Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2025-11-05
Buyer: 81321405 - Development of an innovative financial instrument to improve the bankability of African PtX projects, and to crowd in institutional investors from global financial hubs
Country: ZA
Region: DEA22
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Negotiated with prior call for competition
CPV classification: 66170000 | 66171000 | 75211200
Estimated value: 553560 EUR
Submission deadline: 2025-12-04
Award criteria: price, quality

Technical requirements: According to Article 160, Section 3 of the German Act Against Restraint of Competition (GWB), application for review is not permissible insofar as
1. the applicant has identified the claimed infringement of the procurement rules before submitting the application for review and has not submitted a complaint to the contracting authority within a period of 10 calendar days; the expiry of the period pursuant to Article 134, Section 2 remains unaffected,
2. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that are evident in the tender notice are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for the application or by the deadline for the submission of bids, specified in the tender notice.
3. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that first become evident in the tender documents are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for application or by the deadline for the submission of bids,
4. more than 15 calendar days have expired since receipt of notification from the contracting authority that it is unwilling to redress the complaint.
Sentence 1 does not apply in the case of an application to determine the invalidity of the contract in accordance with Article 135, Section 1 (2). Article 134, Section 1, Sentence 2 remains unaffected.
Despite growing interest in green hydrogen worldwide, securing long-term investments across its value chain remains a significant challenge. Banks and institutional investors remain cautious due to perceived risks, uncertain returns, and regulatory gaps, particularly in developing countries. The investment landscape is evolving, with traditional financiers like banks and insurance companies no longer the sole players. Specialised fund managers, private credit firms, hedge funds, and private equity giants are emerging as key funding sources. However, these investors require well-structured financial instruments with clear risk mitigation strategies to ensure confidence in their capital commitments.

One of the main barriers to attracting large-scale investment is the lack of standardised financial structures tailored to the green hydrogen ecosystem. Existing models are often regionally fragmented, focusing on single green hydrogen project elements, or have low investment volumes, limiting opportunities for global mega-financing. Regulatory and legal complexities further complicate the process, as compliance with capital market regulations and fund management laws across multiple jurisdictions is essential for investment security. 

To bridge these gaps, this project seeks to design a global financial investment instrument dedicated to the entire hydrogen ecosystem. This innovative financial instrument concept will be structured to optimise risk-return profiles through mechanisms similar to asset-backed securities and financial guarantees. 
This will serve to attract capital from institutional investors, governmental organisations (e.g. multilateral development banks, development finance institutions and others as a guarantee or concessional loan provider), specialised fund managers, pension funds, and private credit providers. 

This effort will require targeted engagement of investors and asset managers in key regions with high capital allocation. These engagements may be bilateral or take place in the form of investor/industry roundtables or similar formats. The goal is to gain feedback and input on the to-be-developed instrument, but also refine its structure where needed, ensuring alignment with market and investors" expectations. Ongoing dialogue will also help to more clearly define investors" potential roles in PtX projects during project development as well as implementation. 

The proposed instrument concept should be aligned with global sustainability finance frameworks and ESG investment principles to serve as an "access to finance" accelerator for developing countries with particular focus on Africa. Lastly, the investment instrument will also require validation and feedback by/from governments around the globe, hydrogen producers, industry stakeholders, investors, financial institutions, and sustainability leaders.
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH 
P.O. Box 28102, Sunnyside, 0002
Hatfield Gardens
Block C, 1st Floor
333 Grosvenor Street
Pretoria, South Africa
EN-A1: Principles for the execution of orders (Mit dem Teilnahmeantrag; Mittels Eigenerklärung): The eligbility criteria are not from the same category as stipulated above, as there is no suitable category. 

1. Self-declaration: name of company and address, tax ID, registration and commercial register number or equivalent register in accordance with the legal provisions of the country of origin.
2. No grounds for exclusion pursuant to § 123, § 124 GWB, § 22 LkSG, EU-Russia sanctions

3. Declaration of bidding consortium and/or declaration of subcontractors (if applicable)
EN-A2: Conditions for the reduction of candidates (Mit dem Teilnahmeantrag; Mittels Eigenerklärung): If we receive more than 4 requests to participate, we will make a selection on the basis of the criteria laid out in the procurement documents and invite tenders only from the 4 candidates with the highest scores. We reserve the right to cancel the procurement procedure if we receive fewer than 2 requests to participate.

Weighted criteria for the selection of candidates:

1. Technical experience (70%)

-1.a) Development of project-backed security-based financial models (30%)
-1.b) Green Hydrogen / Power-to-X (20%)
-1.c) Working relationships with C-level decision-makers of major financial industry players (20%)

2. Regional experience (referring to projects in Africa) (30%) 

3. Experience of development projects (at least 50% ODA-financed) (0%)

Eligibility requirements: EN-A1: Principles for the execution of orders (Mit dem Teilnahmeantrag; Mittels Eigenerklärung): The eligbility criteria are not from the same category as stipulated above, as there is no suitable category. 

1. Self-declaration: name of company and address, tax ID, registration and commercial register number or equivalent register in accordance with the legal provisions of the country of origin.
2. No grounds for exclusion pursuant to § 123, § 124 GWB, § 22 LkSG, EU-Russia sanctions

3. Declaration of bidding consortium and/or declaration of subcontractors (if applicable)
EN-A2: Conditions for the reduction of candidates (Mit dem Teilnahmeantrag; Mittels Eigenerklärung): If we receive more than 4 requests to participate, we will make a selection on the basis of the criteria laid out in the procurement documents and invite tenders only from the 4 candidates with the highest scores. We reserve the right to cancel the procurement procedure if we receive fewer than 2 requests to participate.

Weighted criteria for the selection of candidates:

1. Technical experience (70%)

-1.a) Development of project-backed security-based financial models (30%)
-1.b) Green Hydrogen / Power-to-X (20%)
-1.c) Working relationships with C-level decision-makers of major financial industry players (20%)

2. Regional experience (referring to projects in Africa) (30%) 

3. Experience of development projects (at least 50% ODA-financed) (0%)
EN-B1: Technical and professional ability (Mit dem Teilnahmeantrag; Mittels Eigenerklärung): 1. The technical assessment is only based on reference projects with a minimum commission value of 500,000.00 EUR.
2. At least 5 reference projects in the technical field "Development of complex financial instruments targeting > EUR 100 mio. in investment volume in cooperation with private financial institutions", of which at least 3 reference projects in cooperation with private financial institutions in one or more of the following major financial hubs: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Manama, Riad, Cayman Islands, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, London, Toronto, New York, Miami, in the last 36 months
EN-C1: Economic and financial standing (Mit dem Teilnahmeantrag; Mittels Eigenerklärung): Average annual turnover for the last three years (last-but-four financial year can be included in case of tenders held within 6 months of end of last financial year), at least: 800,000.00 EUR.
EN-C2: Economic and financial standing (Mit dem Teilnahmeantrag; Mittels Eigenerklärung): Average number of employees and managers in the last three calendar years, at least 5 persons.
Assessment of technical eligibility / weighted criteria for the selection of candidates - Weighted criteria for the selection of candidates:

1. Technical experience (70%)

-1.a) Development of project-backed security-based financial models (30%)
-1.b) Green Hydrogen / Power-to-X (20%)
-1.c) Working relationships with C-level decision-makers of major financial industry players (20%)

2. Regional experience (referring to projects in Africa) (30%) 

3. Experience of development projects (at least 50% ODA-financed) (0%)
GIZ asks the applicant or bidder to submit, complete or correct documents, within the framework laid down by law.
The execution conditions result from the information given in the contract notice and the tender documents.
Price criteria for "Bestangebots-Quotienten-Methode"
Zur Ermittlung des wirtschaftlichsten Bieters wird hier von der Vergabestelle die erreichte Gesamtpunktzahl nach fachlicher Wertung eingetragen. Es werden nur Angebote mit einer fachlichen Bewertung von mindestens 500 Punkten gewertet. Fachliche Angebote mit weniger Punkten scheiden als fachlich ungeeignet aus.