RFP – APPOINTMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE SHARE OWNERSHIP PLAN (ESOP) ADMINISTRATOR
1. Introduction
The AFRICAN REINSURANCE CORPORATION (“Africa Re” or “the Corporation”) is an international organization with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, with a dual commercial and developmental mandate focused on the African insurance sector. Africa Re has six regional offices: Casablanca (Morocco), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria), Cairo (Egypt) and Ebène (Mauritius). In addition, Africa Re wholly owns four operating subsidiaries, namely: Africa Re South Africa Limited (Johannesburg, South Africa), Sherborne Number Ten Investment Limited (Johannesburg, South Africa), Africa ReTakaful Company (Cairo, Egypt) and Africa Re Underwriting Agency Limited (Dubai International Financial Centre, United Arab Emirates). The Corporation is an admitted reinsurer in Brazil and has contact offices in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Khartoum (Sudan) with an additional Underwriting Representative Office in Kampala (Uganda). Africa Re has a fully registered foundation (Africa Re Foundation) based in Ebène (Mauritius) that oversees all Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.The Corporation, created by a multilateral agreement in 1976, is owned by 42 member states of the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), 113 African insurance and reinsurance companies, and three leading global insurance and reinsurance groups. The Corporation has been assigned a financial strength and credit rating of “A” by A.M. Best and “A-” by Standard & Poor’s both with Stable Outlook.
2. Project Overview
Africa Re has introduced the Employee Share Ownership Plan as an additional staff incentive following its Board’s approval in 2022. The Africa Re Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a benefit plan that will provide capital and income economic benefits to the Management and Staff Members of Africa Re. These benefits will be proportional to Africa Re’s Share Total Return (Dividend and capital gains/losses). The shares will be backed by Actual Class B Shares and held by employees through the ‘Africa Re Staff Provident Fund’ (Special Purpose Vehicle) and /or by Conditional Cash Contributions from Africa Re to fund Dividend equivalent payments and Unit Shares Repurchases, when necessary, especially at occasional staff exit from the Corporation.Africa Re would like to engage the services of a reputable, competent, and technically qualified Consulting firm with extensive expertise in ESOP Administration, and a proven track record of successful implementation of such Plans in similar and comparable organisations to provide the highest quality third-party administration (TPA) and recordkeeping services for her Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP).
3. Scope of Work / Deliverables by the Administrator
The Corporation requires at least, the services listed below, including the specific tasks and work activities described. Applicant’s proposed scope of work should state in detail how it will carryout each task:a. Pre-data collection, issue/publishing of awards documentationb. Provide plan administration, recordkeeping including promissory notes and amortization schedules; provide for plan-to-plan transfers and rollovers where necessary; communication and other related servicesc. Work with Africa Re to design and implement processes and procedures to handle members’ enrollment and contributions in line with Africa Re’s requirements.d. Provide quarterly statements (accessible online during most hours of the and day and must be sent by email upon request) to participants/members. These statements must include detailed information on the participant’s investment mix, administrative cost, and all relevant activities. Statements must also have the capacity to include messaging specifics to Africa Re’s Plan.e. Prepare all participant distributions, including termination distributions/ forfeiture/Lapse Awards, and installment payments; prepare and file all reports as required under applicable local laws.f. Maintain records of each participant’s mix of investments and be able to update these records upon notification from hardcopy requests as well as from requests made by participants via an interactive system.g. On a timely basis, communicate directly with participants concerning relevant changes in tax legislation (where applicable) which may affect the plans, changes in enrollments and investment options, and distribution of quarterly benefit statements. The information provided in all such communications should also be available at a centralized web location and should be sent out by email upon request.h. Maintain a system/website availability of 99.9% that will allow participants to access, and change all relevant aspects of their account, including advising the Administrator to change their beneficiaries The Administrator shall be liable, and solely responsible, for any security breach of participant accounts or the release of private information about participants to unauthorized individuals.i. The Administrator must provide access to parties authorized by Africa Re for the purpose of performing any audit or reviews that are deemed necessary.j. The Administrator must produce periodic reports for the Human Resource and Remuneration Committee of Africa Re Group Board of Directors as well as annual complete copy of its report to independent accountants prepared by a recognized certified professional.k. The Administrator must have sufficient and robust protocols and controls in place to ensure the privacy, security and integrity of all participant accounts and information.l. The Administrator must be available to provide reports in a format acceptable to Africa Re.m. Provide such other services as may be agreed upon between the Administrator and Africa Re.
4. Presentation of Proposal
To facilitate the analysis of responses to this Request For Proposal (RFP), the responding vendors are required to prepare their proposals following the instructions outlined in this section. The firms/vendors whose proposals deviate from these instructions would be considered non-responsive and may be disqualified at the discretion of Africa Re.Proposals should be clear and comprehensive. It should provide a straightforward, concise description of the vendor’s capabilities to meet the requirements of the RFP. Emphasis should be laid on accuracy, completeness, and clarity of content. All parts, pages, figures, and tables should be numbered and clearly labelled. The proposal should be organised into the following major sections:4.1. Executive SummaryThis part of the response to the RFP should be limited to a brief narrative highlighting the consultant’s proposal. The summary should contain as few technical details as much as possible. The Executive Summary should not include cost quotations.4.2. Experience of the ConsultantThe consultant is expected to provide information to enable Africa Re to evaluate their stability, capability and ability. Africa Re may require additional documentation for clarification.The consultant should demonstrate that it has undertaken similar works with other organisations comparable in nature, size, and reputation. References, where existing, should be added as appendices….
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