SMS/USSD Gateway Setup and Integration for the Productive Use Financing Facility (PUFF)

CLASP serves at the epicenter of collaborative, ambitious efforts to mitigate climate change and in the global movement for clean energy access, through appliance efficiency. Our mission is to improve the energy and environmental performance of the appliances & equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world. We work together with governments, experts, industry, consumers, donor organizations and others to propel policies and markets toward the highest-quality, lowest resource-intensive appliances possible.

CLASP has worked in more than 100 countries since its inception in 1999. CLASP is headquartered in Washington, DC, with teams in Europe, Kenya, India and Indonesia. We’re mission-driven and committed to a culture of diversity, transparency, collaboration, and impactful work. See our Team Page to learn more about us.

CLASP improves the energy and environmental performance of appliances and equipment, increasing access to high-quality, energy-efficient products that improve lives. Through the Productive Use Financing Facility (PUFF), CLASP expands access to income-generating appliances for small businesses and households across sub-Saharan Africa. PUFF provides support to enterprises selling efficient productive use equipment (PUE) helping to unlock follow-on funding and increasing the affordability of these technologies.

To strengthen customer engagement and remote support, CLASP has developed an AI-enabled WhatsApp chatbot to provide information, troubleshoot common challenges, and facilitate monitoring. However, many customers use basic mobile phones without internet access. To ensure equitable access to PUFF services, CLASP seeks to complement this WhatsApp system with a robust SMS/USSD communication and survey channel capable of reaching customers in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

This RFP seeks a qualified vendor to design, configure, and deploy an SMS/USSD gateway, integrate it with CLASP’s existing digital systems, and provide ongoing short-code maintenance and bulk SMS services. The objective of this consultancy is to deliver a fully functional, multilingual SMS/USSD communication system that supports two-way messaging, automated surveys with branching logic, and seamless integration with the AI chatbot and the PUFF’s usage of the Prospect system, where customer data is stored and analyzed.

The selected vendor will deliver the following:

1. SMS/USSD Gateway Setup

Configure an SMS/USSD gateway capable of operating in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

Provide free sender ID registration and configuration on major local networks (e.g., Safaricom in Kenya; MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile in Nigeria; Ethio Telecom in Ethiopia).

Register sender IDs and short codes across applicable networks.

Provide a web portal with administrative functionality including:

• Sender ID and short code management
• Personalized and scheduled messages
• Support for long messages (>160 characters)
• Contact and group management
• Detailed reporting for all sent/received messages
• SMS credit management
• Message templates
• Database uploads (Excel/CSV)
• API integration

2. Integration

Integrate SMS/USSD gateway with:

• CLASP’s existing AI WhatsApp chatbot, and
• CLASP’s internal Prospect system used for customer data storage and analysis.

Ensure accurate bidirectional data flow for:

• Message delivery
• Survey responses
• Contact syncing

Note: CLASP can provide API documentation and integration requirements for Prospect. Prospect should be able to perform a variety of operations through an API. So, Prospect will be configured to perform those operations based on the provider’s API.

3. SMS Survey Design & Testing

Design SMS survey flows including:

• Branching logic
• Multilingual versions
• Fail-safe rules for unanswered messages

Test message delivery, survey logic, and data capture.

4. Messaging Capacity & Features

Provide a 2,000-message bulk SMS package for initial deployment.

Enable two-way messaging for customer support.

Ensure compatibility with low-bandwidth telecom environments.

5. Short Code Support

Acquire short codes (per network where required).

Provide monthly short-code maintenance.

6. Training & Documentation

Provide documentation and training for CLASP staff on:

• Portal use
• Template creation
• Contact uploads
• Troubleshooting

7. Data Protection & Ownership

The vendor must:

• Comply with GDPR standards and local regulations.
• Ensure secure data handling and transmission.
• Acknowledge that CLASP retains full ownership of all data collected, including any derivatives developed during the engagement.

• Contract Award: January 2026

• System Setup Complete: March 2026

• Testing & Validation: March-April 2026

• Launch: Upon successful testing

• Maintenance Period: Until the program closes, in January 2029

This will be a fixed-fee contract. Proposals must include:

• One-time setup fees

• Cost of acquiring sender IDs and short codes

• Monthly short-code maintenance fees

• Per-SMS rate tiers

• Any optional add-on features

CLASP welcomes itemized pricing structured similarly to industry-standard SMS gateway quotations.

Proposals must be submitted through the online form and include:

1. Technical Proposal

• Approach to gateway setup and multi-country deployment

• Integration plan

• Survey configuration plan

• Data privacy and security measures

• Staffing and qualifications

2. Experience

• Demonstrated experience deploying SMS/USSD systems in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia

• Relevant past projects and references

3. Financial Proposal

• Itemized fixed-fee budget

• Cost assumptions

4. Timeline

• Workplan from contract signature to March 2026 completion

5. Compliance Statements

• Conflict of Interest

• Ethical conduct

• Data protection compliance

CLASP will evaluate proposals based on:

• Technical Approach (30%)
• Experience & Qualifications (20%)
• Cost Competitiveness (40%)
• Delivery Timeline & Feasibility (10%)

CLASP maintains high ethical standards. Bidders must disclose:

• Any potential conflict of interest
• Any situation that might compromise objectivity or independence

CLASP reserves the right to disqualify any applicant who fails to comply.