REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) FOR PRIVATE-SECTOR PARTNERS IN THE ASTHA CARE ECOSYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

Swisscontact Bangladesh invites Expressions of Interest (EOI) from private-sector firms and organisations that wish to offer their products, services or technologies to the growing network of ASTHA CARE centres in rural Bangladesh, on commercial terms and with their own investment.
This call is for commercial partners of ASTHA CARE centres. It is not a procurement of goods or services by Swisscontact, and it is not a call for investors to establish or operate a centre. Entrepreneurs interested in setting up an ASTHA CARE centre should apply under the separate EOI for Local Entrepreneurs.

ABOUT ASTHA CARE

ASTHA CARE is a compact, technology-enabled primary healthcare facilities that bring quality, affordable services to rural communities. Each centre offers three core services under one roof: rapid diagnostics, medical consultations, and an on-site pharmacy. Patients can be diagnosed, consulted and treated in a single visit, usually within an hour, with their records kept in a digital patient record system.
Every centre is a private business, owned and run by a local entrepreneur or organisation. ASTHA CARE is an intervention of Swisscontact’s ASTHA project, which does not deliver health services itself; it works to build the wider market system that allows rural healthcare enterprises to operate and grow without long-term project support. Three ASTHA CARE centres are currently operational in Gaibandha, Nilphamari and Sunamganj, and more are being established across Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE

Swisscontact intends to partner with private-sector firms whose commercial offer can strengthen how ASTHA CARE centres operate, widen the services they provide, and improve care for their communities. The aim is for these relationships to become ordinary business relationships between firms and ASTHA CARE operators that continue on their own once project support ends.

Partners design, deliver and price their own offer and bear their own commercial risk. Swisscontact provides time-bound technical facilitation only, with no cash support and no claim to any share of revenue.

PARTNERSHIP AREAS

Applicants may express interest in one or more of the following categories:

A. Allied Healthcare Services

Providers of primary eye care (refraction and eyewear), dental care, maternal and midwifery services (antenatal and postnatal care, family planning, nutrition counselling), immunisation, and ambulance or emergency transport, who can offer these as add-on service lines within ASTHA CARE centres, for example through visiting clinicians, service-line packages, or equipment-plus-training models.

B. Medical Supplies and Diagnostics

Manufacturers, importers and distributors of diagnostic devices and reagents, medical equipment, medicines and vaccines, and providers of equipment maintenance and calibration, who can offer authentic products, reliable rural distribution, fair commercial terms and after-sales service. Offers may complement existing supply arrangements in the network.

C. Digital Health, Referral and Quality Systems

Telemedicine and specialist consultation providers; hospitals and diagnostic laboratories offering patient or sample referral; health IT firms able to integrate with ASTHA CARE’s existing digital patient record system; and providers of clinical quality assurance, accreditation or professional training.

D. Enterprise Services and Fintech

Providers of digital payments and mobile financial services, point-of-sale, bookkeeping or inventory software, business advisory and management services, and data analytics that help ASTHA CARE operators run their centres more efficiently. Lending and insurance products are not covered by this call.

E. Climate-Resilient Health Services

Providers of solutions that help centres prepare for, operate during, and recover from climate-related shocks, such as solar or backup power, cold-chain equipment, water purification, flood-resilient facility solutions, early-warning or disease-surveillance data, and products for vector-borne, waterborne and respiratory illnesses.Facilitation of national-level licensing and regulatory processes.

WHAT THE PARTNERSHIP OFFERS

  • Introductions to, and structured access to, ASTHA CARE operators across the network, including joint orientation sessions and site visits.
  • Access to evidence: aggregated and anonymised operational and market data from the ASTHA CARE network, such as patient volumes and service demand, shared under a data-sharing agreement and in line with applicable data protection law.
  • Technical facilitation to co-design and pilot the offer in selected centres and adapt it to rural market conditions.
  • Joint monitoring of pilot results and support to use that evidence to build the business case for wider roll-out.
  • Linkages to other relevant public and private stakeholders in the ASTHA CARE ecosystem.

Swisscontact does not provide grants or subsidies, purchase partners’ products or services, or guarantee sales volumes. Each ASTHA CARE operator decides independently, on commercial grounds, whether to buy a partner’s offer.

PARTNER CONTRIBUTION

Partners are expected to:

  • Invest their own resources (staff time, products, adaptation, training and marketing) in designing and piloting the offer
  • Offer their products or services on commercially viable terms suited to rural ASTHA CARE operators and their patients, bearing their own commercial risk
  • Charge no fee to Swisscontact at any stage
  • Share agreed performance data from the pilot for joint learning
  • Comply with applicable regulations and quality standards and, where relevant, with ASTHA CARE clinical SOPs and equipment specifications.

The scale and form of each partner’s contribution will be discussed with shortlisted applicants.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Mandatory

  • A legally registered entity in Bangladesh, or a foreign entity with a registered local presence (subsidiary, branch, liaison office, or authorised local distributor or agent).
  • Core business relevant to at least one of the partnership categories above.
  • Valid regulatory licences and approvals required for the proposed offer, where applicable (e.g. DGDA, DGHS or Bangladesh Bank).
  • Willingness to co-invest and to operate on commercial terms without grant support.
  • Willingness to comply with patient confidentiality and data protection requirements.

Desirable

  • Track record in rural or underserved markets in Bangladesh.
  • An existing distribution or service network that can reach ASTHA CARE centres.
  • Experience working with small healthcare enterprises, pharmacies or clinics.
  • An offer that can be scaled across many centres without project support.
  • An offer that improves services for women and children.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Interested applicants should submit the following:

  • Organisation Profile: legal name, type of entity, years in operation, core business, size and geographic presence.
  • Partnership Category: the category or categories (A–E) under which you are applying.
  • Partnership Idea (max. two pages): what you would offer, how it would work in an ASTHA CARE centre, who would use it, the proposed pricing or business model, your own contribution, and an indicative timeline for a pilot.
  • Relevant Experience: up to three examples of similar work, preferably in rural or underserved markets.
  • Registration Documents: trade licence or certificate of incorporation, TIN, BIN, Updated PSR and sector-specific licences where applicable.
  • Contact Information: name, designation, phone number and email of the authorised contact person.
  • EOIs may be submitted in English or Bangla.

HOW TO APPLY

This is an open call with no closing date. EOIs are reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received. Swisscontact may close or revise any partnership category at any time by updating this notice.

This EOI will remain open-ended and available on the Swisscontact Bangladesh website with submissions reviewed on a rolling basis. Please refer to the link:
https://www.swisscontact.org/en/where-we-work/bangladesh/request-for-proposal

Please submit your EOI via email to [email protected] with the subject line: “EOI for ASTHA CARE Partnership – [Category]”.

EVALUATION PROCESS

Swisscontact will assess each EOI against the eligibility criteria and the following considerations:

  • Relevance of the offer to the needs of ASTHA CARE operators and their patients.
  • Commercial viability and the likelihood that the offer continues without project support.
  • The applicant’s capacity and track record.
  • The level of the applicant’s own contribution.
  • Potential to scale across the ASTHA CARE network.

For any queries or additional information, please email [email protected] .

Swisscontact does not charge any fee at any stage of this process. Submission of an EoI does not create any obligation for either party. Swisscontact reserves the right to accept or reject any or all submissions without assigning any reason. It has the right to select more than one service provider for the assignment.