Habitat for Humanity International’s Call for Proposals for ShelterTech Accelerator Sub-Sahara Africa Anchor Partner

Background

Established in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International has a vision of a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity collaborates with local communities in more than 70 countries and has supported more than 35 million people to gain access to decent shelter through a number of housing-driven initiatives.

Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter works with housing markets by supporting local firms and expanding innovative and client-responsive services, products, and financing so that low-income households can improve their shelter more effectively and efficiently.

Despite an alarming global affordable housing deficit, innovation and investment in startups and scaleups addressing housing have been conspicuously absent from the flourishing ecosystems that support other impact sectors such as FinTech, HealthTech, and AgTech.

ShelterTech

Launched by Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, ShelterTech is the world’s leading platform for affordable housing innovation, advancing entrepreneurial housing solutions that can radically improve access to decent and affordable housing. At the heart of the platform are ShelterTech accelerators that help bridge the gap between housing innovations and real-world impact. The acceleration program has been designed and adapted for this critical moment in history, as the world increasingly recognizes the link between health and housing. In 2022, Shelter will launch a regional accelerator in sub-Saharan Africa. This is following and building onto successful accelerators in the Andean region (2021), Southeast Asia (2021), Kenya (2018), India (2018) and Mexico (2017).

ShelterTech goes beyond walls, roofs, floors to covering everything else that goes into making a safe and liveable home. Thus, the platform supports startups and scaleups focusing on innovative and sustainable innovations in the material, labour, finance, land, markets, water and sanitation and clean energy sectors among others. The platform has a strong and deliberate focus on investment, scaling and partnership, with the goal to create a portfolio of investable solutions, not only to ensure shelter has a prominent place in the impact investment and entrepreneurial ecosystems, but also deliver direct contribution to achieving the SDGs, while also increasing the quality of life of low-income families across the globe.

To date, ShelterTech has supported over 70 start-ups and scaleups and invested in eleven of them via Habitat’s in-house impact investment fund, Shelter Venture Fund.

Regional Accelerator for sub-Saharan Africa

The launch of the regional accelerator for sub-Saharan Africa coincides with the inaugural Africa Regional Housing Forum taking place on May 12 to 14, 2022. The Africa Housing Forum will hence be used as a platform for to launch a call for applications to eligible innovators – startups and scaleups. Overall, participating innovators will undergo a 6-month journey in the accelerator. Program offerings include:

The accelerator program has been designed to provide both an online-virtual platform as well as in-person sprint weeks, investor summits, ShelterTech symposiums, pitch sessions, etc. Given the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, ShelterTech may need to consider a fully online virtual acceleration experience based on how conditions continue to evolve. Modalities will be set in place in collaboration with the identified ShelterTech Anchor for any in-person work bearing in mind regional diversity and in full observance of respective countries COVID 19 health restriction requirements.

Scope of work

To successfully roll out and manage the regionals accelerator, Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Centre requires an Anchor firm. The anchor firm (working alone or in consortia) will work closely with the Regional Director and Global ShelterTech team and be primarily responsible for the ShelterTech acceleration support and program management, including:

• Co-designing program offerings within a pre-existing framework and covering the 5 phases of the accelerator

a. Launch – application and selection phase,

b. Acceleration phase.

c. Ecosystem phase,

d. Global and community phase, and

e. Reporting phase

• Identification, recruitment and onboarding of other partners to support accelerators
• Identification, selection and recruitment of at least 10 participating startups or scaleups
• Identification, on-boarding and managing mentors and the mentorship journey
• Running all phases of the accelerator
• Support implementation of the ShelterTech monitoring, evaluation, and learning agenda as well as the dissemination of key learnings up to one year after conclusion of the accelerator
• In close coordination with Habitat for Humanity’s Communication team co-design, develop, and implement communications for ShelterTech
• Deliver progress and end of program impact and program reports as shall be agreed with the client

Applicants qualifications and proposal details

Applications are welcome from firms, organizations, accelerators, networks and other actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Each applicant firm should have a strong and readily demonstrable track record of running accelerators both in-person and virtually and supporting startups and scaleups to be investment-ready. Applicants should also be adept at mobilizing a network of mentors, partners, and investors to support entrepreneurs’ needs. Excellent written and spoken English are a prerequisite. Working knowledge of any other prominent language in Sub Saharan Africa will be an added advantage.

Interested firms are required to;

1.Attend an informational session on 2 March 2022 – please book your slot on https://calendly.com/lizankuster/sheltertech-africa-informational-session.

2.Submit proposals (not exceeding five pages[1]) covering the following details:

a. Strategy, plan and budget

i. Execution strategy, detailing steps to ensure success in the the phases mentioned under section 1 of the scope of work,

ii. Management of address how to manage hybrid/in-person to ensure successfully meeting the objectives,

iii. Critical activities, timeline, milestones and deliverables, providing details where possible,

iv. Detail of critical communication activities to promote the accelerator, including partner networks, potential reach and channels.

b. Estimated budget, including personnel, travel, etc.

3. Qualification and experience

a. Proven record and accomplishments demonstrating the applicant understands and can facilitate, and manage the different parts and functions of the accelerator including ability to:

• mobilize startups, scaleups and other critical stakeholders,
• review business to gain an understanding of the businesses and their investment needs; and
• develop a curriculum, mentor schedule, etc. to be used for start-ups and scaleups over the duration of the acceleration.

b. Proven record in promoting and facilitating investment partnerships for startups and scaleups, including demonstrated ability to:

• mobilize impact investors;
• analyze potential investors and determine matches with startups and scaleups
• understand investor needs, identify investment opportunities, deal structuring, and investment screening
• coach and advise startups and scaleups on structuring investments including due diligence processes, developing and refining requisite investment documents including pitch decks and financial summaries; and
• facilitate actual linkages between startups and scaleups, mentors, potential investors, and other stakeholders.

c. Demonstrate ability to co-create a remote accelerator offering

d. Demonstrate understanding of the regional context for sub-Saharan Africa related to the affordable housing sector, investment and/or innovation sector with startup and scale ups

e. Proven ability to identify and attract potential accelerator partners: corporations, foundations, investors, government entities, co-sponsors, networks, etc.

f. Proven report writing skills in English

g. Proven ability to effectively communicate through writing and design

h. Proven record in successfully promoting accelerator programs to target audiences;

Supporting documentation

a. Provide examples of two recent similar assignments undertaken, specifically outlining how you have worked broadly across impact sectors, with reference contacts

b. Provide a list of previous partners (example: corporates investors and accelerators) in the innovation ecosystem you worked with

c. CV’s of key personnel assigned to run the program

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on their technical soundness and financial viability. The criteria will include:

• Alignment with Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center’s goal’s for ShelterTech;
• Design and strategy for the accelerator.
• Strategy and ability to attract viable start-ups and scaleups;
• Ability to attract investors and other innovation ecosystems;
• Experience of personnel assigned to run this program;
• Previous experience in successfully running similar programs;
• Growth of startups and scaleups participating in programs
• Project schedule and activity breakdown, that identifies timelines, key milestones, project phases, or other project plan information;
• Budget/breakdown of costs related to the program.^[2]

Timeframe- Milestones and Deadlines

• Detailed RFP posted 22 February 2022
• Informational Session 2 March 2022
• Q & A sessions 2 and 3 March 2022
• Submission date 9 March 2022
• Shortlisted proposals will be notified 21 March 2022
• Shortlisted proposals interviewed 28 March 2022
• Award contract to selected applicant 31 March 2022
• Onboarding Call 4 April 2022