Terms of Reference (ToR)

Development and Enhancement of Startup Deal Room & Ecosystem Collaboration Platform

1. Background

Ethiopian Association of Startup Ecosystem operates a digital platform designed to strengthen collaboration within the startup ecosystem. The platform currently provides visibility for startups and allows ecosystem stakeholders to discover and engage with them. To further enhance its value, the platform requires additional functionality to support structured deal flow, due diligence collaboration, ecosystem engagement tracking, and transparent interaction records between startups, investors, and ecosystem support organizations (ESOs).

This Terms of Reference outlines the scope for the development and enhancement of a Deal Room and Ecosystem Collaboration Platform, to be delivered within a four-week implementation period.

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to:

• Foster trust and transparency among ecosystem players
• Equip ecosystem managers with tools for data-driven decision-making
• Improve investor lead generation and deal flow
• Enable secure, streamlined collaboration and information sharing
• Strengthen structured engagement between startups, investors, and ESOs

3. Objectives

The platform enhancement aims to:

1. Increase startup visibility within the ecosystem
2. Enable structured and secure due diligence collaboration
3. Improve investor lead generation and deal flow tracking
4. Strengthen engagement between startups and support organizations
5. Ensure full transparency by recording all interactions
6. Provide ecosystem managers with reporting and performance dashboards

4. Target Users

The enhanced platform will serve:

• Startups (early-stage and growth-stage)
• Investors (angel investors, venture capital firms, corporate investors)
• Ecosystem Support Organizations (ESOs)
• Ecosystem managers and administrators
• Leadership and reporting stakeholders

5. Scope of Work

The selected service provider will be responsible for designing and implementing the following features and enhancements:

A. Enable Due Diligence Collaboration

• Create a shared deal space per startup–investor engagement
• Enable secure document sharing with organized folders and required file lists
• Add structured due diligence checklists with status tracking
• Provide automated reminders for:

• • Pending items
  • Approaching deadlines
  • Completion confirmations
• Ensure secure access controls and permissions

B. Improve Investor Lead Generation & Deal Flow

• Create a structured lead pipeline from first interest to active discussion
• Add clearly defined deal stages visible to both startups and investors
• Enable monthly lead targets per investor with progress tracking 
• Build alerts for inactive leads to prevent lost opportunities
• Allow seamless booking of meetings within the platform

C. Strengthen Collaboration with Support Organizations (ESOs)

• Enable startup–ESO engagement tracking for program design and support
• Provide notifications to relevant startups when an ESO launches a program
• Enable follow-up tracking for ESO engagement
• Include ESO engagement data in monthly ecosystem outcome reports

D. Record All Interactions for Transparency

• Add conversation logs inside the platform for each deal
• Track meeting requests, confirmations, and follow-ups in one timeline
• Record key activity history, including:

• • Documents shared
  • Stage changes
  • Comments and updates
• Provide audit-ready views for administrators and ecosystem managers

E. Increase Startup Visibility and Trust

• Launch profile activity insights so startups can see who viewed their profile
• Add engagement summaries on startup dashboards, including:

• • Profile views
  • Meeting interest
  • Follow-ups
• Define and implement clear privacy rules regarding visibility and access

F. Admin and Reporting Improvements

• Develop a deal-room overview dashboard for leadership
• Add reporting features for:

• • Leads generated
  • Conversion to meetings
  • Active pipeline status
• Enable filtering by:

• • Investor
  • Startup stage
  • Sector
  • Month

6. Expected Outcomes

The development of the Deal Room will:

• Provide startups with a centralized platform for visibility
• Facilitate structured lead generation and conversations between startups and investors
• Create measurable engagement between startups and ESOs for program design and implementation
• Improve ecosystem transparency and accountability The primary measurable outcome will be investor lead generation (deal flow).

7. Deliverables and Implementation Timeline

The assignment will be completed within four (4) weeks from contract signing.

Week	Deliverable	Description
Week 1	Inception & Technical Design	Kick-off meeting; confirmation of feature scope; detailed workplan; system architecture proposal; user flows; wireframes for Deal Room, Lead Pipeline, and Dashboards.
Week 2	Core Feature Development (Phase 1)	Development of high-priority features including shared deal spaces, secure document management, due diligence checklists, structured deal stages, and lead pipeline configuration.
Week 3	Advanced Features & Integrations (Phase 2)	Development of conversation logs, startup profile activity insights, ESO engagement tracking, automated notifications and reminders, admin dashboard, and reporting filters.
Week 4	Testing, Deployment & Reporting	System testing and refinements; user acceptance testing (UAT); final deployment; admin training session; submission of final technical and performance report.

8. Duration of the Assignment

The assignment will run for four (4) weeks, beginning on May 25, 2026 and concluding on June 25, 2026, culminating in the deployment of the enhanced Deal Room and reporting system.

9. Reporting and Coordination

The provider will:

• Provide weekly progress updates
• Conduct milestone demonstrations
• Submit documentation prior to deployment
• Provide post-deployment support during the final week
• Provide technical support for adjustments for 6 months.

10. Proposal Requirements

Interested service providers should submit:

• Company profile and relevant experience
• Proposed technical approach and methodology
• Team composition and roles
• Workplan aligned to the 4-week timeline
• Financial proposal
• Examples of similar platforms developed

11. Submission Instructions and Timeline

11.1 Submission Details

• Submission Deadline: May 19, 2026 11:59 PM East Africa Time
• Submission Format: One combined PDF document (financial proposal, technical proposal, including CVs and supporting documents)
• File Naming: [Company Name]_deal_room_Proposal_2026.pdf
• Submission Method: Email to: [hello@ease.et]
• Email Subject Line: Proposal – Deal Room
• Validity Period: Proposals must remain valid for 30 days from submission deadline

11.2 Questions and Clarifications

• All questions must be submitted in writing to [nebiyou.yirga@ease.et ] by May 19, 2026
• Responses to all questions will be provided to all interested firms by may 18, 2026 via email
• No individual clarifications or discussions will be entertained outside this process