Concern Worldwide Malawi
Terms of Reference for Consultancy Services
Entrepreneurship and Business Development Technical Support and Mentorship
Introduction and Background
Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. Our Vision is a world where no-one lives in poverty, fear or oppression; where all have access to a decent standard of living and the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy and creative life; a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Our Mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives, which last and respond to emergencies and seek to address the root causes of poverty through our development education and advocacy work spread without ongoing support from Concern. To achieve this mission we engage in long-term development work, build resilience. Concern Worldwide has been operational in Malawi since 2022 implementing programmes in social protection, Food Systems for Food Security Climate-Smart Agriculture, Nutrition, Health, Education and Livelihoods across various districts funded by various donors directly and/or through partners.
The RESET project, funded by the Irish Aid Enterprise Fund for International Climate Action (EFICA) is designed to support women and youth residing in informal settlements in Lilongwe by generating economic opportunities through the promotion of commercial waste management ventures and establish waste management enterprises. This initiative also aims to reduce overall carbon emissions, mitigate deforestation for fuel, and address waste disposal challenges. This is in collaboration with Concern Worldwide Malawi and our partner organization CCODE, Eco Gen and with women’s groups in urban informal settlements.
The project has successfully supported the establishment of small-scale enterprises, through the provision of bio digesters in the 5 sites (Area 25, Chinsapo, Mgona, Mtsinje and Mtandire) in urban Lilongwe. These bio digesters produce biogas and bio-fertilizer from organic waste, alongside initiatives for recycling and waste reuse. Initial training on business skills and entrepreneurship, based on Concern Worldwide’s 17 business rules, and has been conducted. However, there remains a need for ongoing expert support to ensure the sustainability of these ventures. To this end, the project seeks to engage 5 consultants, one per site, to provide specialized support in building successful and sustainable waste management enterprises.
Consultancy Objectives
The primary objective of this entrepreneurship and business technical and mentorship support is to equip the waste entrepreneur groups with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand the principles of entrepreneurship, effectively plan and develop successful and sustainable waste management enterprises, ultimately becoming a key player in the circular economy.
Specifically, the consultant will work with each group for a total of 10 days, over a 5 weeks, two days per week from October to December 2024. During this time, the consultant will:
- Work with the waste management groups to develop their understanding of entrepreneurship principles and business planning.
- Guide the groups in developing and refining effective business plans tailored to waste management, the sale of recycled materials, biogas, and bio fertiliser.
- Conduct validation workshops with the whole group to ensure that business plans are robust, actionable, and aligned with market opportunities.
- Offer ongoing technical support throughout the consultancy period, addressing any challenges that arise and ensuring that the enterprises are on track to achieving long-term sustainability.
- Ensure that by the end of the consultancy, each group has an effective business plan in place and is actively implementing, positioning themselves as key players in the local circular economy.
Scope of the Work
The Consultant is expected to have experience in delivering successful entrepreneurship and business development technical support, mentoring and for women and youth in Malawi. The consultant will be responsible for providing specialized entrepreneurship and business development support to waste management groups in five informal settlements in Lilongwe (Area 25, Chinsapo, Mgona, Mtsinje, and Mtandire). In line with the “Concern Business Manual”, the Consultant is expected to perform the following:
- Conduct an initial assessment to evaluate the current status of the waste management enterprises, including existing business plans, market engagement and business challenges.
- Identify gaps in business knowledge, operational capacities, and other critical areas that require support.
- Support business plans development process, bridge the knowledge gap through mentorships, focusing on the specific needs identified during the assessment and plan.
- Guide each group in the development or refinement of comprehensive business plans that are realistic, market-oriented, and sustainable.
- Ensure that the business plans include clear objectives, market strategies, financial projections, risk assessments, and implementation timelines.
- Facilitate validation workshops with the whole group to review and finalize their business plans.
- Support groups to develop and implement a monitoring framework to track the progress of each group against their business plans and the overall objectives of the RESET project.
- Conduct regular site visits to each of the five locations to assess the progress of the waste management enterprises, provide feedback, and make necessary adjustments to the support provided.
- Provide ongoing mentorship and technical support to the groups throughout the 5 weeks two days per week period, ensuring effective application of the principles and implementation business plans.
- Support the groups in navigating challenges that arise during the implementation of their business plans, offering practical solutions and strategic advice.
- Collect data and provide periodic reports on the outcomes of the consultancy, including successes, challenges, and recommendations for further support.
- Prepare a comprehensive final report detailing the outcomes of the consultancy, including the status of the business plans, the progress made by each group in implementing the business plans, and any recommendations for future support or project adjustments.
- Present the monthly report and final report to Concern Worldwide Malawi, highlighting key achievements and lessons learned for each group.
- Provide Concern with attendance records of all the support sessions as well as observations about interaction and engagement of entrepreneurs
- Ensure that thesupport provided is fully compliant with the Business manual
- Prepare mentorship and technical support plan and agenda and share with Concern team members for approval. The session should be done in Chichewa but report in English
- Design and deliver entrepreneurship and business technical support, comprising of 10 working days. The support is expected to deliver between October and December 2024, each group having 10 sessions. Each day session duration is not less than 5 hours making a total of 50 hours
- Undertake pre and post assessment of the group businesses performance to demonstrate the learning and improvements through the entrepreneurship training.
- Regular fortnight meetings with Concern to discuss progress towards building successful enterprises (This can be virtual or in personal)
Concern will provide or facilitate the following for this assignment;
- The Business Plan Template aligned with the Concern Business Manual
- The Attendance Sheet Templates for the service provider to use during the engagement & training sessions
- The group list, group participant lists and the business focal person and team for each group participants list prior to the training implementation process to service provider. Refreshments for the validation workshop
- Any allowances that might be relevant and applicable as per Concern’s policy and procedures
- Meeting with the Consultant before commencing group engagements on outcomes and expectations
Outputs and Deliverables
The Consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables throughout the consultancy:
- Initial Assessment Report: A short but comprehensive report from initial group business and entrepreneurship assessment of their waste enterprise. The report should include an assessment of existingbusiness plan, market engagement, business challenges, the business knowledge and business operation gaps
- Comprehensive, quality validated business plan for each group:Each group has a well-developed or refined business plan including clear objectives, market strategies, financial projections, risk assessments, record keeping, pricing and implementation timelines etc. Each business plan must be validated through workshops with the group and finalized for implementation.
- Mentorship and technical support implementation outcome: A detailed outcome for the mentorship and technical support provided to the group including schedules used for the sessions, topics covered and methods for bridging the knowledge gaps.
- Monitoring and progresses evaluation framework: each group has a monitoring framework to aid them continually monitor and improve and adapt their progress against their business plans within and beyond the project life span. This framework should include indicators, data collection methods and reporting schedules.
- Monthly progress reports documentations: these reports should include the status of each group, the support provided, challenges encountered, solutions offered, attendance records and minutes and any necessary adjustments to the business plans or support strategies.
- Pre and post assessment report: this report should demonstrate the learning and improvements in business performance before and after the technical support and mentorship. These should include measurable indicators of progress.
- Final report: comprehensive final report with the outcome of the work inclusive of , the status of the business for each group, progress made in implementing the plans, successes, challenges , lessons learnt , adaptations, key achievements
- A final presentation to Concern Worldwide Malawi, highlighting key achievements, lessons learned, and recommendations based on the outcomes of the consultancy.
Timelines of Work
The entrepreneurship and business development technical support and mentorship will be for 2 days per week within a 5 week period between October and December 2024
Reporting Lines
The consultant(s) will work hand in hand with the Project Manager under the leadership of the Programme Coordinator. The Programme Director will be responsible for the final review, sign-off and approval of all outputs and deliverables.
Consultant’s Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Entrepreneurship and Innovation or related discipline
- Proven track record in delivering successful entrepreneurship and business development support.
- Experience working with women and youth groups, particularly in Malawi and familiarity with community solid waste management practices, particularly in the context of Malawi, is highly desirable.
- Prior experience in supporting waste management enterprises or similar projects in informal settlements.
- Expertise in business plan development, market dynamics, financial projections, risk assessment and familiar with circular economy.
- Familiarity with the Concern Business Manual or ability to quickly adapt to its guidelines.
- Ability to provide tailored mentorship and technical support based on the needs identified during assessments.
- Experience in facilitating workshops and engaging with community groups and deliver sessions in Chichewa Flexibility to adjust support strategies based on ongoing assessments and feedback from the groups.
- Ability to work within tight timelines and deliver high-quality outputs.
- Capability to produce and deliver all required reports and frameworks, including initial assessments, business plans, monitoring frameworks, design and implement comprehensive mentorship, technical support and final reports.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines in a dynamic environment.
Bid Submission Requirements and Instructions
Interested Bidders who meet the above qualifications should submit the following requirements in the following order to be considered for this assignment;
Section 1: Cover Letter
Must be properly addressed to The Procurement Committee, Concern Worldwide, Malawi dated and signed. The cover letter must also be stamped if applying as a company or organisation.
Section 2: Administrative Requirements Company/Organizational Bidders:
- Copy of Company Registration Certificate
- Copy of Business License
- Copy of VAT/Withholding Tax Registration
- Copy of TPIN Registration
- Copy of Tax Compliance Certificate
Individual Bidders:
- Copy of National Identification Card or Passport
- Copy of TPIN Registration
- Copy of Tax Compliance Certificate
Section 3: Technical Proposal
- Proposed Methodology including the Consultants’ Understanding of the Terms of Reference
- Proposed Work Plan: Provide a schedule of activities with timelines and proposed start and end date
- Detailed Company/Organizational Profile: Include a list of all related assignments with client contacts, as well as information about the size and structure of the company if bidding as a company/organisation
- Detailed CVs of the Core Team: Include their qualifications, relevant experience & contacts of three professional references & specify the role of each Core Team Member in this assignment.
- Annex Copies of Core Team’s Academic and Professional Certificates
- Annex Work or Service Completion Certificates of previous relevant assignments
- Annex at least three professional references from previous recent clients including their contacts
- Annex Sample Executive Summary Reports for similar assignments
Section 4: Financial Proposal
- Professional fees (include total daily rate in Malawi Kwacha, proposed payment schedule and bid price validity which should not be less than 60 days)
- Other related costs (itemized) in Malawi Kwacha
Interested bidders must submit their bids (include bid submission requirements outlined above) to malawi.tender@concern.net with the subject of the email as RESET/2024/R-000785 Entrepreneurship and Business Technical Support and Mentorship by Monday, 21st October 2024.
Concern’s Purchasing Policy and Terms & Conditions are available here www.concern.net/about/supplies
Download the ToRs using: TOR’s _Entreprenuership and Business Development technical support and mentorship (002) (002)