Open Call for Travel Agency Services (AEDIB|NET)

EBN seeks a travel agency to manage the travels of the start-ups participating in the AEDIB|NET Bootcamp in Cape Town, which will take place between the 28^th and the 30^th of November 2023.

The AEDIB|NET project, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme, aims to strengthen a common African-European digital innovation ecosystem by supporting local digital innovation and ecosystems in Africa and facilitating collaboration between the two continents. The project is coordinated by GIZ -the German Society for International Cooperation-, and includes among its partners the European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN).

Following the project Work Plan approved by the European Commission, Work Package 5 (Transcontinental Cooperation of Innovators and Digital Innovation Hubs), which is led by EBN, foresees in its task 5.3 (Matching entrepreneurs with African and European ICT start-ups), among other activities, the organisation of different intensive training programmes (Bootcamps) for representatives of start-ups and SMEs from Africa and Europe.

In the last quarter of 2023, two of these programmes will take place:

• European Bootcamp, for 15 project participants (coming from different countries in Europe and Africa) in Brussels (Belgium), on the 9^th, 10^th and 11^th of October.
• African Bootcamp, also for 15 project participants (also coming from different countries in Europe and Africa) in Cape Town (South Africa) on the 28^th, 29^th and 30^th of November.

EBN is in charge of financing the travel of the 15 participants of each trip, as well as the subsequent justification of their expenses.

Required services

Within the framework of the AEDIB|NET Project, EBN is selecting a provider who’s able to deliver travel agency services for the 15 participants in the AEDIB|NET Bootcamp that will be held in Cape Town (South Africa), between the 28^th and the 30^th of November 2023.

The services to be carried out consist of the realization and contracting of reservation services and issuance of travel and accommodation titles that are necessary for the displacement and stay in Cape Town (South Africa) for the above-mentioned Bootcamp, including:

• Flight tickets management (round trip from the home country).
• Transport in their home country from and to the airport.
• Travel insurance.
• Accommodation in hotels in Cape Town, including breakfast and basic dinner.
• Transport from the airport in Cape Town to the hotels in Cape Town and vice versa.

The places of origin and timelines for the trips are detailed below:

• Departure from various world capitals in Europe and Africa to arrive in Cape Town on Monday the 27^th of November 2023.
• Stay in Cape Town, from the 27^th of November to the 1^st of December (4 nights).
• Departure from Cape Town to the different countries of origin on the 1^st of December 2023.

More information

Work will take place between September and November 2023.

Offers must be submitted by Monday the 25^th of September 2023, at 12:00 CET, by email to Ruben.Carrandi@ebn.eu.

The Contract will be awarded to the tenderer whose offer represents the best value for money – taking into account the following criteria:

• Quality and coherence of the technical offer, considering:
• The inclusion of at least two people involved in the team to deliver the services, including minimum a Senior profile with more than 10 years of experience in the provision of similar services, and capacity of at least two people in total from the team to interact in English (spoken and written).
• The adequacy of the timeline proposed for the delivery of all the services (issuances of the tickets / reservations).
• Availability of the team involved of minimum 9:00 to 17:00 from Monday to Friday.
• Availability of emergency customer service out of the time slots above-mentioned.
• Proposed improvements on the execution of the contract.
• Financial offer.

The winning candidate will be notified by email of the selection of the offer.

See the Terms of Reference below.