LM International seeks a qualified firm to design, develop, test and deploy the Inclusive Education Hub for Africa’s (IE Hub) fully accessible multilingual public website and members-only forum dedicated to inclusive education across African countries. The platform will serve educators, policymakers, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), learners and parents. The platform must conform to WCAG 2.2 Level AA with a clear pathway to Level AAA and model best-in-class accessibility.

The IE Hub is a continental initiative hosted by LM International’s Regional Hub Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. The Hub was established to address the gaps in policy implementation, limited technical capacity, fragmented stakeholder engagement and the absence of a centralized platform for knowledge exchange and advocacy on inclusive education. The IE Hub aims to bring together a diverse coalition of stakeholders including government institutions, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), academic institutions, corporate and private sector, international partners, learners, teachers and other key education stakeholders, working collaboratively to strengthen disability-inclusive education across Africa. The Hub serves as a platform for coordination, innovation, knowledge sharing, advocacy, and capacity building through a Community of Practice (CoP) model.

2. Purpose of the assignment

To design, build, deploy, and support a high-quality, inclusive, user-centred, accessible website that meets both functional and accessibility standards

3. Objectives of the assignment

The selected contractor will:

Design and develop a fully accessible digital platform with a public website and members’ forum.
Build a reusable accessible component library.
Test the platform using automated, expert and user (assistive technology) methods.
Support multilingual rollout (English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and Swahili).
Ensure security, privacy, data protection and robust moderation systems.
Deliver accessibility acceptance reports, documentation and admin handbooks.

4. Scope of work

4.1 Public website development

Pages - Home, About, Resource Library (filterable), News/Events, Research and Policy, Training, Contact, Donate.
Fully accessible navigation, search, metadata/filters, resource downloads with descriptive labelling.
WCAG 2.2 Level AA - semantic landmarks, keyboard operability, captions/transcripts, alt text and long descriptions where needed.
Performance target - page load below 3 seconds on 3G mobile networks.

4.2 Member forum build

Features include topics, threads, posts, country/thematic groups, events calendar, private messaging, file uploads, moderation dashboard. The forum must be designed to be fully accessible, providing clear and understandable feedback during content creation, accessible notifications and user-controlled preference setting for users with diverse access needs.
Appropriate security and safeguarding measures shall be implemented to protect users, content and the overall integrity of the platform
Privacy and data minimization aligned with African country-specific guidelines

4.3 Design system

Accessible component library using accessible primitives.
WCAG 2.2 Level AA -aligned colour tokens, typography, motion controls, high-contrast mode, text resizing.
A11y toolbar - text size, contrast, dyslexia-friendly font, line spacing, reduce motion, language toggle.

4.4 Accessibility testing

Must include-:

Automated accessibility testing, using recognized industry tools to identify common accessibility issues at scale
Expert manual audit covering keyboard-only navigation, screen reader interaction and other assistive technology use
User testing –with persons with disabilities representing a range for access needs (e.g. Blind or low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, motor, cognitive and neurodivergent users).
Outcomes-based evaluation against WCAG 2.2 Level AA, with documented findings and remediation actions

4.5 Technical approach requirements

A modern frontend architecture content management and community solution that enables accessible content creation, moderation and multilingual delivery
A data storage approach suitable for structure content, user accounts and forum activity
Secure and accessible authentication and account management mechanisms; email verification; fully accessible forms.
A hosting and deployment setup with CDN and image optimization CI/CD, e.g. automated accessibility + visual regression tests.
Quality assurance and deployment processes that support ongoing accessibility, usability and visual consistency.
The contractor may reference specific technologies or platforms as examples within their proposal, but alternative approaches that meet or exceed the stated objectives are acceptable.

5. Deliverables

5.1 Phase deliverables

5.1.1 Phase 0 - Discovery (approx. 2 weeks)

Stakeholder workshops
Content inventory
WCAG 2.2 Level AA mapping

5.1.2 Phase 1 - Design and user experience (approx. 3-4 weeks)

User-centered design concepts for the public website and members’ forum
Accessible component library
Page templates (home, resource, forum thread)

5.1.3 Phase 2 - Core platform development (approx. 6-8 weeks)

Implementation of the public-facing website + CMS integration
Implementation of the core structure of the members’ forum
Integration of content management and administrative functionality

Initial population and testing in staging environment

5.1.4 Phase 3 - Forum features (approx. 4-6 weeks)

User interaction, including posting, file upload, groups, notifications, reporting
Moderation, reporting and user management functionality
Refinement of accessibility, usability and performance-based on feedback

5.1.5 Phase 4 - Testing and remediation (approx. 3-4 weeks)

Automated + expert + user testing
Involvement of persons with disabilities in validation activities
Issues remediated
Documentation of findings and remediation actions
Confirmation of readiness for launch

5.1.6 Phase 5 – Launch and handover (approx. 2 weeks)

Deployment
Accessibility statement + remediation plan
Training for designated staff
Final documentation and handover materials

5.2 Final deliverables

Inception report with sitemap and technical architecture
UI/UX design pack (3–4 iterations)
Completed website in staging environment (public site + forum)
Final live website deployed on selected hosting
WCAG 2.2 Level AA Conformance Report (automated, expert, user testing)
Accessibility statement
Technical documentation, admin manual and moderation guide
Component library documentation
QA scripts, test transcripts (sanitized)
Source code handed over with version history
Training session(s) for up to 10 staff
Handover package including maintenance

6. Required qualifications

Applicants must demonstrate-:

At least 5 years’ experience in accessible web development and inclusive design.
Proven experience delivering WCAG 2.1 AA or WCAG 2.2 Level AA -aligned websites.
Strong security and privacy compliance experience.
Experience conducting accessibility user testing with persons with disabilities.
Minimum 3 similar platforms delivered.
Expertise with assistive technologies.
Knowledge of African contexts and multilingual site builds.

7. Duration

Total expected duration for the assignment (development of web platform) is 26 weeks. Thereafter, the maintenance of the web platform will be quarterly for the first year from the web platform final handover date.

8. Reporting and management

Weekly stand-ups with LM International.
Bi-weekly sprint reviews.
Progress tracked via project board

9. Proposal submission requirements

Applicants must submit -:

Technical proposal that includes methodology, accessibility strategy, team structure, workplan
Financial proposal (separate PDF) for the development and maintenance costs (for the initial year) of the web platform with itemized budget, taxes, licensing costs etc.
Company profile and CVs of staff
At least three examples of accessibility-focused platforms delivered to be included in the technical proposal.
Accessibility compliance plan (WCAG 2.2 Level AA outcomes & mapping)
Three references for similar work

10. Submission deadline and how to apply

Proposals must be submitted by 2nd February 2026, 5PM EAT
Attach all the application requirements.

11. Inquiries

All inquiries should be emailed to kenya.procurement@lminternational.org

12. Evaluation criteria

The evaluation criteria are as follows-: