Source: World Bank — Ethiopia - Financial Sector Capacity Building Project

Invitation for Bids (IFB)

For Supply, Implementation and Support of an Integrated Payment Processing System

IFB No4/TSB-RTGS+ACH/H239-ET-- First Stage

1. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia:has received a GRANT from the International Development Association toward the cost of Financial Sector Capacity Building Project, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this Grantto payments under the agreement resulting from this IFB:

Supply, implementation and support of an integrated payment processing system for the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), comprising an automated transfer system that will have two main capabilities, namely;

a) Real time gross settlement (RTGS) functions for large value and time critical payments

b) An automated clearing house (ACH) function, which will provide clearing and netting facilities for a range of low value (retail) electronic instruments including direct debits and credits.(Please refer National Bank of Ethiopia web sitewww.nbe.gov.et for the "Vision and Strategic Framework" of modernization of national payment system).

2. The national Bank of Ethiopiaserves as the implementing agency for the project and now invites sealed bids from eligible Bidders for supply and implementation of automated transfer system consisting integrated RTGS and ACH function, including the key information technologies, equipment, integration, training and technical support.

3. Bidding will be conducted using the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedures specified in the World Bank's Guidelines: Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and is open to all Bidders from eligible source countries as defined in the Guidelines that meet the following minimum qualification criteria

a) Bids must be for packaged software for the entire ATS system

b) The ATS must be fully developed. The NBE will expect the full functionality including necessary integration to be demonstrated as part of the proposal evaluation process;

c) The ATS should preferably be already installed and operational as anintegrated functional unit in at least one country, preferably in a similar environment to Ethiopia

d) Bidders must be able to supply and support the necessary hardware torun the proposed solution;

e) The Bidder must have on its current staff at least one key person ineach of the following specialist areas involved in the project:

i) Application software design and development

ii) System integration

iii) Electronic payment processing applications, including Real Time Gross Settlement systems

iv) Low value and bulk payment processing systems

v) Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)

vi) Training of non-technical end-users.

f) Each key person should meet the following minimum requirements:

i) Five years of relevant experience, with the last five years in the particular specialist area;

ii) The last three years of industry experience in a management/team leadership capacity.

g) The project manager nominated by the bidder should have at least tenyears relevant industry experience, the last five of which should have included project management responsibility for staff over extended periods involving the development, implementation, operation and support of integrated banking and payment systems.

h) The bidder annual sales turnover should be more than $4 million and audited financial report for recent two years must be presented

4. Interested eligible Bidders may obtain further information from National Bank of Ethiopia and inspect the bidding documents at the address at the address given below from 8:00 am to 12:00 and 2:00pm-5:00 pm (local time) Monday-Friday.

5. A complete set of bidding documents in English may be purchased by interested Bidders on the submission of a written application to the address as of August 2, 2009 and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee of Birr 400.00 or in any freely convertible currency. The method of payment will be cash or cashier's check or direct deposits to national bank of Ethiopia. The bidding documents will be sent by hand or airmail or courier.

6. A two-stage bidding process will be used which will proceed as follows:

(a) The first stage bid will consist of a technical bid only, without any reference to prices, but including a list of any deviations to the technical and commercial conditions set forth in the bidding documents and/or adding any alternative technical solutions a Bidder wishes to offer, and a justification therefore, always provided that such deviations or alternative solutions do not change the essential requirements specified in the bidding documents. Following the evaluation of first stage bids, a Bidder that adequately meets the minimum acceptable qualification criteria and has submitted a sufficiently technically responsive bid may be invited to attend a clarification meeting(s), during which the Bidder's bid will be reviewed. Any required bid-specific changes, additions, deletions and other adjustments will be noted and recorded in a memorandum, or, if amendments are of a general nature, will be promulgated via an addendum to the bidding documents. Bidders may not be invited to submit second stage bids, if their first stage bids contain departures from the requirements in such numbersor of such nature that making the bids fully responsive in the remaining time for the two-stage process cannot reasonably be expected. All other suitably qualified and eligible Bidders, however, shall receive invitations to submit second stage bids.

(b) The second stage bid will consist of: (I), the updated technical bidincorporating all changes required as recorded in the bidder-specificmemorandum, and/or as necessary to reflect any Addenda to the biddingdocuments issued subsequent to the first bidding-stage; and (ii), thecommercial bid.

7. First stage bids must be delivered to the address below at or before 2:00 PM October 06/2009. Late bids will be rejected. First stage bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders' representatives who choose to attend at the address below 3:00 PM October 06, 2009

ADDRESS:

Mr. Mathewos Shamo

Project Officer, National Bank of Ethiopia,

Financial Sector Capacity Building project

(NBE-FSCBP)

Inside National Bank of Ethiopia

(Old Building, First floor)

P.O.Box 2048

Tel: 251-115-51 14 02 or 251-115-51 74 30 ext 115

Fax: 251-115-510230

E-mail: nbewb@ethionet.et and/or

nbewbn@ethionet.et

Website: www.nbe.gov.et

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia