Land O’Lakes Venture37 (Venture37) is soliciting proposals from qualified providers of social media and Digitial Marketing services for Poultry Promotion Campaign as described in this Request for Proposals (RFP). These services are required for the Hatching Hope Project funded by Cargill for services to be performed in Tanzania.

Firms are invited by Venture37 (hereinafter “Bidders”) to submit offers for the services described in this RFP are under no obligation to do so. The Bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the Proposal; Venture37 will in no case be liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the solicitation.

This Request for Proposal includes the following sections:

1. Instructions to Bidders 
2. Technical Specifications 

Submission of offers must be completed in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders, and complete offers must be received by the date and time indicated.

All correspondence and/or inquiries regarding this RFP must be requested in accordance with the enclosed Instructions to Bidders.

Background

Land O’Lakes Venture37 (www.landolakesventure37.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to helping communities around the world thrive through agriculture. We strengthen economies by improving local agriculture, helping agribusinesses create jobs, and linking farmers to markets. We deliver integrated solutions that help build and improve food and agriculture systems by providing solutions for more competitive markets, more resilient systems, more nutrition-secure communities, and more inclusive societies.

Venture37 is implementing the Hatching Hope project in Tanzania. Hatching Hope strengthens micro and small enterprises to provide access to improved dual-purpose chickens, extension services, and input and offtake markets for rural small-scale producers in Dodoma region of Tanzania. This increases the productivity and income of small-scale producers and the supply of poultry products in the local market.

Purpose of this RFP

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is intended to identify a suitable social media and Digital Marketing Consultant capable of providing effective digital campaign management, including executing project management office (PMO) responsibilities, refining digital assets, ensuring timely social media postings, and tracking performance metrics. By responding to this RFP, potential vendors indicate their capability and interest in designing and managing these digital marketing campaigns effectively. The responses provided will assist us in selecting the most qualified vendor for this assignment.

SECTION 1: INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

1.         Introduction

Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 2025-HH-PROC-0001, July 2, 2025: Venture37, acting on behalf of the Hatching Hope, is hereby soliciting bids for the supply of comprehensive Social Media and Digitial Marketing services for Poultry Promotion Campaign as described in Section 2, Technical Specifications. 

2.         Eligibility

1. This RFP is open to firms that are legally registered to conduct business in Tanzania. Small and/or disadvantaged businesses, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses are encouraged to submit proposals.
2. A bidder will be considered ineligible if it has been suspended, debarred, or deemed ineligible, as indicated on (1) the “List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non-procurement Programs” and/or (2) the “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List”. 
3. “This clause is intentionally left blank.”

3.         Preparation of Offers

1. Bidders are expected to examine the Technical Specifications and all instructions contained in this RFP. Failure to do so shall be at the Bidder's risk.

1. The offer prepared by the Bidder and all correspondence related to the offer exchanged by the Bidder and Venture37 shall be in English.

4.         Contents of Offer

1. Submitted bids are required to consist of the following documents:

Technical Proposal

1. Organizational background showing evidence of prior performance in providing effective digital campaign management, including executing project management office (PMO) responsibilities, refining digital assets, ensuring timely social media postings, and tracking performance metrics.

2. Outline of proposed services, solutions, and team, reflecting how the Bidder will undertake all the tasks in Section 2, Technical Specifications.

3. Plan of action with specific activities and implementation timetable to address the Specific Tasks under Section 2, Technical Specifications. 4. Include posting management, performance tracking and PMO execution.

4. List and provide a brief description of the names and CVs of personnel proposed to work on the assignment and include their roles and responsibilities.

5. Earliest possible date for commencing responsibilities

Price Offer

1. Detailed budget outlining Bidder’s Price Offer, in Microsoft Excel, unlocked, and with formulas intact.
   1. Budget must give a detailed unit price breakdown and the total price of the services being offered in response to this RFP. If there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the total amount, the unit price shall be considered as correct and the total amount adjusted accordingly.
   2. All prices should be indicated in Tanzania Shillings.

• Brief Budget Narrative explaining calculation and necessity of costs, displaying attribution to the activities proposed. Narrative may be included in the Excel budget or as a separate Word document.

Supporting Documentation 

1. Official business registration or license documenting eligibility to do business in Tanzania.
2. Two references including contact names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of persons who can be contacted regarding the Bidder's prior performance for similar work within the past three years.

2. The Bidder shall prepare one complete offer with all the required sections of the proposal and supporting documentation typed or written in legible ink. Only complete offers will be accepted and evaluated; incomplete offers will be eliminated.

5.       Offer Validity Period

Offers shall remain valid for a minimum of sixty (60) days after the offer deadline. An offer valid for a shorter period shall be rejected as non-responsive. Bidders shall clearly indicate their offer’s validity period within the proposal documents.

6.       Clarification of Bidding Documents

Clarifications may be requested in writing up to five (5) business days prior to the Offer Deadline. The contact for requesting clarifications is: 

Viola Millinga, vjmillinga@landolakes.com

7.          Offer Deadline and Late Bids

2025. All offers must be submitted to Venture37 by July 16, 2025. Please submit electronic proposals to vjmillinga@landolakes.com with a copy to ebegasha@landolakes.com with the RFP Number referenced in the subject line. Late proposals will not be accepted.

2025. It is the Bidder’s sole responsibility to ensure that offers are received by Venture37 on or before the Offer Deadline of July 16, 2025. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged. Faxed offers will not be accepted. 

1. Offers received after the deadline for submission shall be rejected. A late offer will be considered only if the sole cause of its lateness was attributable to Venture37, its employees or agents.

8.          Submission of Bids

1. Complete offers, including technical, price, and all supporting documentation must be received by July 16, 2025 by Viola Millinga, vmillinga@landolakes.com, with a copy to Edgar Begasha, ebegasha@landolakes.com. Please reference the RFP number in the subject line.

1. Ensuring successful transmission and receipt of the bids is the responsibility of the Bidder. It is recommended that no e-mail exceeds the size of 10 MB, including attachments.                 

9.          Amendment of Bidding Documents

Venture37 may at its discretion and for any reason, modify bidding documents by amendment. All prospective Bidders that have received bidding documents will be notified of the amendment by e-mail and such amendments will be binding on them.

10.       Modification of Offers

1. Any Bidder has the right to withdraw, modify, or correct its offer after it has been delivered to Venture37, provided the request for such a withdrawal, modification, or correction together with full details of such modification or correction is received by Venture37 at the submission point of contact above before the Offer Deadline.

1. Venture37 may ask any Bidder for a clarification of its offer or conduct negotiations with the apparent winner after evaluation of offers; nevertheless, no Bidder will be permitted to alter its price or make any other material modification to its offer after the deadline unless the RFP has been amended or the deadline extended. Clarifications which do not change the price or other material aspects of the offer may be accepted. 

11.       Criteria for Award and Evaluation

1. Subject to Clause 15, Venture37 will award the contract to that Bidder whose offer is deemed acceptable and which offers the best value based upon the evaluation criteria. All complete, eligible offers will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Price (50%)
  • Relevant experience in social media and digital marketing, proven track record of performing similar social media work for projects related to agriculture and livestock (30%)
  • Bio and qualifications of key team members relevant to campaign management (10%)
  • Quality and completeness of proposal (10%)

In order for a bid to be deemed acceptable, it must comply with all the terms and conditions of the RFP without material modification. A material modification is one which affects the price, quantity, quality, delivery or installation date of the equipment or materials or which limits in any way any responsibilities, duties, or liabilities of the bidders or any rights of Venture37. In addition, the successful bidder must be determined to be responsible. A responsible bidder is one who has the technical expertise, management capability, workload capacity, and financial resources to perform the work.                                   

12.       Venture37’s Right to Accept Any Offer and to Reject Any or All Offers

Venture37 will reject any offer that it deems nonresponsive. Further, Venture37 reserves the right to waive any minor errors in any offer received if it is in Venture37’s best interests to do so, to reject the offer of any Bidder if, in Venture37’s judgment, the Bidder is not fully qualified to provide the services as specified in the contract, or to reject all bids. 

13.       Notification of Award

1. Before the expiration of the period of offer validity, Venture37 will notify the successful Bidder in writing that its offer has been accepted.  Venture37 may negotiate with the successful bidder on any details and terms of the contract which do not materially change the scope or specifications of the goods or services to be provided.

1. Upon the successful Bidder acknowledging receipt of the Notification of Award, Venture37 will promptly notify each unsuccessful Bidder that their bids were rejected. If, after notification of award, a Bidder wishes to ascertain the grounds on which its offer was not selected, it should address its request to Venture37 in writing.

14.       Acceptance of Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.  

By submitting a proposal to Venture37, Bidder consents to and provides Venture37 with permission to process the Bidder’s personal data specifically for the performance of, and purposes identified in, this solicitation document and in compliance with Venture37’s legal obligations under applicable United States and European Union laws, data protection and regulations, and any other applicable legal requirements. The bidder may withdraw their consent at any time by contacting Edgar Begasha (Team Lead) If consent is withdrawn, Venture37 reserves the right to either accept or reject the offer.

SECTION 2: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1.         Scope of Work

 The selected vendor will be responsible for implementing a targeted social media campaign in Swahili within all 7 districts of the Dodoma region and neighboring regions. Using social media platforms, which may include Facebook, Youtube or SMS and WhatsApp messages, the selected vendor will support the Hatching Hope team to reach 300,000 individuals with brief messages promoting the benefits of dual-purpose breeds, highlighting improved poultry practices such as biosecurity and vaccinations, and stressing the benefits of poultry consumption. The selected vendor will be responsible for comprehensive digital campaign management, driving effective execution through robust project management office oversight. They will be responsible for following an agreed upon social media posting calendar and effectively managing the campaign and budget to ensure full execution of the campaign. Finally, they will also be responsible for systematically tracking and reporting detailed reporting metrics.

This campaign should start in August or September and run until January 2026 and will include targeted messaging around World Egg Day and Christmas. Venture37 will co-design the content of the campaign with Silverlands Limited and other local poultry market actors to craft targeted messaging that will connect the increase in awareness of SSPs and consumers to the market expansion and sustainability of supported businesses. By broadcasting widely and continuing through the holidays, this campaign will not only increase SSP awareness but also promote the purchase of poultry products from the growing consumers who are willing to pay a premium for IDP birds and eggs, thus increasing the sales of supported producers.

Role and Expectations of Social Media and Digital Marketing Vendor

The selected vendor will be expected to:

• Proactively work with the Venture37 teams to create, refine and enhance social media campaign assets (social media posts, SMS and WhatsApp) for key events and select holiday campaigns.
• Ensure timely posting of content following the agreed upon timeline. For example, some posting around holidays i.e., release messages for World Egg Day and Christmas.
• Collate and integrate internal team feedback with at least one week's lead time before messages are released for a specific event or holiday.
• Effectively manage posts to ensure they are boosted appropriately (within agreed budget), achieving key performance indicators.
• Provide detailed tracking, analysis and reporting of each post’s performance metrics including reach, frequency, impressions, engagement, clicks & click-through rate, share of conversation/ mentions, social sentiment, and other predetermined metrics. Cumulatively messaging should reach at least 300,00 individuals with unique messages by end of the contract.

To make sure the campaign is effective and inclusive, the vendor must create and carry out a plan that reaches different groups of people within the 300,000 individuals targeted during the contract. These key groups include women, young people aged 15 to 29, and people living in rural and peri-urban areas in the five project districts.

The campaign should use different messages for different groups, based on their age, gender, location, language, and how they use digital media. The vendor is expected to:

• Share a clear plan showing how many people from each group (by gender, age, and location) will be reached.
• Use tools like Facebook Ads, WhatsApp groups, or SMS targeting by area to make sure the right messages go to the right people.
• Post content at the best times when each group is likely to be online for example, early morning or evening for rural women, and afternoons or weekends for youth.
• Adjust images, language, and tone to match the local culture, language, and interests of each group.

The vendor should also be able to track how many people are reached and avoid counting the same person more than once across different platforms. To do this:

• The vendor must explain how they will remove double-counting between platforms like Facebook, SMS, and WhatsApp.
• If the same message goes out through different channels, the vendor should count the largest single reach or adjust the numbers to avoid overlap.
• The vendor may also use past campaign data or reliable third-party sources to improve their estimates.

At the end of the campaign, the vendor must share a report showing how many people were reached, broken down by gender, age, location, platform, and time.

2.         Suggested Timeline

The vendor will be engaged on a retainer basis, August or September 2025 to January 2026. Within this period, the vendor will carry out the scope of work.