REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

CONSULTING SERVICES - CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTRONIC KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER (EKYC) PLATFORM AND INTEGRATION WITH THIRD PARTY IDENTIFICATION SERVICES: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES COMPETITIVENESS PROJECT Sector: General industry and trade sector IDA Credit No. 71740 IBRD Loan No. 94230 Project ID No. P177895 Reference No. MD-CEP- 475933-CS-CQS

The Republic of Moldova has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Competitiveness Project (MSME) and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.

The consulting services (“the Services”) include the developing and deploying in staging and production environments of a fully functional and reusable Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) solution; integration with third-party services for liveness detection, document verification, and face match checks and organizing training to ensure the effective use and administration of the eKYC solution.

The assignment will be implemented in 24 months, of which 12 months for development and 12 months for the post-implementation support and warranty.

The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the primary procurement stage for the assignment can be obtained at the address given below.

The Project Implementation Unit of the MSME Competitiveness Project now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information (including information about completed contracts and contact information of clients from whom the references could be taken or whom the Beneficiary may, when necessary, visit to familiarize themselves with the systems put into operation by the Consultant) demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services (required qualifications and experience of the firm, but not individual experts’ bio data).

This assignment will require a Consultant, which can be a consulting firm or a consortium of such consulting firms, which:

• Have been in operation for at least five (5) years with the main part of its business being the development of information systems.
• Experience in conducting projects of similar size and complexity developing web applications and mobile applications with their backend proven by at least two (2) contracts (either both for mobile applications or one for mobile and the other for web application) with the development phase finalized in the last three (3) years. For ongoing projects, copies of acceptance documents of the entire software solution shall be provided.
• Experience with implementing or integrating with eKYC-related technologies, such as implementation of a two-factor authentication provider, liveness check, biometric authentication, document match, face recognition, video processing, document OCR, MRZ recognition, etc.
• Experience in software development using agile software development principles (as described in the scope of work and development approach section of the ToR), or following a well-defined software development lifecycle, such as based on ISO/IEC 15288, ISO/IEC 12207 or ISO/IEC 21500 standards, would be an asset.

The Consultant shall provide a team of the following key experts: • Key expert 1. Senior software developer. • Key expert 2 and 3. Backend software developer. • Key expert 4 and 5. Mobile software developer. • Key expert 6. Software tester.

The qualification requirements for key and non-key experts are included in the ToRs.

The selection criteria are:

Criteria Points

1. Have been in operation for at least five (5) years with the main part of its business being the development of information systems. 10
2. Proven experience in conducting projects of similar size and complexity developing web applications and mobile applications with their backend proven by at least two (2) contracts with the development phase finalized in the last three (3) years. 25
3. Proven experience with implementing or integrating with eKYC-related technologies, such as implementation of a two-factor authentication provider, liveness check, biometric authentication, document match, face recognition, video processing, document OCR, MRZ recognition, etc. 25
4. Proven experience in software development using agile software development principles as described in the scope of work and development approach section of the ToR 20
5. Key staff proposed with competencies and experience in implementing responsive UI/UX designs using modern web frameworks; database design, development, and performance optimization; system integration, API design, and development using SOAP/REST; in mobile development using Kotlin (Android) and Swift (iOS); in DevOps practices and tools; in secure coding practices, security testing, or code security reviews, etc. 20

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” November 2020 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the „Consultant’s Qualification-based Selection” method set out in the Procurement Regulations.

Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications; but they 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.

The Expression of Interest shall clearly state the name of the Consultant (individual Firm, Joint Venture or sub-consultancy). The Consultant shall provide relevant references (assignment name, Client, time frame, the role of the firm (main Consultant/Partner in JV/sub-consultant, contract amount, tasks performed etc.) to confirm its experience and qualifications.

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by e-mail) by June 24, 2025, COB.

Project Implementation Unit of the MSME Competitiveness Project Attn. Mr. Aureliu Casian, Executive Director 180, Stefan cel Mare Ave., office 815, MD-2004, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova Tel: + 373 22 296-723; + 373 22 296-724; e-mail: procurementmgf@gmail.com and a notification about submission of EoI to email: piu@mded.gov.md web: www.uipac.md