may obtain information from Mr. Pamphile Didier FAGLA, Procurement Specialist of the FP2E-C3 Project, Email: pfagla@semecity.com and consult the preselection documents at the Secretariat of the Professional Training and Entrepreneurship for Employment Project Component 3 (ADSC/FP2E-C3) in Cotonou and/or on the website: www.semecity.com.

11. Opening of expressions of interest

Expressions of interest will be publicly opened immediately after the deadline, in the presence of representatives of candidates who wish to attend, at the headquarters of the FP2E-C3 Project.

The opening minutes will be prepared in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Public Procurement Code.

12. Reservation

The Development Agency of Sèmè City (ADSC) reserves the right not to follow up on this notice, without candidates being entitled to any compensation.

1. The requested criteria will be assessed through the evidence listed in the selection criteria table below.

The selection will take into account the following criteria:

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION GRID FOR THE CONSULTING FIRM

Detailed scoring of sub-criteria — Prequalification/Expression of interest procedure — Project financed by the World Bank

Note: The scoring scale (out of 100 points) and the scoring methods below are indicative and must be validated/adjusted by the Contracting Authority according to the Terms of Reference. For positions with 4 experts, the sub-criteria score is the arithmetic average of the individual scores of the 4 proposed experts, unless otherwise indicated.

Scoring principles adopted:

• Eliminatory criteria (firm specialization, minimum number of general and WB/PTF references, key personnel diplomas): binary scoring or progressive scale from the minimum threshold required by the ToRs; below the threshold = 0 points and possible rejection of the offer according to the rules set in the DDMI.
• Quantitative criteria (number of experiences, years of seniority): progressive and capped scale to reward surplus experience without creating excessive distortion between candidates.
• Qualitative criteria (team coordination, stakeholder consultation, GBV component): tiered rating (compliant / partially compliant / non-compliant) based on the motivated appreciation of the evaluation committee, on the basis of the supporting documents provided.
• For positions filled by 4 experts (assistants, sociologists, gender), the score retained per sub-criterion is the arithmetic mean of the 4 individual scores, unless the DDMI specifies another rule (e.g., minimum score required per expert).
• Any reference or experience not justified by acceptable proof is not counted in the scoring.

• NB: Only count completed missions (not ongoing)
• Recommended period: last 10 years

NB: In the event of a tie in the total points obtained, priority will be given to the firm justifying the greatest number of specific missions carried out in the field of environmental and social evaluation of entrepreneurial projects, including at least three (03) missions financed by the World Bank or other technical and financial partners (TFPs) in the last five (05) years.

Cotonou, 07/10/2026

Bernard WANNOU

Head of the FP2E Mission at the Agency

for the Development of Sèmè City (ADSC)