Design, Deployment and Operationalization of the Government API Gateway, Government Single Sign-On (SSO) and National Digital Government Portal.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (REOI) (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)

Country: Federal Republic of Somalia

Name of Project: Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EA-RDIP)

Project ID: P176181

Assignment Title: Design, Deployment and Operationalization of the Government API Gateway, Government Single Sign-On (SSO) and National Digital Government Portal

Reference No.: SO-MOCT-FGS-576851-CS-QCBS

Place Of Assignment: Mogadishu, Somalia

Submission Date: October 29, 2026, 2.00pm (local time, Mogadishu, Somalia)

The Federal Republic of Somalia has received a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank toward the cost of the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EA-RDIP) , and the Ministry of Communications and Technology intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The consulting services (“Services”) are required to be undertaken by an external consulting firm supporting the client, the Ministry of Communications and Technology (MoCT), FGS, through its E-Government Department, to carry out the “ Design, Deployment and Operationalization of the Government API Gateway, Government Single Sign-On (SSO) and National Digital Government Portal” . The assignment aims to design, deploy, commission and operationalize the first production phase of Somalia’s shared digital government platforms, translating the Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA), the Government Interoperability Framework (GIF) and the standards developed under Package 1 into operational digital infrastructure. The scope includes: (i) a production-grade Government API Gateway and Developer Portal for secure API publishing, discovery, access, monitoring and lifecycle management; (ii) a centralized Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Government Single Sign-On (SSO) platform based on open standards (OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect and SAML), including multi-factor authentication and role-based access control; (iii) development of integration connectors and onboarding of at least two (2) priority government services/systems; (iv) a responsive, mobile-first, accessible and multilingual (Somali, Arabic and English) National Digital Government Portal serving as a common digital front door for citizens and businesses; and (v) operational, security, monitoring, backup and disaster-recovery arrangements, a minimum six-month post-Go-Live stabilization period, hands-on capacity building and full handover of source code, configurations and documentation to MoCT. The solution will be hosted in the Government National Data Center. The consultant firm will undertake all the specific tasks detailed in the Terms of Reference (ToR). The assignment is expected to be completed within approximately fourteen (14) months from the date of contract effectiveness. Terms of Reference (ToR) can be found at the following website: https://moct.gov.so/en/jobs/ or it can be provided upon submission of application in person or by e-mail. The e-mail address is provided below. The Ministry of Communications and Technology now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.). The short-listing criteria are as follows: Core business of the firm and at least eight (8) years of relevant organizational experience in software development, enterprise software platforms, systems integration, interoperability, digital government or closely related implementation work, with evidence of the company registration certificate, business license or operational permit, and a company profile indicating services offered and years in operation. The firm should demonstrate successful completion of at least three (3) comparable assignments, including at least one (1) live production implementation involving API management/interoperability and at least one (1) involving Identity and Access Management (IAM)/Single Sign-On (SSO) or identity federation. In addition, also demonstrated experience deploying and supporting enterprise or government digital platforms in production environments, including API gateways, developer portals, IAM/federation, connector development, citizen-facing portals and DevOps/cloud or hybrid infrastructure, as well as cybersecurity, privacy, high-availability, monitoring, backup and disaster-recovery capability, is required. These may be demonstrated within the same assignment. For each assignment, firms should indicate the client, contract value, duration, scope of services and the firm’s role. Demonstrate experience of relevant services implemented in Somalia, or in Africa region, government, fragile/conflict-affected or comparable institutional environments similar to that of Somalia; and The technical and managerial organization of the firm, and evidence of adequate financial, technical and staffing capacity to complete and stabilize the assignment. (Provide only the structure of the firm’s organization.) Do not provide CVs of staff . Key experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraphs 3.14, 3.16 and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers: Procurement in Investment Financing - Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services dated July 2016 and revised in November 2017, August 2018, November 2020 and September 2023, (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a Joint venture and/ or a Sub consultancy. In case of a joint venture, all the partn