Foreign economic-aid-related services

Tender description

DFID is launching a new programme: Sustainable Urban Economic Development Programme, DFID Kenya (SUED). The 4 programme outputs will be evidence of: 1) Facilitation of increased public-private financing for commercially bankable climate-resilient infrastructure and value chain projects; 2) Town/county level business environment reforms; 3) Improved town/county level capacity to design and deliver market-driven urban economic plans; and 4) Generation, and substantive uptake, of knowledge and research on approaches to sustainable urban economic development. 1. The UK Department for International Development (DFID)’s mission is to help eradicate poverty in the world’s poorest countries. In Kenya, DFID is working to strengthen peace and security, build resilience, promote prosperity and tackle extreme poverty. As part of its expanding Sustainable Economic Development portfolio, DFID Kenya has designed a new Sustainable Urban Economic Development (SUED) Programme that aims to support emerging urban centres in Kenya to put in place sustainable urban economic plans; improve the investment climate 2. Kenya is the largest economy in East Africa and has managed to achieve 5.3 % annual growth over the last decade (currently at approximately 6 %). However, Kenya suffers from high levels of poverty and the World Bank estimates that to reduce the poverty headcount from 43 % (in 2005) to 15 % by 2030, Kenya’s growth rate must rise to at least 6 %. Towns and cities are important for economic growth as higher population density allows for greater specialization and deeper markets, and makes infrastructure and business support services more cost effective. Kenya is currently rapidly urbanizing with an urban population that is expected to rise by over 50 % by 2030. However, poorly planned urbanisation can result in an array of poor informal settlements and population centres that are more vulnerable to environmental shocks. Accordingly, DFID is supporting emerging urban centres in Kenya to put in place sustainable urban economic plans; improve the investment climate and draw in investment for key climate-resilient infrastructure and value chain projects. This will include integrating digital technologies to build ‘smart’ towns/cities that improve the quality and performance of urban services and enable a better quality of life. Although the 3 major cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu along the Northern Corridor in Kenya contain 50 % of the country’s urban population, towns situated on secondary economic growth corridors linked to these centres are seeing the fastest population growth, with the urban population outside of Nairobi growing at 7.3 % a year. Supporting these smaller, faster growing, population centres also presents an excellent opportunity for achieving more balanced growth by focusing on areas which have historically been more marginalized, such as towns in North/Northern Eastern Kenya and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) more generally. 3. The programme will be implemented by a: (1) Managing Agent (prime contractor) providing programme management, technical oversight and coordination functions for a group of firms/specialists (subcontractors) comprising a: a. urban economic planning firm, b. investment climate firm, c. investment firm, and d. other capacity building specialists; and (2) Complementary strategic partner, such as the World Bank, to carry out connected business environment work at the national level. 4. SUED is an entirely new programme and the 6 outcome level objectives will be evidence of: (1) Substantial investment raised for key commercially bankable climate-resilient infrastructure and value chain projects, through which the components of the urban economic plans are realized, (2) Policy and legislative changes completed, and those changes shown to have enabled greater private sector led growth, (3) Well developed and tested capacity at the town level that will maintain key activities after the programme ends, (4) Climate-resilient jobs being created, (5) Rural areas being linked with larger markets that were previously difficult to reach, and (6) The towns being poised for climate-resilient and sustainable growth. The 4 programme outputs will be evidence of: (1) Facilitation of increased public-private financing for commercially bankable climate-resilient infrastructure and value chain projects, (2) Town/county level business environment reforms, (3) Improved town/county level capacity to design and deliver market-driven urban economic plans, and