- Introduction
Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre (FPC) is registered under the Zimbabwe Institute of
Permaculture (ZIP) as a local Private Voluntary Organization (PVO number 12/92). FPC was
established in 1988 as an organization pioneering Permaculture and Agroecology practices. The
organization facilitated the founding of four other organizations chasing a similar cause viz. the
Natural Farming Network (NFN); the Schools and Colleges Permaculture Programme (SCOPE);
Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM); African Farmer Organic Research and
Training (AfFOREST) and several other community-based organizations. Since its inception, the
centre has paved the path for food, nutrient, and income security through sustainable land use
management. - Scope of work
FPC is jointly implementing a Gender and Climate Change Programme in 5 districts namely
Matobo and Insiza in Matabeleland South Province, Makoni in Manicaland Province and Bikita,
and Gutu Districts in Masvingo Province in a consortium with the following organization: Zimbabwe
Project Trust (Insiza District), Caritas Masvingo (Bikita and Gutu Districts), Caritas Mutare (Makoni
District), and Caritas Bulawayo (Matobo District). The project is funded by Irish Aid (Ireland’s Civil
Society Partnership (ICSP)). Although the programme is guided by four outcomes, FPC’s
contribution contributes to two outcomes namely:
- People living in poverty, particularly rural women, and youth, have adopted agroecological
approaches at household and community levels. - People living in poverty, particularly rural women and youth in their households, user groups,
and communities are collaborating in advocacy initiatives for their rights (e.g., for seed, food,
budgetary, markets engagement, services – financial, education, technical, information) and
rights related to the sustainable management and governance of natural resources).
It is against this background that FPC seeks the services of a consultant/Vendor/service provider
to develop a WhatsApp chatbot platform that can be used by farmers, lead farmers, and
Agriculture Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS), officers to automatically get preset
responses and agroecology related information. The main areas of agroecology to be covered in
the chatbot are to be derived from the following key strategic areas namely: soil fertility
management, pest and disease management, water harvesting techniques, cropping systems/
companion planting and pre-and post-harvest and handling among other thematic areas of
Agroecology. The contents of the information on these thematic areas will be provided by FPC.
FPC envisages a platform that works 24/7 and runs multiple conversations with different
stakeholders, at the same time. The basic requirements of the chatbot include but are not limited
to. - Simplicity, performance, and appealing design.
- Enable farmers and relevant stakeholders to gather agroecology information.
- Accommodate different languages (English Shona and Ndebele)
- Compatible with all WhatsApp versions.
- Accommodates Photographs, videos, fonts, illustrations, etc
- User-initiated conversations
Expected outputs and Key deliverables.
- A functional WhatsApp chatbot
- Design and development-Incorporation and customization of the user-specified features and
functionalities-(at least 2 options to be submitted for review) - Presentation, Review, and Tests by Key Users- the consultant will present the developed
system to key users who will review, test, and identify any final changes that may need to
be made. - Training of relevant staff on the functions of the developed applications
- On-going Support – The consultant will provide free online backstopping for the functioning
of the applications through telephone calls, Anydesk, Email, TeamViewer, etc. Where necessary physical support visits shall be conducted. - Post application deployment support report after 3 months from the day of signing off.
Competencies and qualifications
- A bachelor’s or honours degree in information technology, computer science, or relevant
- Proven experience, from previous assignments, with chatbot builder that has direct
integration with WhatsApp (such as ManyChat or Landbot) - Proven experience of experience in mobile application development and application life cycle
management - Able to communicate effectively in English plus Ndebele and/or Shona.
- Strong IOS and Android SDK
Evaluation of the Bids
Technical proposal and methodology | 40 % |
Experience and academic qualifications | 40 % |
Financial proposal/ budget | 20 % |
To apply
Interested and qualified candidates (individuals and teams) should apply including the following:
- Technical proposal not exceeding 10 pages in pdf format.
- Financial proposal in excel format.
- Brief resume with at least three traceable reference organizations where similar services have
been provided. - Link(s) to previous work done by the consultant, related to the assignment.
- Copies of certificate of registration/incorporation (for firms)
- Tax Clearance
- Company profile (for firms)
All applications must be directed to tenders@fambidzanai.org.zw stating “Consultancy for the
development of WhatsApp Chatbot” in the subject line.
Deadline for submission: 4 September 2023.