Study on women entrepreneurship and economic inclusion

Solidarités International is an International NGO working with vulnerable populations, mainly victims of armed conflicts and natural disasters. Specialized for nearly 40 years in the coverage of vital needs, S.I. takes charge of emergency and reconstruction programs.

With respect for cultures and being close to the people, Solidarités International implements its programs by combining its skills with those of its employees and local managers.

Solidarités International's teams, made up of around 270 expatriates and nearly 2200 local employees, are today present in 18 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America where they are particularly committed to fighting diseases related to unsafe water but also in the
essential area of food security and livelihoods.

1. Program Summary/Scope of the consultancy:

Solidarités International (SI) is implementing a project “Optimizing Women Entrepreneurs and Rural communities’ livelihood through Environment friendly and Climate Smart initiatives” funded by CDCS, which main objective is to improve local living conditions and livelihood opportunities in Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel Governorates. The project is focusing on empowering women and rural communities, building their resilience to financial, climatic, and environmental shocks, and restoring their livelihoods. Therefore, SI is seeking a consultant to conduct a study in order to highlight the challenges, analyses the key factors impacting women-led enterprises and cooperatives growth and operations, and identify potential beneficiaries within the first two months of the project.

2. Project Location(s):

Governorate: Central, Baalbak and West Bekaa

District: Zahle, Baalbak and West Bekaa

3.Expected findings from the study:

1. Provide a secondary data review of existing studies on women-led cooperatives and MSMEs in the area, reports on women economic empowerment trends in the region and gender dynamics, including topics such as decision-making power at Household level.
2. A comprehensive mapping of existing women led MSMEs and Cooperatives in the targeted area. The mapping must include their sizes, and types of operations/businesses throughout interviews and KIIs with local stakeholders.
3. An analysis of the key factors impacting the operations and growth of women-led businesses such as challenges (e.g., market access, networking with producers), gaps and areas of improvement to access market.
4.   An assessment of the existing financial status and technical capacities of women led entrepreneurships and availability of documents and record keeping.
5. An overview of the main challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, including limited access to financial resources, challenges to access training opportunities, gender discrimination and other barriers faced by women.
6. An assessment of the socio-economic context and social norms affecting the women participation in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
7. An assessment of  the utilization of technology and digital tools by women-led entrepreneurships and cooperatives in their business of operation.
8. A comprehensive evaluation of the impact of financial, economic, environmental, and climate change crises on women-led businesses and their growth prospects.
9. Provide recommendations and strategies to address the identified challenges and promote sustainable and inclusive opportunities for women's socio-economic empowerment.
10. Collaborate with the project team to design clear selection criteria for supported Women-Led MSMEs and Cooperatives.
11. Provide recommendations on training curricula that address the specific needs and challenges of women-led businesses in the target area, readdress environmental imbalances, including decision making skills, capital, training, and technologies for women with low income in specific.
12. Identify potential green and environmentally friendly initiatives in the agro-ecology sector, promoting sustainable practices within women-led enterprises.
13. Provide periodic progress reports, data analysis, and insights to the project stakeholders throughout the study.
14. Ensure compliance with ethical guidelines, data protection, and confidentiality standards in all research activities.
15. Contribute to the dissemination of study findings and best practices through reports, presentations, and relevant platforms to promote knowledge sharing and inform policy recommendations.

4. Implementation:

The consultant must undertake (but are not limited to) the following activities:

1. Prepare and submit inception report with methodology, tools used for the data collection, FGDs and KIIs.
2. Conduct FGDs, surveys and KIIs with at least 50 women-led cooperatives and MSMEs, and multiple other stakeholders including governmental institutions, national and international NGOs, and micro finance institutions.

Prepare and submit a final report showing the deliverables, challenges, opportunities, selection criteria and sessions curricula.

5. Qualification and requirements for the consultant:

Mandatory:

• Advanced degree (Masters) or equivalent in Agro-Economy, Livelihoods, Value chain and rural development, Agri-business and business development or related/relevant field.
• At least 5 years progressive professional work experience at government level and/or professional experience working in large national and/or international institutions in conducting similar studies on analysing entrepreneurs and cooperative status.

Desirable:

• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Fluency in English.
• Flexibility, team player, ability to work with multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.
• Experience in FGDs, KII, and survey conduction

6. Documents to be submitted:

The consultant shall submit the following documents:

1. Profile of the Consultant/ CV/Cover letter.
2. Brief proposal outlining study methodology and relevant tools.
3. Lump sum financial quote for the consultancy with a breakdown in daily rate and travel cost in US Dollars.
4. Two References
5. List of consultancies and past projects conducted in the previous years. Please include:
   1. Client name
   2. Brief description of services performed.
   3. Client phone number and email
   4. Number of days worked.
   5. Detailed report(s)/ briefs showing relevant consultancy results.

7. Evaluation Matrix:

1. Technical offer & proposed intervention plan: scope of work including project approach, methodology, work plan & timeframe.
2. CVs and experience in the field requested.
3. Interview
4. Financial offer

Criteria of Selection:

Bids are selected based on the criteria listed below, according to the mentioned marks below:

1. Proposed services (documented by the technical proposal): 30%

     1.1. Understanding of objectives (Content of the proposal suitable for the requirements): 15%

     1.2. Methodology: 15%

2. Bidder Qualifications: 20%

     2.1. General experience of the consultant. Minimum 5 years: 5%

     2.2. Similar assignments related to conducting similar studies and designing curricula: 10%

     2.3. Relevant degree, and or equivalent work experience of consultant/team: 5%

3. Interview: 10%

     3.1. Demonstrated technical capability to complete the consultancy: 10%

4. Financial offer: 40%

8. Deliverables:

Deliverables should include the following:

1. Inception report that includes: workplan, tools and timeline: Day 15 after contract signature

2. FGD, KII, and other used tools report: Day 25 after contract signature

3. Selection Criteria for the MSMEs and cooperatives: Day 25 after contract signature

4. Final report detailing an overview of the financial technical and technological capacities, overview of the socio-economic barriers, overall challenges, opportunities, and identifying achieved objectives: Day 60 after contract signature

9. Payment:

Payment will be made by SI through bank transfer or cheque only, upon presentation and validation of the deliverables by the program project manager.

The Financial offer should include the price per day. Payments will be made in two tranches: 40% of the overall costs corresponding to deliverables 1 to 3; 60% of the overall costs corresponding to deliverable 4. No payments will be made to the consultant after the end of the grant duration and eligibility of the costs.

Solidarités International will not cover incidentals, including transportation, per diems and communications costs, separately, as they should be included in the consultant’s daily rate.

Consultants that are applying for this consultancy should provide the overall offer (Financial and technical) specifying if they are or not VAT registered; if the consultant is VAT registered the final price must include VAT.           

10. Other Considerations:

• Follow the rules and regulations of SI, including the SI code of conduct for Vendors and meet the program’s objectives and abide by the set work plan.
• Conduct herself/himself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to SI and not jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Secure his/her own transportation to and from the training location.
• Only those applications found acceptable and evaluated positively will be contacted for the interview.