KARANDAAZ PAKISTAN REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST 

Digital and Financial Capability Training for BISP Beneficiaries 

Country Pakistan 

EOI Reference No. 27 

Project Title Digital and Financial Capability Training for  BISP Beneficiaries 

Programme Karandaaz Digital – Supporting G2P  Digitization in Pakistan 

Issuing Organization Karandaaz Pakistan 

Assignment Duration Approximately 18 – 24 months (indicative –firm may propose duration based on its  

own assessment) 

EOI Issue Date 16 July, 2026 

Last date for Queries: 27 July, 2026 

Response to Queries: 29 July, 2026 

Last Date for Submission 10 August, 2026 

Queries / Clarifications [email protected] Address EOI response to: Procurement Department  

Who can Apply Firms, or consortiums/joint ventures

1. Introduction 

Karandaaz Pakistan is a not-for-profit company established in 2014 and registered with the Securities and Exchange  Commission of Pakistan (“SECP”) under Section 42 of the Companies Act,2017. Karandaaz Pakistan promotes access to  finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and advances financial inclusion for individuals by leveraging  technology-enabled solutions and platforms. Karandaaz Pakistan operates across multiple program verticals including  Karandaaz Capital, Karandaaz Digital, Karandaaz Innovation, and Karandaaz Research & Insights. 

Karandaaz Pakistan's founding was supported by a seed grant from the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth &  Development Office (FCDO), with subsequent support for its digital financial services work provided through grants,  including from the Gates Foundation. Karandaaz Digital focuses on expanding access to digital financial services in  Pakistan by working closely with regulators, policymakers, government entities, financial service providers, and  ecosystem stakeholders across policy and regulation, experimentation, solutions development, and scale-up. 

2. Background and Rationale 

A shift to Raast-enabled, account-based disbursements under the Benazir Income Support Programme (“BISP”) is not  merely a change in payment rails, it represents a structural transition from cash access to genuine financial participation.  While full-mandate accounts remove the supply-side constraints inherent in Limited Mandate Accounts (LMAs), they do  not automatically translate into meaningful usage or empowerment. Without deliberate investment in digital and  financial capability, there is a high risk that beneficiaries will continue to exhibit “cash-out only” behavior, effectively  replicating the limitations of the current system on new infrastructure. 

The rationale for capability-building of approximately one million BISP beneficiaries is to bridge the last-mile gap  between access and usage. Women receiving payments into their own accounts, and operating SIMs and mobile wallets registered to their CNICs, are being positioned as independent financial actors for the first time. Evidence from Pakistan  and comparable markets shows that first-generation users, particularly low-income women, face barriers including low  functional literacy, limited familiarity with digital interfaces, trust deficits in formal financial systems, and socio-cultural  constraints on independent financial decision-making. 

To support BISP in ensuring an effective transition, Karandaaz Pakistan intends to engage an experienced firm (or  consortium/joint venture) to design and implement a nationwide Digital and Financial Capability Building program to  build beneficiaries', particularly women's digital readiness and confidence to navigate the digital financial system. 

3. Objective of the Assignment 

The primary objective of this assignment is to support BISP in preparing its beneficiaries for the transition to digital  accounts by building their digital and financial capabilities through a structurally blended training program for  approximately one million beneficiaries, which can later be scaled to BISP's entire beneficiary base. Specific objectives  include: 

• Beneficiaries demonstrate functional digital readiness; 

• Beneficiaries exhibit improved financial knowledge, confidence, and capability; 

• Beneficiaries successfully onboard and complete initial digital transactions; 

• Beneficiaries transition from one-time access to active and sustained usage of digital financial services; • BISP develops institutional capacity through a certified pool of master trainers; and, 

• A context-appropriate blended (physical/digital) training model is designed and deployed at scale. 

4. Scope of Services 

The selected firm will be responsible for the end-to-end design, adaptive implementation, and continuous reporting of the training program. The broad components of work shall include: 

• Diagnostic, Curriculum Design & Capacity Building – baseline assessment, beneficiary segmentation, task-based  curriculum design, localized and gender-intentional content, and Training of Trainers (ToT) for BISP master trainers. 

• Roll-Out Planning & Go-to-Market Strategy – a comprehensive nationwide rollout strategy, including a dedicated  blended training deployment plan justifying the physical-to-digital modality split, channel mapping, and sequencing  across the beneficiary journey. 

• Field Implementation, Beneficiary Training & Behavioural Reinforcement structured training delivery to  approximately one million beneficiaries, integrated digital reinforcement, and onboarding support. 

The program is expected to follow a phased rollout, with a structured review and course-correction gate between phases.  The full scope of work, deliverables, and payment milestones will be detailed in the complete Terms of Reference (TORs)  and Request for Proposals (RFP) which shall be shared with shortlisted/eligible firms. 

5. Eligibility and Required Competencies 

Interested firms, or consortiums/joint ventures, must be able to demonstrate the following competencies, supported by  CVs, project references, and a description of relevant experience: 

• Financial and Digital Literacy Expertise – demonstrated experience designing and implementing financial and digital  literacy programs for low-literacy and marginalized populations, particularly women.

• Content Development and Sector Methodology – proven capability developing blended (physical and digital)  training curricula and content for low-literacy, women-centric audiences, and experience working with relevant  ecosystem actors (SBP, social safety net programs, banks, mobile banking operators, telecoms, agent/retailer  networks, and public sector institutions). 

• Digital Channel Deployment – demonstrated capability to design and deploy IVR, SMS, short-form video, and digital media content at scale in low-connectivity environments. 

• Project Management and M&E Capability – demonstrated strength in field coordination, progress documentation,  output verification, and data quality assurance. 

• Qualified and Relevant Team Composition – availability of a technically qualified team spanning financial literacy, digital tools/DFS, gender and community engagement, training/facilitation, and field operations. 

• Geographic Deployment and Delivery Capacity – operational infrastructure, field presence, and staffing depth to  deliver a large-scale, multi-phase blended program across urban, peri-urban, and remote rural areas of Pakistan. 

Applications may be submitted by a single firm, or a consortium/joint venture of firms. Where a consortium/joint venture applies, the roles, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms among its members must be clearly defined. 

7. Information Requested at EOI Stage 

Interested and eligible firms and consortia/joint ventures are requested to submit an Expression of Interest comprising: 

• A cover letter confirming interest in and eligibility for the assignment; 

• The entity’s (company, partnership, or consortium/joint venture) profile, including legal status, registration  documents, and years of operation; 

• A summary of relevant experience and track record, including at least 2 comparable assignments (financial/digital  literacy, low-literacy or women-centric training programs, or social safety net program engagements), with client  references; 

• Brief CVs of proposed key personnel (indicative team lead and technical specialists); 

• A short concept note (maximum 2–3 pages) outlining the firm's proposed approach to blended (physical/digital)  training delivery at scale; and 

• Evidence of financial standing and capacity to mobilize and deliver a national-scale, multi-phase program. 

Bidders who meet the pre-requisites will be invited through an RFP to submit a detailed Technical and Financial  Proposals.  

• The decisions of Karandaaz Pakistan will be final. Karandaaz Pakistan reserves the right to cancel the bidding  process and to reject all bids or to accept or reject any bid, at any time prior to the award of the contract, without  thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders or any obligation to inform the affected bidder or  bidders of the grounds for Karandaaz Pakistan’s action. 

• No contractual obligation whatsoever shall arise from the EOI/Bidding process. 

8. Evaluation of EOIs 

Expressions of Interest shall be evaluated in two stages: 

• Stage 1 – Mandatory Eligibility Screening : Each EOI is screened against the mandatory eligibility criteria as provided in Section 8.1 on a pass/fail basis. Only EOIs meeting all mandatory criteria shall proceed to Stage 2.

• Stage 2 – Shortlisting for the RFP Stage: Eligible entities shall be shortlisted based on the strength of the information  submitted at EOI stage (relevant experience, proposed approach, team, and financial standing) and shall be invited  to submit full Technical and Financial Proposals under the detailed TORs/RFP. 

8.1 Stage 1 – Mandatory Technical Eligibility Checklist (Yes/No) 

Entities are required to complete the Yes/No self-declaration below and provide supporting evidence for each criterion  as part of their EOI submission. Only EOIs marked “Yes” against all mandatory criteria will be considered eligible for  shortlisting.

Note: *All documents as evidence to be provided with the bid document. EOIs marked “No” against any mandatory  criterion, or submitted without supporting evidence, may be declared non-responsive at Karandaaz Pakistan's sole  discretion. 

9. QUERIES 

All questions and/or clarifications regarding this EOI, if any, must be submitted via the following email address:  [email protected], no later than 5:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time on or before 22 July 2026. No  queries / clarifications regarding this EOI will be entertained after this deadline. All correspondence and/or inquiries  regarding this EOI must reference the EOI number.  

10. CLARIFICATION TO EOI 

List of the questions raised and the responses given will be uploaded at Karandaaz Pakistan website under the  procurement section by 10:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time on 27th July 2026. 

No phone calls or in-person inquiries will be entertained; all questions and inquiries must be in writing. 

Only written answers will be considered in the EOI process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information  received from a Karandaaz Pakistan employee or other entity should not be considered as an official response to  any questions regarding this EOI. 

11. Scored Technical Evaluation (Full Proposal Stage) 

This EOI is a pre-qualification step. Any entity found eligible and shortlisted based on the information submitted will be  invited through a Request for Proposals (RFP) to submit detailed Technical and Financial Proposals in response to the  complete Terms of Reference (TORs). Unsuccessful entities shall be informed via email after the completion of Stage 1 of the process.  

12. Submission Instructions 

The envelope marked “Pre-requisites” should be sealed and must contain one hard copy of each the required documents. Entities who do not provide the mandatory information required to be submitted under this EOI will not be  considered for evaluation. This envelope containing the booklet should also contain the completed checklist with  evidence. The envelope should: 

• Include the name and address of the entity; and, 

• Have “EOI 27” for “Digital and Financial Capability Training for BISP Beneficiaries” clearly marked. 

EOIs must also be submitted electronically through email (with subject: EOI # 27 “Digital and Financial Capability Training  for BISP Beneficiaries”) at or before 05:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time, August 10, 2026;  [email protected].  

The hard copies must be received or post-marked by August 10, 2026. Hard copies will be courier to:  1 E, Ali Plaza, Nazimuddin Road, D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan.  

Documents submitted in response to EOI after the closing date will NOT be accepted.  

Karandaaz Pakistan reserves the right to accept or reject any or all Expressions of Interest without assigning any reason,  and to modify the timeline, scope, or process at its discretion.

Annexure - A 

[LETTERHEAD OF THE ENTITY] 

UNDERTAKING REGARDING AVAILABILTIY OF THE PROJECT TEAM  

It is hereby certified by [Name of Organizations] that the proposed team members mentioned in the Expression of  Interest (EOI) and any subsequent project team members will be made available at the project site as per the requirement  of the project.  

In case of replacement of any proposed team member under extenuating and unforeseen circumstances a resource  person with similar or better qualifications and experience will be made available after prior approval of Karandaaz.  

Name of Signatory:  

Signature of Authorized Signatory  

Date: __/___/____  

Company stamp: 

Annexure - B 

[LETTERHEAD OF THE ENTITY] 

UNDERTAKING REGARDING NOT BEING BLACKLISTING 

It is hereby certified that, [Name of Organization] has not been blacklisted by any Government, Agency / authority as on  [Date]. [Name of Organization] will immediately inform Karandaaz Pakistan in case of any change in the status any time  hereinafter.  

It is further certified that [Name of Organization] or any of its personnel, agents or, suppliers and/or their  employees are not directly or indirectly engaged in or support individuals, groups or entities associated with  terrorism, including but not limited to the following: 

a. HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanction Implementation-Financial sanctions consolidated list of targets; b. UK Home Office- Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations; 

c. United Nations- United Nations Security Council Sanctions List; 

d. World Bank- World Bank Listing of Ineligible Firms and Individuals. 

e. European Union- Consolidated List of Sanctions; 

f. Parties on US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) List of Specially Designated Nationals  and Blocked Persons 

g. National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA)- Proscribed Organizations List; 

h. National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA)-Proscribed Persons List 

i. French DG Trésor Freeze Register Sanctions List 

Name of Signatory:  

Signature of Authorized Signatory  

Date: __/___/____  

Company stamp: