National Individual Consultant to Support the ILO in the development of advanced business resilience training material for entrepreneurs in the agriculture and agro-food sectors in Lebanon.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In view of the long-term structural challenges that Lebanon is facing as well as the profound effects that the subsequent crises are having on its economy, there is an ongoing need to support job creation and inclusive economic growth especially for women and youth in the most disadvantaged areas. The Productive Sectors Development Program (PSDP) is funded by the Lebanon Recovery Fund through the generous contribution from the Government of Canada and implemented by UNIDO, FAO, UNDP, ILO, UNWOMEN, and UNICEF with support from the RCO in overall coordination. It presents a comprehensive approach to supporting the manufacturing (agro-food) and agriculture sectors in Lebanon, identified as having a high potential for job generation for women and youth. The PSDP was designed to include interlinked activities on the Macro, Meso, and Micro levels and present a flagship example for joint service delivery and for promoting the “Delivering as One” approach between the implementing UN agencies.

The Productive Sector Development Programme (PSDP) sits within the United Nations Strategic Framework’s (UNSF) Outcome 3.1, which stipulates that the Government of Lebanon shall be assisted in “strengthening Lebanon productive sectors of the economy to promote inclusive growth and local development especially in most disadvantaged areas”. It aligns with national priorities and complements the Government’s Vision for Growth, Stabilization and Employment that was announced during the CEDRE Conference in April 2018, as well as relevant government strategies. In particular, the PSDP aligns with Lebanon’s Economic Vision published in January 2019 by the Ministry of Economy and Trade which sets Agriculture and Industry (including agro-food) as priority sectors for government interventions. The programme also aims to complement other UN agencies initiatives targeting women and youth economic empowerment in productive sectors as well as partners’ initiatives.

The identified intermediate outcomes of PSDP’s activities are outlined below: 

- Macro: Improved enabling policy environment for women economic empowerment and participation in productive sectors.

- Meso: Improved access to markets for women and men-led Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in productive sectors.

- Micro: Improved capacity of women farmers, women-led cooperatives, and women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as male-led entities in productive sectors to create and sustain gender-equitable job opportunities and adopt environmentally sustainable practices. 

The outcome of PSDP’s inception phase resulted in the final selection of Fruits, Vegetables, and nuts (including pulses) preparation as an identified value chain among 13 pre-selected ones. The selection process was made based on a value chain assessment including the following set of criteria and indicators: growth and export potential, women's active economic participation, linkages with agriculture, food security, and the environmental impact. 

For the provision of training and business development support to agro-food firms and cooperatives, IDRAC (Industrial development and research Agro-Agri center) in Tripoli was selected specifically to serve as PSDP’s main service center based on the identified capacity for project implementation in the finalized assessment. 

The service center Lebanon will be set up and will provide direct services to women and men farmers, women-led cooperatives, and women and men-led MSMEs (at least 50%-75% of beneficiaries will be women). Services will be provided by all UN implementing agencies based on their mandate and will include technology transfer and skills training, environmental sustainability training and in-kind support, Women Economic Empowerment Principles training, business development training, and apprenticeships amongst other services. 

The overall aim of this center is to improve the capacity of women farmers, women-led cooperatives, and women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), as well as male-led entities in productive sectors to create and sustain gender-equitable job opportunities and adopt environmentally sustainable practices. 

ILO’s activities within PSDP fall under the micro-level of the identified intermediate outcomes listed in the previous section. The ILO will be rolling out gender-sensitive business support services and coaching to existing and newly created MSMEs prioritizing women and youth start-ups in the selected value chain.  

ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In order for the ILO to implement an adequate entrepreneurship development training programme for potential entrepreneurs and existing SMEs in the agriculture and agro-food sectors, a needs assessment was implemented to capture the challenges faced by the targeted actors within the selected value chain and in the North of Lebanon with the consultation of different stakeholders involved. 

The main findings from the needs assessment indicated a need for intervention to support potential entrepreneurs with a focus on youth groups, women and existing women-led agro-food and agricultural businesses, through the delivery of ILO’s Women Do Business (WDB) entrepreneurship training programme. The main identified beneficiary profiles are as follows: Young start-ups, home-based businesses and solopreneurs with ideas offering a high potential in light of the current situation and dynamics in the agro-food sector:

• Young Start-ups: having been operational for less than 2 years and experiencing growth since and an increase in demand. Those start-ups are likely to be fully registered and already well-versed administratively. They however require better know-how and expertise to be able understand their market and expand their reach and distribution locally, as well as expand internationally by exporting to countries where demand is ripe and relevant and where their products can succeed.

• Home-Based Businesses: including women-led businesses and very small artisanal productions with high potential to act as import substitution and fill a gap in the market or create new demand.

• Solopreneurs: young individuals including women, working alone and with a smart idea that has proven its potential to some extent and requires support to further expand and develop.

Subsequently, and in line with the Micro level intermediate outcome “Improved skills of female and male youth in targeted value chains strengthening their employability and entrepreneurship capacities”, the ILO is seeking to conduct an adaptation of its existing entrepreneurship training curriculum “Women Do Business” (WDB) based on the needs assessment findings and to be able to provide beneficiaries a set of customized deliverables in the form of a training.

The consultant is required to advise on the recommended final training topics after cross-checking the existing training programme (WDB) with the advanced recommended topics from the needs assessment findings summarized in the table found in the attached document. For this purpose, the consultant is required to select and prioritize the relevant topics following a close coordination with the ILO team.

DELIVERABLES, SCOPE OF WORK AND METHODOLOGY

This assignment will contain the following steps:

Step 1 (3 days):  

Conduct a review of the existing training curriculum (trainer and training guides and other relevant documents). Review of the findings of the needs assessment mentioned in the above section. Advise on the selection of relevant topics to be prioritized and focused on.

Provide the ILO team with a suggested training material structure to be developed.

Step 2 (15 days):

After the ILO’s approval, develop the advanced training material in Arabic.

Step 3 (1 day):

Gather feedback on the draft version of the advanced training material from the ILO team.S

Step 4 (3 days):

Include feedback gathered and complete the development of the training material with its guidelines.

Customized additional training material is developed to cover the relevant needs of the end line beneficiaries working within the identified value chain, reflective to the local context of the agro-food and agriculture sectors in Lebanon, based on the needs assessment results with business resilience and crisis responsive layers.

Step 5 (1 day):

Conduct a desk research (secondary research) over free and accessible resources and further learning material existing on the internet for the beneficiaries to complement the deliverables of ILO and promote “self-learning” (Online videos, existing online learning channels in Arabic that are relevant to the sub-topics).

Total Number of days: 23

The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

Output 1: A structured proposal with the prioritized advanced learning topics to be developed.

Output 2: Final developed materials

Output 3: A list of recommended free of charge learning resources accessible for the beneficiaries with guiding description.

All data and information received from ILO for this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference (TOR). The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the express advance written authorization of the ILO. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these TOR are assigned to the International Labour Organization. The intellectual property rights of the materials modified through the assignment remains with the International Labour Organization.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The consultant is expected to have the following qualifications:

• 5-7 years of experience in SME development in Lebanon
• Academic and professional background in Business administration or relevant areas
• Experience in the agriculture and agro-food sectors in Lebanon
• Experience in working with local entrepreneurs and vulnerable communities
• Experience in working for crisis affected countries and a good understanding of the current context of multiple fold crisis in Lebanon
• Previous experience in facilitation of trainings and/or training of trainers, curriculum design would be an asset
• Fluent in English and Arabic

SUPERVISION AND LOGISTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant will conduct the assignment under the supervision of the ILO PSDP Project coordinator and the overall guidance of SME Technical Officer of ILO Regional Office for Arab States.

TIME FRAME AND PAYMENT

This assignment should take place from 1 November 2021 to the 15 December 2021.

The consultant will be paid a daily rate of USD X for 23 days of work, totaling USD X.

The payment schedule is as follows:

- Payment 1 of USD X (3 working days), after delivery of output 1

- Payment 2 of USD X (20 working days) after delivery of output 2 and 3, to the satisfaction of the ILO, no later than 15 December 2021

SELECTION CRITERIA

A call for applications will be published on the Daleel Madani platform to receive a wide number of competent and qualified applicants. Terms of reference will also be sent to specific consultants that the ILO know of or has previously worked with.