Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population / Employment Support Project AZ-MLSPP-497385-CS-QCBS AWARD NOTICE

Purchaser: Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population

Project: Employment Support Project

Contract title: Provision of follow-up visits and mentoring services for SEP beneficiaries, and assistance in organization of matching awards, wage subsidy and OJT services and intermediation of apprenticeship activities

Country: Azerbaijan

Loan No.: AZ-9712

RFP No: AZ-MLSPP-497385-CS-QCBS

This notice includes the RFB process conducted for the procurement of consulting services for the provision of follow-up visits and mentoring services for SEP beneficiaries, and assistance in organization of matching awards, wage subsidy and OJT services and intermediation of apprenticeship activities under the Employment Support Project (ESP), as well as the evaluation results and contract award information.

The Procuring Agency published the request for expressions of interest on July 7-8, 2025 in the “Azerbaijan” newspaper, on the “Azerweb” portal, and on the World Bank external website. As a result of the announcement, expressions of interest were received from a total of 9 countries (Azerbaijan, Spain, Germany, Lithuania, Türkiye, India, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and the USA). The Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent to the following consulting firms shortlisted, and the proposal submission deadline was set for November 25, 2025:

·         AIM Texas Trading LLC, Leader of the JV, EDUSER Education Consultancy and Expert Services Ltd. (Azerbaijan/Türkiye)

·         EPTISA Mühendislik Ltd. Şti, Leader of the JV, EPTISA Servicios de Ingenieria, S.L. (Türkiye/Spain)

·         Finance and Social Innovation Consulting LLC in consortium with Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association (AMFA) (Azerbaijan)

·         GURT Resource Centre, Leader of the JV, National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan – ASK, PARITET-M LLC, Sistem Global Danışmanlık A.Ş. – Sistem Global, Berlin Open Space Cooperative eG – Boscop (Ukraine/Azerbaijan/Türkiye/Germany)

·         SEFT Consulting LLC (Azerbaijan)

Selection of consultants was carried out using the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method. One of the invited applicants, “GURT Resource Centre, Leader of the JV, National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan – ASK, PARITET-M LLC, Sistem Global Danışmanlık A.Ş. – Sistem Global, Berlin Open Space Cooperative eG – Boscop”, was not accepted as its proposal was submitted after the specified deadline.

Accordingly, the following four shortlisted applicants submitted their technical proposals within the specified time, and the proposals were opened on November 25, 2025 at 15:00 (local time). As a result of the evaluation of technical proposals, the following technical scores were awarded to the applicants:

• AIM Texas Trading LLC, Leader of the JV, EDUSER Education Consultancy and Expert Services Ltd. – 77.71 score
• EPTISA Mühendislik Ltd. Şti, Leader of the JV, EPTISA Servicios de Ingenieria, S.L. – 72.41 score
• Finance and Social Innovation Consulting LLC in consortium with Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association (AMFA) – 70.46 score
• SEFT Consulting LLC – 82.16 score
  
  

The prices submitted by the applicants are as follows:

The Evaluation Committee evaluated the financial proposals and recommended the contract award to SEFT Consulting LLC. Notices on the tender results were sent to the unsuccessful bidders on 27 February 2026. A standstill period was applied from March 02-16, 2026. During this period, the Project Implementation Unit did not receive any complaints or requests for clarification. After the standstill period ended, the successful applicant was notified to proceed with contract signing. As a result of the competition, the following contract was signed on March 19, 2026:

SEFT Consulting LLC - Total contract price including VAT – USD 4.127.955,06 (four million one hundred twenty-seven thousand nine hundred fifty-five dollars and six cents). Contract duration - 19.03.2026 - 31.12.2029.