AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP
GROUPE DE LA BANQUE AFRICAINE
DE DÉVELOPPEMENT
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
EKITI STATE GOVERNMENT
EKITI KNOWLEDGE ZONE PROJECT
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR ENGAGEMENT OF A CONSULTANT FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE EKZ INDUSTRY-LED TECHNICAL SKILLS AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMME (CONSULTING FIRM)

PROJECT ID: P-NG-I00-002

The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured a loan from the African Development Bank towards the Ekiti Knowledge Zone Project (EKZ). The project site is located between Ago Araromi in Ado Local Government Area and Ijan Ekiti in Gbonyin Local Government Area in Ekiti State.

The Project intends to apply a portion of the loan to engage a qualified Consulting Firm, or consortium of firms, to design, establish and support the initial implementation of industry-led technical skills and apprenticeship pathways, using and strengthening existing technical colleges, polytechnics, health training institutions and other training providers to develop practical occupational capabilities aligned with demonstrated employer and market demand.

The EKZ is a strategic initiative of the Ekiti State Government aimed at building a thriving innovation ecosystem that integrates research, enterprise, and technology development. Component 2 of the Project, Building Talents and Creating Innovation Demand, is intended to develop skilled talent at different levels of the economy. A complementary need exists for practical technical and occupational pathways that respond directly to employer requirements and give young people routes into skilled employment, apprenticeships, contracting, self-employment and the enterprise. Ekiti State already has technical colleges, polytechnics, health training institutions and other providers with existing trainers, facilities, programmes and equipment, and the requirement is to strengthen this institutional base without creating unnecessary parallel training structures. The programme shall provide appropriate access for out-of-school youth, consistent with the EKZ Project Appraisal Report (PAR).

This assignment is primarily an institutional activation and pathway-development intervention rather than a second mass-training programme. It shall complement, and not duplicate, the separate BPO, ICT and Digital Skills assignment and its formal 8,000-person ICT training target. It forms part of the wider EKZ Component 2 delivery architecture under the oversight of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), and its principal outcome is operational pathways in participating institutions, not programme designs alone.

The specific objectives of the assignment will include, but not be limited to:
1. Identify priority technical and occupational skills based on demonstrated employer, investor and market demand.
2. Assess the capacity of relevant technical colleges, polytechnics, health training institutions and other appropriate providers, and identify existing programmes, trainers, facilities and equipment that can be used or adapted.
3. Establish structured partnerships between participating institutions, employers, industry bodies, certification organisations and relevant technical partners.
4. Design or adapt competency-based technical skills and apprenticeship pathways aligned with occupational requirements.
5. Strengthen trainer and institutional capability where required.
6. Establish practical training, workplace learning, apprenticeship, assessment and certification arrangements.
7. Provide appropriate access and progression pathways for out-of-school youth, women and other eligible participants, consistent with applicable AfDB and Project requirements.
8. Define the equipment, facilities and other targeted improvements required, with indicative costs and priorities, to enable the PIU and institutions to undertake the necessary procurement or works.
9. Activate selected priority pathways through participating institutions, with initial cohorts commencing delivery,
10. Establish arrangements, including a costed roadmap, through which successful pathways can be sustained and scaled..

The assignment shall be implemented over twelve (12) months from contract effectiveness.

The Ekiti State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (EKDIPA), the Implementing Agency, now invites eligible Consulting Firms (including consortia of firms) to indicate their interest in providing the above services.

Interested firms must be reputable firms, or consortia of firms, with a proven track record in technical and vocational skills development, industry partnerships and employment-linked programme implementation

The Consulting Firm (or the lead firm and members of a consortium, taken together) must demonstrate:
1. A minimum of seven (7) years of demonstrable experience leading TVET reform, occupational skills development or institutional capability projects in Sub-Saharan Africa (experience in Nigeria is a strong advantage);
2. Proven experience conducting labour-market and skills-demand assessments, developing competency-based training (CBT) curricula and occupational standards, and structuring recognised certification routes with regulatory or industry bodies;
3. Demonstrated experience structuring public-private TVET partnerships and designing workplace-learning and apprenticeship frameworks with corporate employers and industry bodies;
4. Demonstrated experience assessing the readiness of technical colleges, polytechnics or similar institutions, diagnosing workshop, equipment and facility needs, and designing and delivering trainer-development programmes;
5. Experience designing outreach and bridging programmes for out-of-school youth and women in technical and vocational training, and establishing monitoring and evaluation frameworks that track enrolment, competency attainment, workplace placement and early outcomes;
6. Demonstrable experience working with donor-funded projects (e.g., AfDB, World Bank) and familiarity with their reporting, procurement, and environmental and social safeguard standards; and
7. The capacity to mobilise qualified Key Experts covering: Team Leader / TVET and Skills Development Lead; Labour Market and CBT Curriculum Specialist; Industry Engagement and Apprenticeship Specialist; Institutional Capability and Master Trainer Specialist; and Inclusion, Youth Access and MEL Specialist.

Interested firms must provide information demonstrating that they are qualified to perform the services, including a company profile, a description of similar assignments completed (stating the client, scale, value and results achieved), relevant experience in comparable conditions, and the availability of appropriate skills among their staff. Firms may associate with other firms to enhance their chances of qualification; where a joint venture or consortium is proposed, the lead firm and the role of each member should be stated.

Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list, and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s Procurement Policy for Bank Group Funded Operations (October 2015), which is available on the Bank’s website at https://www.afdb.org/en/projects-and-operations/procurement/new-procurement-policy/

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours (09:00 to 17:00 hours). Interested parties may request the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for better understanding of the assignment.

Expressions of Interest must be delivered in written form to the address below (in person, or by e-mail) on or before 12 Noon Nigeria Time on 9th November, 2026.

The Director General
Ekiti State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (EKDIPA)
Mutual House, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti-State,
Tel. No: +234-704-100-1814, +234-806-017-4418
Email: ekitknowledgezone@gmail.com, ekdipa@ekitistate.gov.ng