PROVISION OF TESTING AS A SERVICE (TAAS)/ TEST FACTORY MODEL PARTNERS – KCB GROUP

KCB GROUP TENDER JANUARY 2026 

1.1  Background

KCB Group (hereinafter referred to as “the Group”) is a leading Commercial Banking Group in the East African region renowned for its diversity and growth. The Group’s vision is to be the preferred financial solutions provider in Africa with global reach. The Group has 10 subsidiary companies across the East African Region in KCB Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, DRC and South Sudan. The information in this document and its appendices and attachments is confidential and is subject to the provisions of our non-disclosure agreement and should not be disclosed to any external party without explicit prior written consent of the Group. This document constitutes the formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for Testing as a Service (TaaS) and is being availed on restricted tender basis and is restricted for bids from the invited bidders.

1.2  Important Notes to Suppliers

1. a)The purpose of this document is to assist KCB Group Plc in the identification and evaluation of potential service providers who may subsequently be shortlisted.
2. b)ALL Correspondences relating to this RFP MUST be through the KCB SUPPLIER PORTAL accessible on the kcbgroup.com  website.
3. c)Prospective Service Providers must have experience of offering similar solution to firms listed in the stock exchange/financial institutions comparable to The Bank and complexity and must demonstrate the willingness and commitment to meet the criteria as per the questionnaire provided.
4. d)In order to simplify this process, you need to provide copies (through the portal) of all supporting documents requested.
5. e)You may also be asked to clarify your answers or provide more details. Please answer every question. If the question does not apply to you, please write N/A; if you don’t know the answer, please write N/A.
6. f)Failure to complete this questionnaire and/or provide written answers to any further questions or requests for additional information or requests for clarification will result in the supplier’s elimination from further consideration.
7. g)Please note that by responding to this questionnaire you accept that all answers provided in this questionnaire are legally binding on the supplier and should the need arise, may be used as evidence in any court of law, which has jurisdiction. Further, KCB Bank Kenya Limited reserves the right without further recourse to verify at its own cost the accuracy of any answers provided herein.
8. h)All expenses and costs incurred by a respondent in connection with this RFP for preparation and lodging for submission (without limitation) shall be the sole responsibility of the respondent.
9. i)Without limiting its right at law or otherwise KCB Bank Kenya Limited, may at its absolute discretion, suspend or defer this RFP.
10. j)Where necessary and if insufficient space has been provided on the questionnaire for the answers, please provide the answers as supplements on separate sheets.
11. k)Canvassing for the tender shall lead to automatic disqualification and subsequent elimination of the applicant.

The Head Office for the Group is located at Kencom house Nairobi, Kenya. Further information about the bank can be obtained from the Group’s website – https://www.kcbgroup.com . The Group hereby solicits proposals from eligible and competent companies for Provision of Testing as a Service

1.3  Overview, Aims and Objectives

KCB intends to onboard Testing as a Service (TaaS) model partners to complement the existing internal staff in the execution of strategic projects technology projects. The vendor(s) should meet the following minimum requirements:

1. i)Should have at least seven years in providing test-house services to a diverse clientele with at least 3 reference sites where the partner has conducted similar exercises.
2. ii)Should have certified Quality Assurance analysts and engineers.

iii)    Should have experience in agile methodologies of project management. Request for Proposal for Testing as a Service Page 8 of 39 20-Jan-26

1. iv)Should have expertise in functional and non-functional testing.
2. v)Should have expertise in test automation. The Bidder should enclose relevant documentation supporting the above outlined criteria.

1.4  Format of RFP Response and Other Information for Bidders

1.4.1 The overall technical summary information regarding this tender is given in Section 2 – Scope of Work and supplier portal. The bidder shall include in their offer, any additional services considered necessary for the successful implementation of their proposal. Proposals from bidders should be submitted in two distinct parts, namely Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal. The Technical Proposal should contain all the relevant technical details in response to the bank requirements as outlined in Section 2. Bids that do not have this information may be disqualified from further evaluation

1.4.2 The Technical Proposal should contain the following: Bidders, willing to be considered for this RFP are expected to furnish the Bank with among others the following vital information, which will be treated in strict confidence by the Bank. All these will be filled in the KCB SUPPLIER portal:

• Preliminary Work plan or project plan with a clear breakdown of phases or work streams.
• Demonstrate capability and capacity to meet the functional requirements as per requirements.
• The Supplier shall provide a minimum of three (3) reference sites where they have been offer similar service successfully.
• Understanding of the KCB Testing as a Service requirements
• Manufacturer Authorization Form, from the proposed solution’s Vendor.
• System Implementation & Technical Support Enquiry
• Provide a company profile.
• Approval licenses, by the various bodies for compliance, MUST be included where applicable.
• Any other requirement as specified in the portal

1.4.3 The Financial proposal shall clearly indicate the daily rate applicable on need-by-need basis in the table below. The unit cost should be inclusive of all applicable taxes.

1.4.11 Deadline for Submission of Bids

Bids should be addressed to the Head of Procurement via the KCB supplier portal which is accessible through the KCB Group Website.

Please note

• Soft Copies for each proposal are to be provided in PDF or Adobe Reader.
• Any bid received by the Bank after the deadline data as specified in the supplier portal will be rejected.

2.0 SECTION 2 – SCOPE OF WORK

2.1 Specific Objectives

KCB intends to select a vendor who will demonstrate solid experience and capacity in providing Testing as a Service (TaaS). The vendor should have at least five years in provision of Quality Assurance and Engineering services based on Test Factory Model to a diverse clientele with at least 3 reference sites where the partner has conducted similar engagements. The vendor should be able to successfully deliver the following, but not limited to the below:

1)    Design Reviews and Test strategy formulation

• Participate in solution architecture and design reviews and make recommendations to inform fit for purpose and resilient solution implementations.
• Decomposing the business and technical requirements into test scenarios
• Defining test data requirements.
• Managing test case creation, devising contingencies plans and other test preparation activities.
• Development and reviews of test designs, test scenarios, test cases, and requirements documents with cross-functional teams for both functional and nonfunctional testing.
• Development and reviews test plans, test strategy for all levels of testing including but not limited system testing, system integration testing, user acceptance testing, performance testing, operational acceptance testing and BCM testing.

2)    Technical and System Test execution and Management

• Execution of Component testing, System Integration Testing (SITs) and System Testing
• Create unit tests and Integration mock services.
• Perform Unit Testing, API Testing, Integration Testing and System Testing.
• Collaborate with developers to conduct end-to-end defect analysis and resolution of defects, and in reviewing test results for maximum test coverage.
• Review and document test results, test summary reports and communicate to the key project stakeholders.

3)    Performance testing

• Conduct performance testing as per the approved test strategy to ensure that solutions meet the minimum baseline standards and performance benchmarks.
• Review and document test results, test summary reports and communicate to the key project stakeholders

4)    Test Automation and implementation of CI/CD delivery Model

• Development, customization, deployment, and maintenance of reliable and scalable test automation frameworks for all systems and applications.
• Create execution pipelines and integrate automation scripts into CI/CD pipelines.
• Execution of automated regression tests, review test results and summary reports and communicate to key stakeholders.

5)    Test Management and Defect lifecycle management

• Manage System Integration, System Testing and Acceptance Testing execution cycles through test management platforms by ensuring timely execution of test cases and proper logging defects and test summary reporting on periodical basis for all functional and non-functional tests.
• Report and manage defects through defect triaging and tracking, defect resolution tracking and reporting.
• Conduct regression testing all defect fixes for new and existing products.
• Assist implementation teams with replicating defects, root cause analysis and debugging problems.

6)    Deployment Planning and Post Implementation Assurance Request for Proposal for Testing as a Service Page 14 of 39 20-Jan-26

• Support in preparation and Quality Assurance and testing artifacts and deployment artifacts required for Change Advisory Board (CAB) review and approval before deployment of solutions to production.
• Support in post implementation review and assurance and pilot of solutions deployed to production
• Support in Conducting Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of system incidents and in resolution of such issues.

7)    Coach and mentor other QA Engineers/Analysts

• Inculcate best practices, frameworks, and QA Engineering discipline amongst the Quality assurance and engineering teams.
• Train and coach Quality Assurance and Engineering team to gain requisite skills and knowledge in their respective domains.