Recrutement d’une entreprise pour réaliser des études de marché et accompagner les PME et Startups dans le cadre du COVID-19, Côte d’Ivoire

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD)

Avenue Jean-Paul II, 01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire

E-mail : [email protected]; cc : [email protected]

RECRUITMENT OF AN ENTERPRISE SUPPORT ORGANIZATION (ESO) TO CONDUCT MARKET STUDIES AND SUPPORT SMES & STARTUPS AMIDST COVID-19

1. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting the economic growth and social progress across the continent. The Bank delivers financial and technical supports to Regional Member Countries (RMCs) through transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty and bring inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten-Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five priorities (High 5s) have been identified for scaling up the Bank’s delivery, namely: Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Power Africa, Integrate Africa and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. In order to accelerate the improvement of the life for the people of Africa, the Bank approved in 2016 the Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy (JfYA) with the objective to create million jobs and equip 50 million youth with skills for enhanced employability and entrepreneurial success by 2025. The approach of the JfYA strategy is to support the countries to build an ecosystem conducive to youth employment ;

2. The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD) therefore requires the services of a firm to conduct Market Studies in multiple countries in Africa and desk research. The objective of this assignment is to “understands the needs of Small and Mid-size Enterprises (SMEs) & Start-ups amidst COVID-19”. The Market Studies will be mapping eventual solutions meant to help SMEs address challenges caused by the current pandemic. The firm is also expected to list potential areas of interventions the Bank could take in order to foster SMEs and Startups resilience based on the interviews & desk research. The report should analyse the current challenges SMEs & Startups are facing amidst COVID-19 and will formulate recommendations on potential policy measures which could be implemented at different levels – national, regional, and continental– to respond to these challenges ;

3. The purpose of this assignment is to assist the Bank, the Government and all stakeholders involved in this initiative to develop policy measures and recommendations to support SMEs & Startups in the transition and recovery phases following the COVID19 pandemic towards sustained growth and development. The policy response will be based on the solutions to be led by respective governments and will be evidence-based and informed by a toolkit to be used by i) SMEs & ii) Startups. The Business toolkit for SMES is expected to cover critical needs identified through the COVID 19 crisis. It aims to provide tools for small businesses to pivot (business forms, financial tools, online training, and information resources developed by leading experts. All aspects of business set-up and management should be covered, from business planning to accounting, financial management, human resources, BBBEE, import & export, legal and insurance matters, marketing, sales, operations and information technology ;

4. The services to be provided under the Assignment include (but are not limited to) undertaking a Market Study to support enabling policies in Africa for SMEs & Startups amidst COVID-19 and to identify key resources needed by Entrepreneurs to leapfrog. The Enterprise Support Organization may be called to have an extensive discussion with respective Governments entities across targeted countries in Africa and should have a proven record in topics such as :

• Business, Tax and legal framework (formalization of SMEs & Startups) ;
• Access to capital (loans, grants, venture capital) ;
• Access to international markets; local competition, access to local procurement ;
• Operational support (mentorship, incubation, acceleration, capacity building workshops).

5. The AfDB jobs team invites consulting firm to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested ESOs must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services: i) Brochure of the company, ii) Description of similar assignments, iii) References & iv) Team composition ;

6. Only Consulting firms would be considered for this Expression of Interest and not individual candidatures ;

7. The consultancy firm should be based in Africa or in Non-Regional Member Countries and have proven records of references with Donors / Multinational companies across Africa ;

8. The eligibility criteria, shortlisting and selection procedure shall be in accordance with the Bank’s Procurement Policy for Recruitment of Corporate Consultants ;

9. The Bank is under no obligation to shortlist any consulting firm who expresses interest ;

10. Interested consulting firms may obtain further information at the address below during the Bank’s working hours: 08:00 to 17:00 hours (GMT or Abidjan time), Monday to Friday ;

11. Expressions of interest must be submitted or sent by e-mail to the address mentioned below no later than 23rd November 2020 at 05:00 PM (GMT) and specifically mentioning : “Expression of interest for conducting Market Studies, supporting enabling policies in Africa for SMEs & Startups amidst COVID-19”.

For the attention of :

Ms. Aida Mademe Sylla

E-mail : [email protected]

Copy to :

Ms .Ndeye Absa Gningue

E-mail : [email protected]

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Recruitment of a firm to conduct market studies and support SMEs & Startups amidst COVID-19

Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department – November 2020 TERMS OF REFERENCE

Recruitment of a firm to conduct Market studies across Africa & to support enabling policies for SMEs & Startups amidst COVID-19.

1. Background :

The rate of formal job creation in Africa is insufficient to absorb the growing working age population. By 2040, Africa will house the world’s largest workforce. However, the pace of job creation remains significantly slow. African labour markets create an average of 3 million wage-earning jobs annually, a number that falls significantly short of the 10 to 12 million youth entering the labour force each year.

In response to this crisis, the African Development Bank has adopted a strategy called Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) for the period of 2016 – 2025. This strategy responds to the priorities in the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy and the New Corporate Priorities¹. Creating productive jobs for the youth would help improve their living conditions, while providing the much-needed human capital to transform Africa’s energy, agriculture, industrialization and regional integration efforts.

The JfYA strategy is built on three pillars, namely Integration, Innovation and Investment. Under the integration pillar, the Bank will amplify its impact on employment by bringing a youth employment focus to all Bank operations. The innovative pillar aims to develop, scale, and replicate flagship programs that create new economic opportunities for tens of millions of youth in sectors driving Africa’s growth. Three sectors have been identified for these interventions: agriculture, industrialization and ICT. The Investment pillar of the initiative seeks to put in place an investment facility that will catalyze financing for youth employment initiatives.

Through the innovation pillar of the strategy, the Bank aims to launch an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab platform (The Lab). The objective of the Lab is to support Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem by incubating and piloting promising new ideas and assessing best practices for existing interventions in support of youth employment. In addition, the Lab will provide knowledge resources to help mitigate the constraints and challenges entrepreneurs face in Africa and allow them to successfully launch and grow their businesses.

The Lab will achieve this goal by :

• Increasing the capacity of Enterprise Support Organizations (ESOs) such as incubators, accelerators, hubs, financial intermediaries and other specialized firms, operators and networks that provide capital ;
• The High – 5 : Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa ;
• Mentoring, coaching, networking, technology and management skills, linkage to other Business Development Services, and other resources and accompanying measures that are required to create and support viable entrepreneurship ecosystems across Africa ;
• Creating a network of ESOs & entrepreneurs across Africa to promote learning and exchange, business and market linkages, and investments.

2. Scope of Work :

Broadly the assignment shall include the following activities (but not limited to) :

• An analysis of the current challenges that SMEs & Startups are facing amidst COVID-19 ;
• Clear recommendations on potential policy measures which could be implemented at different levels – national, regional, and continental by the Bank ;
• Specific areas of interventions :
  • Business, Tax and legal framework (formalization of SMEs & Startups) ;
  • Access to capital (loans, grants, venture capital) ;
  • Access to international markets; local competition, access to local procurement ;
  • Operational support (mentorship, incubation, acceleration, capacity building workshops).

Countries of focus :

Following the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab pilot countries for 2020, the assignment should cover below countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Senegal & Zimbabwe.

Methodology :

The study will involve synthesis of relevant existing studies complemented by specific case studies at country level. The consultant will engage with the AfDB country offices and with the representatives of other donors and development partners in country.

The approach will include inter alia :

1. Desk review: The consultants will undertake desk research involving a review of existing secondary sources ;
2. Data collection: The consultant will collect data on entrepreneurship focusing on the main countries of interest. The consultant will make sure that data collected are comparable across countries. Such data collection should be done every month to assess the usage of the toolkit from a country to another ;
3. Fieldwork: The consultant will complement the data collection by conducting country level work to collect and validate primary data through Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, etc., and engage with potential stakeholders and beneficiaries of the entrepreneurship ecosystem at country level. This will involve field surveys as applicable and other engagement tools, and will provide detailed, updated, relevant and reliable quantitative data and qualitative information. Same types of fieldwork and questionnaires would be carried out across countries to ensure comparability of data across countries ;
4. Report validation and dissemination: The consultant will facilitate validation of key findings, recommendation and the dissemination of final report in close coordination with designated focal point in the Bank ;
5. Final Report: An approved final report that responds to and addresses the specific objectives of the study.

Services :

To achieve the above scope of services, below mentioned tasks/outputs might need to be undertaken (but not limited to) :

• Mapping of relevant market studies already being conducted across the continent for similar assignments ;
• Conducting preliminary group/community consultation in 5 Hubs (North Africa, West Africa, South Africa, East Africa) with a deep dive in below countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Senegal & Zimbabwe ;
• Identification of key projects at the Bank that could complement the identified areas of interventions where SMEs and Startups would need support ;
• Workplan for 6 months on activities related to the current project ;
• Production of a report based on findings and clear recommendations.

Team Composition :

The team working on this assignment will consist of three different entities, commissioned by different financing entities, and required to work and collaborate, as follows :

• A Team Leader, to over-see the implementation of the market studies and interlocks with respective governments. The Team Leader lead the analysis of the market studies as per the deliverables in close collaboration with other team members. He/She will provide inputs to the survey questions prepared by the policy advisor and take part in the development of policy recommendations based on the survey results. In addition, the consultant will be required to prepare a short summary on the regional comparison between the impact of COVID 19 on the SMEs in North, South, East, West and Central Africa ;

• A Research Team mandated to conduct market studies & surveys across the continent. The Team should be led by a Research Economist supported by statisticians and field assistants. The team should plan, develop, conduct and analyze surveys. The scope of work includes the analysis and interpretation of survey data ;

• A policy advisor, with extensive survey development skills and policy drafting skills. The consultant is commissioned to develop surveys and draft the policy recommendation section based on feedback from public consultations, and with other members of the team and stakeholders ;

• A Private sector development Expert (Entrepreneurship, MSME, Innovation) should be in charge of developing the toolkit for SMEs & Startups in line with required deliverables.

3. Deliverables / Outputs :

The deliverables under this assignment should be made available in English and in French depending on the country of focus :

4. Eligibility Criteria :

The JfYA Team invites Firms having expertise in Research, Business Development Services satisfying the following said conditions :

• Technical expertise on market study, management and operations issues in Africa and at international level ;

• Technical expertise on Governance strategies and experiences in proposing best practices at Member States level, which is a necessary element for formulating effective recommendations.

5. Engagement Period :

The period of the contract is estimated to be from December 2020 to June 2021 (6 months).

6. Collaboration :

The consultancy will be managed by the Human Capital Youth and Skills development Department, specifically, the Jobs Team with which the firm is expected to work closely and update on progress against the scope of work, challenges and preliminary findings. The consultant will work closely with the respective AfDB Country Offices (focal point persons) who will provide in country supervision and support.

7. Remuneration :

The consulting firm will be paid in accordance with the established rules and procedures of the Bank’s procurement model. The selection of proposals is on Quality-and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) – which considers the technical quality of the proposal, with consideration of the cost of services.