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1- Miroslav (B): Following Questions have been asked by a potential bidder: Question #1: (Illustrative Budget Template /Summary Price Schedule) What does the acronym LOT stand for? Question #2: (Illustrative Budget Template /Summary Price Schedule) At point (6), what does “EST.” stand for? You write “Travel and Transportation (component 2)” but this seems to be in contrast with the declaration of the note below (*). Can you please explain? Thanks. If I interpret “est.” as “estimated” and the Quantity column is 1 (one) I am a bit confused. In relation to this question, see also question #3 Question #3: (Ref.: 10.1 Attachment A - page 16 of the RFP /Component 2) Should I assume that the amount of 10,000$ you propose at point (6) of the previous illustrative budget template should cover the 3-4 travels? And what would that amount cover more specifically? So, what does “EST. 1” mean in the Summary Price Schedule? Question #4: (Illustrative Budget Template/Schedule 1 and Schedule 2-5) Can you, please, explain the meaning of: - COMMUNICATION(the specific sense within this schedule), - OTHER DIRECT COSTS (please, provide me with an example of «direct cost» for you in this RFP), - FEE (what do you consider a «fee»)?), - FFP (what does this acronym mean?)    28-Apr-2021 10:13 AM

2- Miroslav (B): Here are the answers to the raised questions: 1. LOT is not an acronym it stands for a number of units of an article, basically, it means the price for the whole package. 2. Est. stands for estimate and as explained in the note it should not be changed by the offeror. The estimated amount for the travel-related to component 2 is 1 and the estimated value is $10,000. The amount of 10,000 USD is estimated for all potential international travel for component 2 and will be negotiated later on, once the task orders are issued. The offeror is not to make any changes to this line item. 3. Travel and transportation costs for Component 2 will be negotiated on a task-by-task basis and shall not be included in the proposed budgets for Component 2 (See Schedules 2 – 5). 4. Communication line can include phone card, internet connection, and any other communication-related cost. Other direct cost examples can be office space, insurance, utilities, etc. The RFP States: **Note to Offerors: You may not propose a fee or profit that is a fixed percentage of total costs. Cost plus percentage of cost type contracts are not permitted. A fixed completion fee of a set amount is acceptable and may be split into payments across deliverables if desired. However, this must be a fixed cost item and not a percentage of costs. FFP stands for Total Fixed Firm Price (all summed together).    28-Apr-2021 10:15 AM

3- Miroslav (B): Following questions have been asked by a potential bidder: 1. Chapter 3 - Key personnel – Due to the nature of the work, and the variety that we should cover is it okay to propose 3 different team leads that would be in charge of various aspects of the project? This means Team leader for the design and for communication for example. 2. Chapter 3 - Past performance and reviews – Is it okay to send samples of previous work as attachments as well? Or is this forbidden or not necessary? 3. Chapter 6 – Regarding the deadlines, it is specified as 20 days after the task is awarded. Is it 20 working days, or 20 days in total? To specify, when we are talking about „days“ do you mean working days or do you count it weekends and non working days like holidays? 4. B. Strategic Communication Approach and Timeline Template for Component 1 Deliverables – Component 2 – Is traveling to Kabul mandatory or are you open to other means of communication? Do you have any ideas what other locations the awarded company will travel to? 5. For our creative process and market research will we have available applicants from the saffron, natural stone, and carpet markets? 6. Social media templates – How many templates do you expect to have in the brand book? 7. Presentations – How many slides do you expect to have in the presentation? Do they have to be animated? 8. Website – Does each segment (carpets, natural stone, and saffron) have a different website or one template with changed content? Will you provide hosting for the websites and domains? 9. Can you give us more details about strategic communication and brand implementation strategy? Is this 2-year schedule about the implementation of the logo, application of trade show and social media materials in 2 years, for example, or about something else? Are these marketing strategies done for every firm? If we have 40 firms does it mean that we will make 40 strategies? 10. How many trade shows will each firm attend? Do you have any predictions about that? 11. Can you specify firm marketing tools? Refers to this sentence here: Assist businesses in organizing communications and developing marketing collateral, advise on the development of firm-level marketing tools. 12. Regarding Attachment J. proposal Checklist, point 3. „Proposal of the Product or Service that meets the technical requirements as per Attachment A“ what specific is necessary to send, can you specify or give us some example?    06-May-2021 1:07 PM

4- Miroslav (B): The answers to raised questions are: 1. In accordance with the RFP, section 3.1 the bidder should propose one Team Leader. The Team leader is the primary contact for DAI and is responsible for ensuring the quality and timeliness of work and for organizing and oversight of all the subcontractor's performance. Other team members can be proposed as key personnel or their CVs submitted as other staff. The Team leader is Key personnel and considered critical to the work, and should not be removed or replaced without express written authorization from DAI. CVs for all proposed key personnel positions must be submitted with the proposal as an annex. 2. Past performance and references are limited to 3 pages only and must be submitted as a table. Use Attachment F: Past performance form. The 3-page limit does not include samples of previous work which can be submitted as an attachment. 3. The table provided in section 6 of the RFP is only illustrative (an example). The final set of deliverables will be negotiated post-award. 4. Travel to Kabul or other regions of Afghanistan is preferred for face-to-face meetings with companies and to gain a good understanding of their business. If travel is not permissible or inadvisable it may be possible for the subcontractor to meet with businesses at other locations where they are attending trade shows or other industry events. Dubai and several locations in Europe may be considered for this. 5. ACEBA will provide company profiles, market briefings from international marketing specialists, and facilitate web-based meetings with businesses. 6. Attachment A. Section 2.5 Social Media templates should be representative of the look and feel of social media for the industry. 3 templates for the brand book showing how LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram posts should look and be captioned, for example. This can be agreed upon between DAI and the subcontractor post-award. 7. A minimum of 20 slides, they do not have to be animated. Contents to be discussed and agreed between DAI and the subcontractor post-award. 8. The subcontractor will not be building websites or hosting them. The requirement is for one template appropriate to each industry which the businesses will populate with their own content and may adapt as necessary. 9. The bidder should review the information provided under Section 4. Instructions for the Preparation of Cost/Price Proposals and Section 6. Anticipated Post Award Deliverables. 10. The bidder should review the information provided under Section 4. Instructions for the Preparation of Cost/Price Proposals and Section 6. Anticipated Post Award Deliverables. 11. Examples of firm-level marketing tools are brochures, websites, catalogs, etc. 12. Please refer to section 3. Instructions for the preparation of technical proposals (Technical and Management Approach, Personnel Experience and Capacities, Past Performance and References)    06-May-2021 1:09 PM

5- Miroslav (B): Following questions have been asked by a potential bidder: 1. Provide evidence of the required licenses to operate in Afghanistan/Ministry of Commerce Business Registration - we are a fully licensed company with offices in the UAE. Are there any other requirements needed to be able to operate in Afghanistan? 2. Evidence of a DUNS number (explained below and instructions contained in Attachment D) - we will apply to obtain the DUN but is this a requisite for the RFP submission or can be shared upon the award? 3. Establishment of a proposed Afghan Saffron Consortium - is it possible to have more details about this point? 4. In the document you mentioned you have highlighted 40 companies across the 3 key sectors to benefit from the project. Do you require a brand identity to be created for each company (logo, font, colors, etc.) or each one will stick to the brand identity of the sector they belong to? 5. In the event of trips to Afghanistan or other places that can be considered at risk, will USAID/DAI provide any guidance and protection? 6. In case of "physical" trade shows and other logistic costs related to export activities, will DAI/individual businesses be in charge of those costs? 7. You assigned a fixed cost for traveling (USD 10000) but there may be a chance of more trips needed during the year - and also considering the increased cost of airplane tickets due to Covid 19 - will extra travel costs be covered via prior approval from DAI? 8. Trade show/exhibition stand design for businesses exhibiting at their own stand: stand design mockup, recommendations for sales displays, print-ready backdrop files (max 3), cards (1 template), brochure (1 trifold or equivalent), banners (max 3), and fascia (1) - about the stand mockup we are thinking to submit modular designs that can be easily adapted to different spaces/dimensions. If we understood correctly, the design mockup will be provided to all companies. However, will the company be able to adapt the mockups or this is part of the services to be offered till December 2022 9. In case of the RFP be awarded to us, would it be possible to have a letter we can show to our bank to explain the nature of the relationship with entities based in Afghanistan?    06-May-2021 4:51 PM

6- Miroslav (B): The answers to raised questions are: 1. Evidence of a fully licensed company in the UAE will suffice. 2. The DUNS number is not required for proposal submission. It is required for any award. 3. The establishment of a proposed Afghan Saffron Consortium is not part of this procurement. Bidders are expected to provide highly integrated branding and marketing for the Saffron Consortium once established, regardless of its final form. 4. The bidder should review the information provided under Section 4. Instructions for the Preparation of Cost/Price Proposals and Section 6. Anticipated Post Award Deliverables. 5. DAI can provide security briefings, guidance, and the protection afforded to all other expatriate staff members operating in Afghanistan. 6. Yes – the cost of trade shows and other logistics for businesses to participate in the trade shows is not part of this activity. 7. The amount of 10,000 USD an estimate for all potential bidders to use in their cost proposals for international travel for component 2. Actual budgets will be negotiated later on, at the time task orders are issues and it is possible to obtain accurate quotations. The offeror is not to make any changes to this line item. 8. No design or mockup is required to submit a proposal. Offerors must quota a price for the services above and present a proposed approach for how they plan to do it. If this is done under component 2, then the design is only for the company the subcontractor is requested to assist and should not be shared with all other companies. Component One covers industry services. Component 2 covers services to individual businesses. 9. Yes, DAI/ACEBA can issue an explanation letter. However, banks would usually accept a copy of the subcontract agreement with DAI.    06-May-2021 6:50 PM