The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) hereby invites qualified translation and interpretation service providers to express their interest in the following Assignment: Translation and Interpretation Services (English, French, and Portuguese).

The services include:

1. Document translation and/or proofreading services between English, French, and Portuguese, covering all language combinations and bidirectional translation (source and target languages).
2. Oral interpretation services (simultaneous and consecutive) in English, French, and Portuguese for meetings, workshops, conferences, webinar and other official events.

The selected firms will be engaged under a framework arrangement to provide these services on an as-needed basis.

The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is the voice of education in Africa and has played an important role in the educational arena for 38 years as a convenor, knowledge creator, and forum for policy dialogue. ADEA is hosted by the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Its vision is to create “high-quality education and training system for accelerated sustainable development of Africa”. ADEA’s mission therefore is to “serve as an open and flexible pan-African organization that informs and facilitates the transformation of education and training systems for resilience, human capital development, and youth empowerment in Africa”. ADEA’s overall goal is to “empower African countries to transform schooling to meaningful learning by leveraging our globally connected partnerships, a well-equipped and skilled Secretariat, and country-led Inter-Country Quality Nodes.”

ADEA’s main organs are its General Assembly, the Secretariat, and the Inter-Country Quality Nodes (ICQNs). The Secretariat is the administrative arm which implements ADEA’s work programs and budgets on a day-to-day basis by organizing conferences, statutory meetings, Triennales; managing communications and knowledge; and coordinating the work of ICQNs. It also implements the decisions and resolutions of ADEA’s governance entities.

ADEA would like to use the services of qualified translation and interpretation service provider to support its institutional activities.

Translation services:

• ADEA will require the services of the Service provider according to translation needs throughout the duration of the contract.
• The Service provider will be responsible for translation and proofreading of documents.
• The documents to be translated shall be related, but not limited to, reports, operational documents (project proposals, budgets, activity reports, strategy, etc...).
• For each document or set of documents submitted for translation to the Consultant by ADEA, the parties agree on a deadline for completion of the service, on the cost (based on a previously determined fixed rated) and payment schedule.

Interpretation services:

• ADEA will require the services of the Service provider according to interpretation needs throughout the duration of the contract.
• The Service provider will be responsible for simultaneous interpretation of ADEA’s events.
• ADEA’s events includes in-person and virtual meetings, webinars, workshops, summit, etc…

The assignment will last for twelve (12) months, starting from the signing date of the Contract.

The Service provider is expected to possess the following qualifications and experience:

• At least a master’s degree in Translation or its equivalent in the field of languages, communication or other related discipline for each proposed translator.
• Significant experience in the field of written translation of institutional documents (such as project documents).
• For each of the proposed translators, a high degree of initiative, reliability, and ability to work independently and within a short time. 
• Each proposed translator must clearly indicate its mother tongue: English, French or Portuguese.
• Excellent writing and interpretation skills in English, French and Portugues.
• Proven experience in simultaneous and consecutive interpretation.
• Knowledge of the activities and operations of ADEA will be considered as an asset.
• Experience with the African Development Bank and/or other international organizations and familiarity with the terminology of the world of education will be considered an asset.
• Competence in Microsoft Office; and
• Must be a citizen of a member country of the African Development Bank.

ADEA invites Service providers to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested Service providers shall provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to undertake this Assignment (documents, reference to similar services, experience in similar assignments, etc.).

What to Submit:

Applicants must provide both a technical offer and a financial offer. The financial offer should clearly indicate:

• Translation and/or proofreading fees per word for the following language combinations: English to French and vice-versa, English to Portuguese and vice-versa, French to Portuguese and vice-versa.
• Interpretation costs per interpreter per day for webinar.
• Interpretation costs and interpretation equipment costs for physical meetings.

Submission Details:

Expressions of Interest must be submitted electronically to adea-applications@afdb.org no later than 16 March 2026 at midnight (12:00 AM GMT). The subject line of the email must read: "ADEA – Service Provider for Translation and Interpretation Services."

Due to the high volume of applications, only selected candidates will be contacted through a formal correspondence via e-mail. Please do not contact ADEA or staff members to enquire about the status of your application.