Technical Assistance for financial viability and operational strategy of the Ecopedal Pilot in Quelimane, Mozambique

Request for Proposal (RfP)
Technical Assistance for financial viability and
operational strategy of the Ecopedal Pilot in
Quelimane, Mozambique
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Inc.
120 Park Avenue, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
United States of America
24 July 2026

Contents
1. C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc. 1
2. Summary, purpose and background of the project 1
3. Proposal guidelines 2
4. RfP and project timeline 5
5. Proposal evaluation criteria 5
6. Project budget 6
7. C40 policies 7
8. Submissions 7
1. C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc.
C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities working to deliver the urgent action
needed right now to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone, everywhere, can thrive.
Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to limit global
heating in line with the Paris Agreement and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. We work
alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil
society to support mayors to halve emissions by 2030 and help phase out fossil use while increasing urban
climate resilience and equity.
The current co-chairs of C40 are Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, United Kingdom, and Mayor Yvonne
Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone; three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as
President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our two strategic funders: Bloomberg
Philanthropies and Realdania.
To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit our website or follow us on X, Instagram,
Facebook and LinkedIn.
2. Summary, purpose and background of the project
C40 Cities is working with a group of cities to provide support in engaging informal workers to enhance
waste management, build resilience and improve livelihoods.
Many cities around the globe face significant challenges in managing solid waste. Informal waste
management workers make up roughly 80% of the 24 million waste workers worldwide. Impressively,
informal workers collect between 50% and 100% of a city’s waste, especially in the Global South. The lack
of recognition and integration of these workers into official waste management systems leads to
dangerous working conditions and inefficient collection and recycling practices.
Integrating informal waste workers improves both job opportunities for informal workers and waste
collection outcomes by fostering collaboration between city officials, community leaders, and informal
Request for Proposals: Technical Assistance for financial viability and operational strategy of the Ecopedal Pilot in
1
Quelimane, Mozambique

workers.
C40 Cities is working with the city of Quelimane to advance in the process of integrating informal waste
workers in the municipal waste management system with the aim of increasing waste collection and
improving the lives of informal workers.
Project:
The City of Quelimane is implementing the Policy for Socio-Labor Inclusion and Formalization of the
Recycling Value Chain, anchored by the Ecopedal Pilot Program. This initiative aims to formalize 20
informal waste workers into a recognized cooperative, using cargo bicycles to collect waste in
hard-to-reach areas of Posto Administrativo Urbano nº 2.
Having successfully established the legal framework for the "Ecopedalistas," the City now requires
specialized technical assistance to ensure the program's long-term financial viability. The newly
formed cooperative will require a robust business model and management training to operate
autonomously and sustainably.
Objectives:
The main aim of this assignment is to support the city’s Council for Environment and Climate
Change with collaborating and integrating informal waste workers through the formation of the
Ecopedal program pilot as a self-sustaining operation.
The core objectives are:
● Design a Hybrid Business Model: Develop a financial strategy that combines municipal
service fees with revenue from the sale of recyclable materials to cover operating costs
(salaries, maintenance, etc.).
● Institutional Design: Structure the "Ecopedalistas Cooperative/Association," including its
statutes, governance bylaws, and a sustainable remuneration model.
● Organisational Capacity Building: Design training to the Cooperative’s leadership in
business management, basic accounting, and contract negotiation to ensure operational
autonomy.
● Market Linkage & Negotiation: Facilitate and support the negotiation of long-term purchase
and sale contracts with local recycling industries to guarantee stable demand and fair prices
through the development educational tools included in the organisational capacity building.
3. Proposal guidelines
Proposed Scope of Work
Activities:
1. Financial Viability Assessment: Conduct an analysis of local market prices and projected
operational costs for the 20-person pilot, and the city wide expansion of the initiative.
2. D