CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR GRANTEE EXTERNAL AUDIT DELTAS AFRICA II

SCIENCE FOR AFRICA FOUNDATION (SFA FOUNDATION) TENDER OCTOBER 2025 

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR GRANTEE EXTERNAL AUDIT DELTAS AFRICA II

Introduction

The Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is a pan-African, non-profit, and public charity organisation that supports, strengthens, and promotes science and innovation in Africa. The SFA Foundation is committed to improving African people’s quality of life and promoting research uptake in communities, industry, and the public sector. We serve the African research ecosystem by designing, funding, and managing programmes that support excellent science and innovation; and that build and reinforce environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that impacts development.

Background

The DELTAS Africa Initiative, a long-term investment in Africa’s scientific research capacity, was launched in 2015. Its first phase (2015–2020) applied a robust Theory of Change to generate high-quality research addressing the continent’s pressing health challenges, while deliberately strengthening individual and institutional capacity.

Building on this strong foundation, the second phase (DELTAS Africa II) began in 2023. It comprises 14 consortia led from nine African countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe—each funded at approximately $4.4M.

To ensure strong programmatic and financial governance, DELTAS Africa II will conduct coordinated financial and programmatic audits of its grantees and sub-grantees (operating under a hub-and-spoke model). These audits are designed to:

• Provide assurance on program implementation and the appropriate use of funds
• Strengthen internal control systems, and
• Ensure full compliance with award terms and conditions.

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Objectives of the Assignment

The mid-term audit has the following objectives:

1. Verify that DELTAS Africa II funds have been used for the intended purposes, consistent with the approved budgets and grant agreements.
2. Assess compliance with the grant’s terms and conditions.
3. Review the adequacy and effectiveness of grantees internal controls including grantees’ policies, controls, and reporting frameworks.
4. Verify the accuracy and completeness of the grantees’ financial and programmatic records, ensuring reliability of financial and programmatic reporting submitted to the Science for Africa Foundation.
5. Assess financial and operational risks affecting programme delivery and sustainability.
6. Assess capacity gaps and provide recommendations to improve financial management practices and systems across grantees.
7. Check if there is any indication of fraud

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following tasks:

1. The audit will cover the period from the grant start to the current quarter across all selected grantees of the DELTAS Africa II awards. Specifically, the audit will:
2. Review financial records and transactions, including cashbooks, ledgers, bank statements, reconciliations, receipts, payroll, and other supporting documentation.
3. Evaluate the grantee’s financial management systems, including procurement, disbursement, and reporting processes.
4. Assess expenditure against approved budgets and funding agreements.
5. Verify procurement processes and asset management to ensure transparency, eligibility, and value for money including physical verification of assets.
6. Test compliance with grant terms and conditions, as well as the DELTAS Africa II programme implementation schedules.
7. Evaluate adequacy and effectiveness of governance, risk management, and oversight arrangements implemented by the grantee at the sub-grantee level, including maintenance and use of risk registers, and mechanisms for ensuring accountability in programme delivery.
8. Evaluate the systems and practices in place for managing and providing strategic oversight of the programme and its partner institutions.
9. Review sub-grantee financial reports submitted to the lead grantee, the sub-grantee management processes and reconcile them with the underlying records.
10. Review fellow recruitment and selection processes, ensuring they are transparent, equitable, and aligned with programme objectives (e.g., gender balance, regional diversity).

Deliverables

The audit firm is expected to provide:

1. Inception Report outlining methodology, sampling plan, and detailed audit workplan.
2. Draft Audit Report highlighting key findings, compliance status, control gaps, and preliminary recommendations.
3. Final Audit Report which should ideally show:

• Executive Summary (key risks, compliance level, and overall opinion)
• Detailed findings and recommendations.
• Management letter outlining control weaknesses and corrective actions.
• Annexes (financial tables, reconciliations, supporting evidence).

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