Develop and Deliver Business Development Support Services to Start-Ups in 3 Districts: Karongi, Rutsiro and Nyamasheke - Rwanda

Opportunity Background

Sustainable enterprises are engines of growth and job creation and are key to addressing the challenge of creating new jobs, reducing unemployment, generating income, reducing poverty and decent work deficits.

Sustainable enterprises are of critical importance for wealth creation innovation, which translate into better standards of living welfare and social conditions. This rationale is aligned with Rwanda’s vision of becoming an upper middle-income country by the year 2035 and to reach high-income status by 2050, where enterprise development is considered as one of the key drivers in reducing poverty, promoting social change, fostering innovation and economic transformation.

Equally, over the past decade, social protection and decent work have gained significant international attention.

According to the World Bank (2019), rising labor incomes directly accounted for about 40% of the drop in poverty worldwide over the past ten years. Meanwhile, there is a growing consensus that jobs have a more significant role to play than just providing an adequate income. In the absence of social protection mechanisms, workers are also exposed to risks in case of accidents at work, illness, or pregnancy when a female employee has given birth in the period of maternity

Likewise, social protection and decent work are high on the Belgian agenda. The Belgian Development Cooperation law explicitly promotes inclusive, fair and sustainable economic growth, local entrepreneurship, the social economy and ILO's Decent Work Agenda.

Opportunity structure

Objectives of the assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to promote self-employment through creation of new business (startups) and empowerment of MSMEs. The service provider will select suitable youth and women with entrepreneurship aspirations from the targeted economic sectors, assess their aspirations, challenges and provide them with a comprehensive package of tailored business development solutions hence putting them on pathways to self-employment through establishment of sustainable MSMEs. The overall objective of the assignment is to support start-ups through business development services (BDS) to address challenges associated with launching new companies and accompany them in the journey of maturity toward sustainable business enterprises.

The specific objectives of the assignments are:

i. Selection an enrolment of 1500 star-ups (500 per each district).

ii. Provision basic business skills on entrepreneurship and financial literacy

iii. Provision of technical skills required to start a new business and business coaching

iv. Development of market opportunities and support the creation of businesses which have linkages with available market opportunities within district of interventions;

v. Promote access to finance by linking up them with financial institutionsincluding business plans developments to the beneficiaries

vi. Linkages with other service providers related to markets for inputs and produce /products The expected results or outcomes of the assignment will be measured against gains in: The selected beneficiaries will be encouraged to have the following output:

i. Business establishments created by supported enterprises

ii. Turn-over of established businesses and jobs created at least 2 new jobs per SME

iii. Increased incomes earned by owners and workers of created establishments

iv. Enrollment of owners and workers of established businesses in social security schemes such as ejoheza and community health insurance (mutuelle de sante) and others

v. Employment contracts issued to workers

vi. Created establishments having operational linkages with financial institutions / PFIs

Key Tasks of the assignment

1. Selection an enrolment of 1500 start-ups (500 per district)

In collaboration with local government at District level, through the support of Business Development and Employment Unit (BDE Unit) the consultant firm will:

• Organize entrepreneurship awareness activities to attract start-ups with business aspiration to apply for BDS programs; including reaching out and building linkages with market, TVET schools and polytechnics.

• Set-up selection criteria to recruit the eligible start-ups to be enrolled in the business development services

• Supported by the selection committee provided by the districts, the consultant will consolidate a final list of selected start-ups.

2. Provision basic business skills on entrepreneurship and financial literacy, the consultant firm will:

• Conduct training need assessment to all enrolled start-ups

• Develop Training Modules and Training catalogue.

• Provide tailored guidance and trainings to the selected new entrepreneurs to help them at ideation stage in conceptualizing (including identification of needed production equipment and sketching production plans), realizing a minimum viable product and launching their businesses

• Identify, select and assign competent coaches and mentors (with entrepreneurial experience) to advise entrepreneurs on developing their business management models, financial literacy.

3. Provision of technical skills required to start a new business and business coaching The consultant firm collaboration with TVET schools and service providers of existing companies to:

• Identify among start-ups new entrepreneurs that needs skills upgrade in manufacturing (e.g valueaddition, Carpentry, tailoring,).

• Conduct technical training of all identified aspiring entrepreneurs and start up new establishments to support them to acquire and upgrade their skills to produce better quality of products.

4. Development of market opportunities and creation of business linkages

The consultant firm will;

• Map and advise on business opportunities in the locality

• Support and create market linkages to new start-ups enterprises to access to local, regional, national or export market opportunities for their products and services

• Support entrepreneurs to expand their market by improving their products through access technologies and innovations for their business

• Organize networking events for new start up entrepreneurs and support teams which will aim to establish networks with industry leaders and suppliers, interact with potential customers, participate in trade fairs and/or industry events.

• Organize events dedicated to match-making entrepreneurs and investors.

5. Promote access to finance by linking up with PFIs

The consultant firm will;

• Support all start-ups to develop a bankable business plans

• Facilitate startups and new entrepreneurs to access including working capital and equipment finance required for business investment from financial institutions including those with operating partnerships with BDF and other relevant sources of financing opportunities on the Rwandan financial market, including equity, debt, and grants from public, private, and peer-topeer sources.

Scope of the work and duration

Reporting to Enabel under an agreed work plan, the consulting firm will undertake tasks that include, but not limited to the following:

• Geographical targeting

The intervention is supporting start-ups in 3 districts of Karongi, Rutsiro and Nyamasheke.

• Sector of operation

The sectors of operation are Manufacturing and trade

• Targeted Groups

Youth (16-30 years); and women

• The need to focus on 50 % beneficiaries to be women;

• 10% of the beneficiaries are people with disabilities;

Competitive scope

Profile: Minimum requirement for the selection stage of the consulting firm: Minimum requirement for the selection stage

Minimum required profile for the consulting firm

The business consultancy firm should have the following experience.

• Having business development services (business consulting services) as core business (with a legal document to prove this)

• At least five years of professional experiences of providing successful business development services /solutions targeting micro and small enterprises,

• With at least 3 track records of working with youth and women lead enterprises in developing countries.

• At least three (3) similar (in scope and scale) assignments (Business development services /solutions targeting micro and small enterprises) including at least one with minimum 100 entrepreneurs, which have been previously conducted proven by related certificates of satisfactory performance or any other relevant document.

• Proven experience in designing training and coaching materials, with at least 1 training and coaching material for each field.

Closing date : 14 December 2023 10:00