OPEN CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST TO TENDER

1. GENERAL CONDITIONS

1.1 Requester: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Office Tirana, Rr. Asim Zeneli, Nd. 6/10 1001

1.2 Profile:

EU4Innovation (EU4I) is a Multi Donor Action jointly co-financed by the EU, the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Sida and implemented by GIZ (output 1-4) and Sida (main part of output 2) from January 2023 to June 2026 (42 months).

The Action supports the Government of Albania (GoA) in achieving key objectives in the field of economic development, namely, to accelerate the transformation into a more innovation-driven and knowledge-based economy, unlocking its human capital, entrepreneurial as well and research potential and thereby increasing its competitiveness.

Output 2 will improve access to finance for Albanian start-ups and Innovation Support Organizations (ISOs) through GIZ grants and capacity development to ISOs. Selected activities in the areas of crowdfunding, angel and equity investment complement this approach on GIZ side.

Albania's start-up ecosystem is at a nascent stage, characterized by a lack of access to capital and investment opportunities, especially in early-stage equity funding. While Albania has a growing pool of innovative start-ups and MSMEs, these entities face significant barriers to scaling due to the limited availability of venture capital and angel investment. Moreover, global investors remain largely unaware of Albania’s potential, and there is an absence of a structured local investment community that can provide both financial backing and mentorship to emerging businesses. In this regard the creation of a structured Angel Investor Network is envisioned.

The Angel Investor Network, envisioned under the EU4Innovation initiative, aims to address these gaps by creating a structured communication platform for engaging local and international high-net-worth individuals. This network will play a pivotal role in:

• Enhancing investor capacity and building knowledge by enabling local investors to adopt best practices in angel investment through targeted training, knowledge-sharing sessions and networking.
• Expanding the investment landscape in Albania and developing investment opportunities by setting-up and bringing life to a structured platform, ensuring that innovative start-ups have access to both capital and strategic mentorship.
• Improving start-up investment readiness by equipping entrepreneurs with the skills required to attract investors, including training in valuation, financial management, and pitching.
• Building cooperation in the investment landscape by collaborating with start-up, innovation ecosystem actors and other financial actors. 
• Providing policy inputs through advocacy and contributing to the formulation of conducive policies.

By bringing together investors and start-ups in a structured manner, the Angel Investor Network will contribute to the broader goal of transforming Albania into a competitive, innovation-driven economy.

SUBJECT

EU4I Action invites contractors to express their interest and submit proposals for “The establishment of a sustainable Angel Investor Network” that serves as a catalyst for investment in the Albanian start-up ecosystem. The network should facilitate connections between start-ups and investors, facilitate knowledge exchange, and develop a model that ensures long-term impact on the entrepreneurial landscape of Albania.

The contractor will provide comprehensive services that cover the following areas: (i) Awareness Raising, (ii) Investor Mobilisation, (iii). Strategic Planning and Conceptualisation, (iv) Building Investment Readiness, (v) Capacity Building & Training of Investors, and (vi) Sustainability Planning.

The contract is expected to start in January 2025 to March 2026.

2.    ELIGIBILITY

Participation is open to all legal companies/entities, investment companies, private equity funds, or financial institutions as well as non-profit organizations focused on investments or startup development which are effectively established in Albania.

EU4I welcomes consortia with diverse expertise and collaborative spirit to apply, bringing together their unique strengths to achieve impactful results.

Commercial eligibility criteria:

·         The legal entity shall have an average annual turnover of at least 70,0000 EUR for the last three financial years. Number of employees at least 2 (two).

·         The legal entity shall have previous experience reference value at least 10.000 EUR (at least 2 reference projects) in financial services, venture capital, private equity, or similar investment-related fields.

·         The legal entity shall have previous experience reference value 10.000EUR  (at least 1 reference project) with collaboration with relevant stakeholders, such as investors, private companies, accelerators, incubators, and industry associations.

3.    DEADLINE

All legal entities interested in this application process should request the “Expression of Interest” template, “Tender ref.no. 83477075 Angel Investors Network”, latest by 27.11.2024, at the address: giz-albanien@giz.de.

The due date for submitting the Expression of Interest is 03.12.2024. The document should be submitted via mail “Expression of interest: Ref. No. 83477075 “Angel Investors Network”, addressed to: AL_Inquiry@giz.de .

Participation on consortium should be documented by an agreement.

After the due date for submitting the bids, the process of preselection will follow and successful applicants will be invited for the next steps in the tendering procedure.

All written communication for this procedure and the following successful ones must be in English.