RFP-Development of AI Powered Entrepreneur Training Support Platform at Inkomoko

Objective of the Assignment

• Inkomoko is transitioning from a human-mediated service delivery model to a digitally scaled service model, to improve the client experience, enhance the quality and consistency of entrepreneur training, and reduce the operational burden currently placed on frontline Business Advisors, trainers, and support staff.

Clients and staff currently rely heavily on Relationship Managers, trainers, and support staff for:

• Basic product and policy questions
• Loan balance and repayment enquiries
• Training in products and systems
• Routine support issues

This dependency leads to delays, inconsistent messaging, and a high manual workload on Inkomoko’s field and support teams — constraining the organisation’s ability to scale its entrepreneur programs across new regions and cohorts.

Inkomoko is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to design, develop, commission, and provide ongoing maintenance and support for an AI-powered platform (the “Platform”) that will:

• Deliver structured, interactive AI-driven training that guides entrepreneurs progressively through the four stages of the Inkomoko entrepreneur journey: Ideation, Investment Readiness, Business Planning and Market Entry;
• Provide 24/7 automated customer support and FAQ handling;
• Respond securely to loan and financial product enquiries;
• Integrate with Inkomoko’s core systems (including the Core Banking System (CBS), Inkobook, and the PBI reporting dashboard);
• Enforce role-based access, data privacy, and full audit control.

Scope of Work

• The Platform being procured through this RFP must digitise and scale Inkomoko’s existing, field-tested Program Design. This design guides an entrepreneur through a structured, sequential journey of training modules paired with in-person or remote consulting visits. Each module builds on the previous one, combining skills training with structured advisory data collection that informs the client’s next stage of readiness.

Idea-Stage Track (Primary Focus of this Platform)

The Idea-stage track takes an entrepreneur from a business idea to market entry across four sequential modules; each paired with a consulting visit:

• Module 1 – Business Ideation
• Module 2 – Investment Readiness 
• Module 3 – Business Planning
• Module 4 – Market Entry

Existing Business (Growth) Track — Future Scalability Context

Inkomoko also runs a parallel Existing Business (EB) track across five (5) consulting visits namely:

• Investment Readiness 
• Bookkeeping 
• Business Model Canvas
• Sales 
• Marketing

While the primary scope of this RFP is the Idea-Stage journey, the Platform's information architecture, content model, and workflow engine must be designed so that the EB track and any future cohort tracks can be configured and onboarded without requiring a re-architecture of the Platform. Vendors should describe in their proposal how their solution supports this configurability (see Section 6.5).

Supporting Tools in the Current Program

Inkomoko's current program relies on the following tools, which the Platform must be capable of integrating or interoperating with:

• Inkobook – training attendance and consulting record system
• PBI Dashboard – reporting and analytics
• Digital Bookkeeping tools
• Analog Bookkeeping (booklet-based) records, for clients without digital access

Deliverables / Outputs

The selected vendor will be responsible for the end-to-end design, development, testing, commissioning (deployment into production), and ongoing maintenance of the Platform, covering the following functional areas:

AI-Driven Training Delivery

• Deliver AI-driven training modules mapped to the four Idea-Stage modules (Business Ideation, Investment Readiness, Business Planning, Market Entry), sequenced to mirror the existing consulting-visit journey;
• Enable interactive learning through chat-based conversation and/or guided, step-by-step workflows (e.g., dynamic Lean Canvas builder, investment-readiness checklist);
• Track individual user progress, module completion, time spent, and drop-off points;
• Allow Inkomoko training staff to upload, version, and manage training content without vendor intervention.

Automated Customer Support

• Provide 24/7 automated customer support across supported channels;
• Handle common queries and service requests without human involvement wherever possible;
• Escalate complex or sensitive issues to human agents with full conversation context preserved;
• Create and track support tickets end-to-end, including status updates back to the client.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and General Enquiries / Knowledge Management

• Maintain a dynamic, centrally managed knowledge base covering products, policies, and training content;
• Respond accurately to frequently asked questions using natural-language understanding;
• Continuously learn and improve response quality using feedback and usage data;
• Provide an administrative interface for non-technical Inkomoko staff to manage, approve, and publish content updates.

Loan Product and Financial Enquiries

• Provide guidance on Inkomoko loan products and partner financial-institutions relevant to the client's investment-readiness stage;
• Avail a cashflow and profitability analysis tool.

Other Cross-Cutting Requirements

• Multi-channel support, including WhatsApp with consistent experience across channels;
• Role-based access control differentiating internal staff (Business Advisors, trainers, administrators) from external users (clients/entrepreneurs);
• Configurable workflows that Inkomoko can adapt as the program design evolves year-to-year;
• Real-time analytics and reporting on training engagement, support resolution, and enquiry volumes, feeding into (or complementing) the existing PBI Dashboard;

Well-documented APIs for connecting to Inkomoko's existing systems;

• Comprehensive audit logging of all interactions, including AI-generated responses and escalations;
• Compliance with applicable data privacy and protection regulations in each country of operation;
• Multilingual support (at minimum, English, French, Kinyarwanda, and Kiswahili — vendors should confirm supported languages and propose an approach for additional languages);
• High availability and horizontal scalability to support expansion across multiple countries and growing client cohorts.

Duration / Timeline

Vendors should propose a detailed project plan; the phasing below is indicative and subject to negotiation.

• Discovery, Requirements Validation, and Solution Design
• Indicative Duration: 3–4 weeks
• Core Platform Development (Architecture Layers and Integrations)
• Indicative Duration: 8–12 weeks
• Training Module Build-Out (All 4 Idea-Stage Modules)
• Indicative Duration: 6–8 weeks (may run in parallel with the core platform development)
• Testing (Functional, Security, Performance, and UAT)
• Indicative Duration: 3–4 weeks
• Pilot Deployment (Limited Cohort / Region)
• Indicative Duration: 4–6 weeks
• Full Commissioning and Roll-Out
• Indicative Duration: 2–4 weeks
• Post-Launch Hypercare and Transition to Steady-State Maintenance
• Indicative Duration: 8 weeks post go-live

Reporting / Supervision

The vendor  will report directly to Inkomoko’s Digital Transformation Product Lead for the AI Platform. 

Reporting frequency and communication expectations are as follows:

• Weekly progress meetings during the design and development phases.
• Bi-weekly status reports summarizing progress, risks, and upcoming milestones.
• Ad-hoc communication via established project channels (e.g., Slack/Email) for urgent issues or clarifications.
• Monthly review meetings with the project steering committee to align on strategic direction and budget tracking.

The vendor will be responsible for ongoing maintenance and support of the Platform following commissioning, under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to be finalised at contracting. Vendors should propose SLA terms addressing, at minimum:

Critical

• Definition: Platform down / core function unavailable to all users
• Target Response Time: ≤ 1 hour
• Target Resolution Time: ≤ 4 hours

High

• Definition: Major function degraded / affecting a subset of users
• Target Response Time: ≤ 4 hours
• Target Resolution Time: ≤ 1 business day

Medium

• Definition: Non-critical defect with workaround available
• Target Response Time: ≤ 1 business day
• Target Resolution Time: ≤ 5 business days

Low

• Definition: Cosmetic issue / enhancement request
• Target Response Time: ≤ 3 business days
• Target Resolution Time: Next scheduled release

Requirements

Required Qualifications and Experience

Prospective vendors must demonstrate the following minimum qualifications:

• Proven experience designing and deploying AI-powered conversational platforms (chatbots/virtual assistants) at production scale, ideally in financial services, EdTech, or international development contexts;
• Demonstrated experience with multi-channel deployment, including WhatsApp Business API, web chat, and mobile applications;
• Experience integrating with core banking systems (CBS) or similarly sensitive financial/transactional systems;
• Demonstrated capability in natural language processing for multiple languages, including African languages such as Amharic, Arabic, English, French, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili and Somali (or a credible plan to develop this capability);
• Strong data privacy, security, and compliance track record, including relevant certifications where applicable (e.g., ISO 27001);
• Experience delivering projects in emerging markets and/or with low-connectivity user bases;
• At least three (3) verifiable references from comparable engagements completed in the last five years;
• Demonstrated financial stability and capacity to support a multi-year maintenance engagement.