CALL FOR APPLICATION: Local Non-Profit Business Development Service (BDS) Provider to implement ILO Community-Driven Social Entrepreneurship Programme in Lebanon

Background:

The forced displacement crisis has increased in scale and complexity in recent years. According to UNHCR, 79.5 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2019. Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs), including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) face specific vulnerabilities, including loss of assets and psychological trauma, limited rights, lack of opportunities, a protection risk as well as a risk to be out of school, and a lack of planning horizon. In addition, the communities hosting FDPs also struggle to pursue their own development efforts. In response to the considerable challenges facing FDPs and host communities, a new partnership initiative titled: ‘PROSPECTS' Partnership for improving Prospects for host communities and forcibly displaced persons, was launched by the Government of the Netherlands, that brings together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. Through the PROSPECTS partnership, the five partner agencies aim to leverage their comparative advantages and areas of expertise to programme complementary and interdependent interventions that address education and skills, employment and protection challenges. The partnership spans eight countries, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda and covers the period 2019-2023. 

Within the framework of PROSPECTS Lebanon, ILO’s focus has been on enhancing resilience of Lebanon’s crisis-hit labour market and creating better livelihoods for both Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees. It is doing so by promoting the development of market-relevant skills, enhancing career guidance and employment placement services and labour market governance, strengthening social protection schemes, and promoting micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and sectors with potential for decent job creation.

Objective of the intervention:

In 2020, the ILO supported selected social and solidarity economy (SSE) initiatives in the agriculture and agro-food sector to tackle unemployment and address one of the most pressing needs in the country, food security. A set of activities were designed and implemented to support SSE initiatives in the agriculture and agro-food sectors in selected villages in Akkar and North-Lebanon, namely Akroum, Syr El Donnieh, Bebnine and Kfar Habou. The intervention was guided by local committees which helped identify socio-economic challenges and propose sustainable solutions benefitting local communities, which materialised into SSE initiatives established by active community actors. Over a year and a half, the ILO provided technical support to the local committees on one hand to establish local sustainable structures able to respond to socio-economic community needs by, inter alia, encouraging and establishing commercially viable and sustainable SSE initiatives such as social enterprises. In parallel, support was extended to these newly established SSE initiatives through training and coaching on social entrepreneurship, business group formation and financial assistance. Outcomes of the intervention show that this model of community-driven SSE initiatives has proven to be successful in the four villages with 4 committees established and running, and 8 SSE initiatives working in agriculture, generating profits, and serving local community needs.

Building on that model, the ILO is looking to roll-out a social entrepreneurship programme in Lebanon in sectors with high potential of sustainable and decent job creation for Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees and short-term response to local socio-economic needs. The programme will be community-driven and will be built on collaborations and dialogue with, and involvement of strong local community actors and representatives such as municipalities, local community-based organizations (CBOs), existing SSE initiatives/structures serving local communities. These can help the ILO identify urgent local socio-economic needs and propose solutions (or strengthen existing ones) that can be turned into income-generating SSE initiatives such as social enterprises or others. The programme will support livelihoods of vulnerable Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities and respond to local urgent socio-economic needs, as well as addressing important cross-cutting issues related to a) enhancing inter- and intra- community social cohesion, b) creating and/or strengthening green social enterprises and green jobs, c) boosting women’s economic participation, and d) empowering people with disability.

The ILO is looking for a non-profit local business development service (BDS) provider (Implementing Partner), to assist in the implementation of a community-driven social entrepreneurship programme in Lebanon with two main objectives - depending on local needs:

1. Support the creation of new social enterprises tackling high unemployment and local urgent socio-economic needs.
2. Strengthen existing SSE initiatives (social enterprises, associations, foundations, mutuals, cooperatives…) which have technical and financial gaps and have high potential of creating decent jobs and addressing local socio-economic needs.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in designing, implementing, and managing social entrepreneurship programmes in Lebanon targeting Syrian refugee and Lebanese host community members
• Local presence and expertise in working with vulnerable communities in Lebanon including Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities with a focus on strong local networks and outreach mechanisms
• Proven record of strong relations and network with municipalities, local community-based organisations and experience in community mobilisation and community-driven social entrepreneurship
• Experience in organizing training and sensitization workshops on social cohesion to bring together and strengthen collaborations between Syrian refugees and Lebanese for joint social entrepreneurship
• A pool of trainers/coaches with strong experience in social entrepreneurship, start-up development training and coaching, and expansion/commercialisation of existing SSE structures
• Significant experience in grant management and close monitoring of existing and newly established enterprises
• Senior team leader with minimum 10 years of professional experience including experience in project management, social entrepreneurship development, and with strong communication skills