Development of a COMESA Model Policy on Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access — ASCENT Program

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION) IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA ( COMESA) NAME OF PROGRAM: ACCELERATING SUSTAINABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY ACCESS TRANSFORMATION (ASCENT) PROGRAM PROJECT ID : P180547 ASSIGNMENT TITLE: DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMESA MODEL POLICY ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN ENERGY ACCESS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. REFERENCE NO. ZM-COMESA -474552-CS-QBS 1.0 INTRODUCATION The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) received a grant from the World Bank towards the implementation of the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) program and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The consulting services (“the Services”) include development of a regional COMESA Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access and an implementation strategy that will support the regional goal of universal access to modern energy services. The assignment is expected to take about 150 days, starting in May 2025. 2.0 OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT To develop a regional COMESA Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access and an implementation strategy that will support the regional goal of universal access to modern energy services. This will include, To review and analyse the current situation vis-à-vis gender mainstreaming in energy access in the COMESA Region. To develop a policy on gender mainstreaming and energy access for the COMESA region, which will include measures to overcome the barriers and gaps that have been identified in the Situation Analysis phase of this assignment. To develop an implementation plan that will put the policy on gender mainstreaming and energy access into practice. The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment are attached to this Request for Expressions of Interest. 3.0 SHORTING LISTING CRITERIA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria is provided in the following table: |

No. |

Evaluation CRITERIA |

1. |

Experience of the firm (Evidence of having carried out similar assignments in the last Ten (10) years which should be in the form of (brochures, descriptions of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions etc.) - information to be provided should include name of assignment, name and full contact address of the client, contract value |

2. |

Evidence of having undertaken similar assignments in the COMESA region in the last ten years. |

3. |

Technical and Managerial capability of the firm |

4. |

Eligibility (Firms must not be debarred or sanctioned by the World Bank) The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” Fifth Edition of September 2023. Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality Based Selection method set out in the Procurement Regulations Fifth Edition of September 2023. Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 09:00 to 16:00 hours Monday to Thursday, on Fridays from 0900 to 12:30 hours Zambian time except for weekends and Public Holidays. Address: Head of Procurement, COMESA Secretariat, Ben Bella Road, Lusaka, Zambia. Email address: procurement@comesa.int 4.0 SUBMISSION Expressions of interest must be submitted written to the following email address; Tenders@comesa.int with a copy to Procurement@comesa.int ASSIGNMENT TITLE: DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMESA MODEL POLICY ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN ENERGY ACCESS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. REFERENCE No. ZM-COMESA -474552-CS-QBS ATT: Mr Silver Mwesigwa Head of Procurement COMESA Secretariat Ben Bella Road LUSAKA 10101 Zambia Telephone: +260 211 2297226/29; Web: http://www.comesa.int Facsimile: +260 211 227318; 4.0 CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION The Closing date for receipt of Expression of Interest is 16th April 2025 at 11:00 hours Zambian time NB: Physical submission of EOIs shall not be accepted. TERMS OF REFERENCE (TORs) • Overview of ASCENT The Accelerating Sustainable & Clean Energy Access Transformation Program (ASCENT) objective is to increase access to sustainable energy services in East and Southern Africa. Today, 365 million people are without electricity access in the region and 558 million people without clean cooking access. Eastern and Southern Africa accounts for more than half of the world’s unelectrified population (675 million) and nearly a quarter of the global population without access to clean cooking (2.4 billion). Accelerating energy access progress in the region is essential not only to help unlock its potential and deliver on its development goals, but also to help the world achieve SDG7 (and other SDG goals) and address global challenges including climate change, resilience, and fragility. ASCENT is expected to provide life-transforming opportunities for 100 million people across 20 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, placing the region on the path to universal energy access. It will align the comparative advantage of all parts of the World Bank (IDA, IFC, MIGA) and build on the proposed IDA funding envelope of $5 billion to leverage an additional $10 billion from public and private financing through strategic partnerships. ASCENT’s programmatic approach will allow the World Bank to dedicate significant resources over a longer time horizon (seven years) and to provide a platform across both national and regional levels that will offer opportunities for collaboration with development partners and a focus on unlocking private capital. While East and Southern Africa experiences a lack of access to reliable electricity services, this deficit is more pronounced in rural areas. The effects of the region’s energy challenges affect disproportionately the lives of men and women. In areas where wood is the primary alternative fuel, women are seen to suffer more as a result of energy poverty. In the rural and peri-urban areas, women, who are mainly responsible for procuring and using cooking fuels, experience more directly the negative effects of the lack of access to clean and modern forms of energy. Exposure to respiratory diseases as a result of indoor air pollution from cooking with traditional biomass, safety issues encountered while gathering fuelwood and less time available for productive ventures are some of the challenges faced by a larger number of women in the COMESA region. 2. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT The AFE region’s steady progress of past decades in ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity on a livable planet has been upended by a series of global shocks. The region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupted by food shortages, soaring energy prices, and global and regional macroeconomic turbulence. Impacts have been exacerbated by adverse climate events hammering the region, including the worst drought in the last four decades and the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. Lack of energy access hinders the AFE region’s economic recovery, resilience, and faster progress toward poverty reduction. Only 48 percent of the overall AFE population, and just 26 percent in rural areas, has access to electricity. Lack of access is constraining inclusion, social resilience and perpetuating gender inequalities. With electricity access deficit concentrated in the two bottom income quintiles, lack of energy access is threatening to exacerbate inequalities and undermine resilience for the most vulnerable populations, including women. Women in the energy sector play a significant role as users, entrepreneurs, employers, employees, and decision makers; however, they face discrimination and other barriers that limit their potential contributions to the energy sector. At the household level, women in the AFE Africa region are the primary users and producers of energy, but the sources of energy for most rural households are more likely to be unclean biomass and fossil fuels. Traditionally, women in Africa are more likely to be assigned the role of searching for cooking fuels and water, resulting in working longer hours to complete household chores and caregiver roles, which, in turn, inhibits women from pursuing economic empowerment activities. Furthermore, women are underrepresented in the energy sector as entrepreneurs and energy service providers, as well as in employment, especially those requiring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) backgrounds. Despite these negative impacts on women, efforts towards expanding energy access are rather male dominated, in the decision making and technical arena. Women, who are largely affected by the energy crises, are rarely involved in the development and implementation process of strategies applied to end energy poverty. It is worth noting that for energy interventions to be effective it must be tailored to the needs of the beneficiaries. Thus, when women, a large part of the society, are not actively engaged throughout the process the interventions can rarely produce effective results2. COMESA recognizes the critical role of gender mainstreaming in achieving inclusive and sustainable development. Energy access remains a key enabler for economic growth, social