Save the Children Nigeria is implementing a 12-month project funded by GIZ to address economic barriers faced by vulnerable conflict parents in Borno in accessing basic education for their children. The project is supporting 400 returnees, Internally Displaced People (IDP) and host families in Konduga Local Government Area (LGA) to generate income and meet the cost of education for their children. Through this project, at least 800 children (47% male and 53% female) primary school aged children (6-14 years) will enroll and consistently attend school. The project will also support the selected households to start up viable Income Generating Activities (IGAs), to enable them to continue educating their children beyond the life span of the project. The support package includes both training and equipment to start microenterprises.

POSITION : Consultant - Market Assessment to Inform the Start Up of IGAs for Vulnerable Parents.

Description

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

SC intends to recruit a consultant to conduct a Market Assessment to map the market system and identify market opportunities for the potential IGA products. The study will inform the selection of the identification of the income generating opportunities. All beneficiaries will receive technical, financial and business management training and linked to financial services where possible. After the trainings, the beneficiaries will receive start-up equipment/supplies/materials for their enterprise, as well as funds which they can exchange later for raw materials which they may need to replenish.

The objective of the study is to provide information to the IGA beneficiaries and guide their selection of viable business opportunities. The study will further identify barriers to accessing the opportunities and suggest ways of overcoming them. More specifically, the study will:

• Identify the key skills needed in the market to guide the training guidelines for the micro enterprise management for the IGA beneficiaries
• Identify vendors with capacity to provide the required LGA equipment to the beneficiaries.
• Determine if the existing vendors/retailers/business have the capacity to provide materials/inputs of sufficient quality and quantity to meet the need of the beneficiaries of multi-purpose e-vouchers
• Provide analysis of the different types of business available currently and those that could be created in the near future, identifying the maturity duration of each type of business.
• Identify the barriers to accessing IGA opportunities and suggest ways of overcoming them, focusing on key success factors for the different types of businesses and the startup requirements.
• Identify the existing micro finance institutions/informal credit systems and hire purchase opportunities available in the beneficiaries’ area.
• Map the local capacities - government, NGOs and private sectors available to support the training and mentoring of the activities; as well as identifying the available skills development centers for young mothers

Methodology
A detailed methodology should be provided by the consultant showing how the assessment aims and objectives will be met. The consultant should:

• Collect data on existing business opportunities, taking into account their growth potential
• Identify constraints/challenges to starting up small businesses and provide recommendations on how to overcome them
• Assess capacity of a representative sample of retailers and wholesalers in the target beneficiaries’ locations.
• Define the assessment methodology and develop data collection tools
• Review of relevant material held by SC, including baseline and household survey reports
• Meet with key stakeholders in the target area

Deliverables should include the following:

• Definition framework to ensure we have a common understanding of key terms and sectors
• Any suggested improvements to existing study scope, as outlined in this document
• An inception report, including: planned timeline and work plan, literature review of all relevant secondary sources, detailed methodology / approach, planned stakeholders to be consulted and sampling framework, data collection and analysis tools, qualitative and quantitative protocols for data collection and analysis
• Mapping of local suppliers and retailers
• Brief presentation of preliminary findings
• Draft report written in English
• One (1) electronic file of the clean (final) qualitative and quantitative data collected
• Final report

Consultant’s fee and proposed mode of payment

• 30% upon signature of contract and submission of inception report
• 40% upon submission of draft report
• 30 % upon submission of final evaluation report.
• SCI reserves the right to withhold payment if deliverables do not meet the requirements outlined in this Terms of Reference.

Submission and evaluation of proposals
This market assessment will be carried out in Konduga LGA of Borno state. Qualified candidates (on a rolling basis) will be required to submit the following documents on or before close of business on 16th November, 2017:

• Technical proposal describing how the requirements of the Terms of Reference will be met within the given timeframe (maximum 4 pages)
• Budget
• CV(s) of lead evaluator/team
• 1-2 samples of relevant work

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• How well the requirements laid out in the ToR are met
• Skills and experience of the evaluator/team
• Cost effectiveness

 Qualifications

• A Master's Degree, in a relevant discipline
• Demonstrated understanding of the entrepreneurship for households with low levels of education
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles
• Extensive theoretical and practical experience of market assessment methodologies in humanitarian contexts, including rapid market assessment
• Experience with socio-economic surveys.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills.
• We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.