Request for Proposal Rika Phase Two UX and Engineering Services AASHA

Procurement Summary

Item

Details

RFP Title

Rika Phase Two UX and Engineering Services

Procurement Method

Open competitive bid

Supplier Type

Digital product, UX and software-engineering agency or consortium

Primary Market

Kenya

Platforms

Rika web platform, chatbot and programme data dashboard

Contract Period

December

Proposal Deadline

20th November 2026

Submission Email

suppliers@girleffect.org

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust, and need. From chatbots to chat shows and TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make life choices and changes.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl.”

Our reach is 50 million and counting. And we’re using technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning, and her livelihood.

Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

In Kenya, Girl Effect’s programs, like WAZZII Chatbot, WAZZII Dadas, and Tukisonga, have reached over 62 million youth worldwide, connecting them to vital health, education, and livelihood opportunities.

Background

AASHA, the Age-Appropriate Sexual Health Approach, is a government-led initiative co-designed with adolescents and young people. It aims to provide age-specific sexual and reproductive health information for audiences aged 10–14, 15–17 and 18–24 through government-led digital platforms and complementary communication channels.

Girl Effect is supporting Kenya’s Ministry of Health to strengthen Rika, a government-led digital platform for age-appropriate information.

Phase One delivered a web-based minimum viable product with an embedded chatbot. Phase Two will use research and testing with users in Kwale, Narok and Migori to:

• Improve the user journey;

• Design and build priority features;

• Strengthen data and approved AI capabilities;

• Improve platform accessibility, security and performance; and

• Deploy a secure and maintainable MVP2.

Objective

Girl Effect seeks a qualified digital product, UX, and software engineering agency or consortium to research, design, build, test, deploy, and hand over Rika Phase Two.

The supplier will work with the Ministry of Health, Girl Effect, and young people to deliver an accessible, mobile-first, and secure web platform, chatbot, and data dashboard that can be sustainably owned and operated by the Ministry of Health.

Government -Led Digital Platform

The Government of Kenya has developed guidelines on messaging adolescents but does not have a single platform that provides youth in Kenya with age-appropriate sexual health information tailored to meet the unique demands of AGYW and ABYM. Through the AASHA program, Girl Effect will support the Ministry of Health in creating a centralized repository of all age-appropriate SRH information.

The Rika - AYP platform

To deliver the digital platform, Girl Effect has identified the Rika - AYP digital platform, launched as MVP 1 by the Ministry of Health, as a potential foundational platform that could be improved with additional features developed to achieve our goals (See the link to the live site here ).

The Rika -AYP platform has been co-designed by the Ministry of Health RMCAH department and the digital health department, in partnership with a cohort of youth identified by the Ministry of Health working under the Entity Lomogan Solutions.

Girl Effect is providing technical advice to the Ministry of Health and the young developers, borrowing from Girl Effect’s tech development process to improve the Rika -AYP platform.

This is being done in two phases:

Rika Phase One: The goal of the first phase was to build on the ongoing government-led platform development process and deliver a simple web-based MVP prototype with an embedded chat function.

Working in collaboration with MOH and tech youth creators supported by MOH, we have designed and launched Rika ( https://rika.go.ke/explore ), a web version of the digital platform with a chatbot embedded.

Rika Phase Two:

With the first version of Rika developed, we want to offer MOH technical support to:

• Conduct additional comprehensive needs analysis among TA to test usability of the Rika website and chatbot and identify additional needs for features and channels

• Refine the consumer journey while factoring in insights from the needs assessment exercise

• Design additional features on Rika

• Build additional features on Rika

• Test additional features on Rika

• Deploy an updated version of Rika - MVP2

What You will do

Girl Effect seeks to engage the services of an agency to design and develop the second phase of the Rika platform (Web and chatbot). The scope of work will include UX design and engineering support.

Working alongside the Ministry of Health, Digital Health team, Girl Effect tech UX design and HCD experts, you will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment exercise across Migori, Narok and Kwale counties to identify additional features for MVP 2. You will design a comprehensive updated consumer journey, develop a comprehensive requirements document, design wireframes for new features, build and test all additional MVP 2 (web and chatbot)features to meet the needs of our target audience, and work alongside the GE data team.

Needs assessment:

• You will define the approach for conducting an additional needs assessment for Rika Tech, working alongside the MOH, the GE HCD and UX teams.

• You will develop tools to conduct a needs assessment to ensure relevant insights to advise on tech considerations are obtained from the exercise.

• You will co-facilitate the needs assessment session in Kwale, Narok, and Migori counties alongside MOH, UX designer, GE, and HCD consultant with a focus on generating tech-related insights

• You will conduct user testing of the MVP1 during needs assessment workshops to obtain feedback

• You will work alongside the GE UX design team and MOH team to package tech-related insights from the needs assessment into a Rika version two requirements document for the Rika website and Chatbot.

• You will work alongside the GE UX design team to support the design of updated consumer journeys and wireframes to be handed over to the engineering team for build

• You will lead the development of additional features for the Rika Web and Chatbot while working alongside the Girl Effect engineering team. This will include creation of chatbot and website copy and any AI-related features

• After the build of Rika version two, you will conduct user acceptance testing and usability testing of all new features

• You will also develop a data dashboard

NB: This scope of work covers design for the Rika web platform and the Rika chatbot.

Activity

Output

Support planning for needs assessment exercise

UX research tools

Participate in needs assessment workshops and facilitate MVP1 user testing

Document and synthesize MVP1 insights

Consolidate tech-related outputs from workshops

UX research report and recommendations

Design wireframes for additional features

Updated user journey and Wireframes

Develop additional features

Additional features built, tested, and deployed on Rika web and chatbot, including AI and Data features.

Support UAT

Document Tools and Insights document

Deployed all MVP 2 tech updates

Updated version of Rika fully deployed

Weekly check-in meetings (1 -2 hours per week) throughout the duration of implementation

…