How to Choose a Software Vendor in Tanzania: An RFP and Evaluation Guide for Banks and NGOs

Choosing a software vendor is one of the highest-impact decisions a bank, NGO or large company makes. A good RFP (request for proposals) and a disciplined evaluation make the difference between a system that runs for a decade and a project that stalls in year one. This guide gives you a structure you can adapt to your own procurement rules.

Step 1: Write requirements as outcomes

List what the system must achieve for users and the organisation, not only features. For example: "A branch officer can approve a loan within the same day with a complete audit trail" is more useful than "loan module". Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves.

Step 2: What to include in the RFP

• Background, objectives and success measures.
• Scope, users, branches and expected volumes.
• Functional requirements grouped by module and priority.
• Integrations (banks, mobile money, SMS, accounting, government systems).
• Security, data protection and hosting requirements.
• Timeline, budget range or ceiling, and payment milestones.
• Support, maintenance and training expectations.
• Evaluation criteria and weights, so bidders know what matters.

Step 3: A weighted scoring matrix

Criterion	Weight	What to check
Technical fit	35%	Coverage of requirements, architecture, demo quality, security
Relevant experience	25%	Comparable delivered projects, references, case studies
Support and SLA	15%	Local presence, response times, escalation, maintenance plan
Price and total cost	15%	Build, hosting, licences, support and change requests over 3-5 years
Team and methodology	10%	Named team, project plan, testing and training approach

Adjust weights to your priorities, publish them in the RFP, and have each evaluator score independently before discussing.

Step 4: Verify claims

• Ask for a working demo using your scenarios, not a slide deck.
• Call two live clients and ask what went wrong and how it was fixed.
• Review the company's portfolio: are the projects similar in size and sector? See, for example, Melian's delivered projects and company profile.
• Check the team: who will actually build and support the system?

Step 5: Red flags

• A price far below every other bid without a clear scope difference.
• No written assumptions or exclusions.
• Refusal to discuss source-code ownership, documentation or exit terms.
• No named support contact or response-time commitment.
• References that cannot be contacted.

Step 6: Contract terms that protect you

1. Clear deliverables with acceptance criteria and milestone payments.
2. Ownership of source code and data, or a source-code escrow.
3. Documentation, training and knowledge transfer.
4. Warranty period and support SLA with severity levels.
5. Security, confidentiality and data-protection clauses.
6. Change-request process and rates.
7. Termination and transition assistance.

Compare total cost, not the first invoice

Over three to five years, hosting, support, enhancements and licences often exceed the original build. Our software cost guide explains cost drivers, and the ERP implementation checklist lists what to prepare before contracting.

Frequently asked questions