Terms of Reference Business Development Service Module Development for Startups and MSMEs

ABOUT FIRST CONSULT

First Consult is a leading economic development consulting firm implementing projects in Ethiopia. Founded in 2006, First Consult (FC) has grown to design and implement projects across the agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors. Our multidisciplinary teams combine a capacity to execute with clarity of the local context. As a result, we have delivered at-scale real impact in terms of job creation, business formation, business growth, and investment attraction and mobilization.

MESMER PROGRAM

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Recovery and Resilience Program (MESMER) is a 5-year program launched in October 2022 to support 72,200 MSMEs and 410,800 jobs by creating access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to realize their growth prospects and resilience. MESMER works to provide support to MSMEs through business development support, psychosocial services, and technical assistance to financial institutions. MESMER is a countrywide program implemented by First Consult in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation as part of the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy and will strive to create dignified and fulfilling work for the youth, the majority of them women.

MESMER is a national scale-up of the existing MSE Resilience Facility launched in 2020 to capacitate enterprises affected by the COVID pandemic. The project will mainly be following a four-pronged approach to meet its objectives: a) Grants and soft loans to MSMEs through a risk-sharing liquidity fund arrangement, b) Technical assistance to financial institutions, c) Business development services and life skills, d) Psychosocial support. The FDRE Ministry of Labour and Skills will be the main government counterpart for the program. Other partners include financial institutions (microfinance institutions, banks, and digital financial service providers), BDS, and psychosocial support providers.

BACKGROUND OF BDS MODULE DEVELOPMENT

MSMEs face several problems including but not limited to a knowledge gap in business operation and management, lack of working premise, petite information, limited access to finance, absence of a useful business network, weak support system and market access, high exposure to stocks such as conflict, inflation, and other macroeconomic challenges. To build a dynamic and resilient economy, efforts have been in place by several stakeholders to support and promote MSMEs to ensure employment creation, import substitution, and fostering export. In this regard, business development services and access to finance are among the top needs of growth-oriented MSMEs.

MESMER’s primary objective is to sustain MSMEs’ bankability and facilitate sustainable access to finance to fuel their growth and unlock their development and employment creation potentials. MESMER is aiming to implement a digital BDS delivery in addition to the physical approach for startups and MSMEs in selected regions of Ethiopia considering variables including but not limited to literacy level, scale of business, access to smart phones and internet will be accessing and making use of the digital BDS platform. The digital BDS is believed to disrupt the existing trend and could potentially become a cost effective and sustainable way to deliver BDS at scale. To this end, the development of simplified, practical oriented, interactive and engaging content for the digital platform is required. This ToR will focus on the module development together with instructional design and facilitator guide for the digital BDS provision.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this terms of reference is to identify a service provider that can design and develop a Business Development Services module together with instructional design for MSMEs and start-ups. The module developed will take into account the needs of MSMEs and startups while set up an interactive and engaging instructional design (interactive digital module design).

Justification of the Service

This ToR seeks to develop a module together with instructional design for startups and MSMEs to help grow their business, effectively utilize the program fund and enhance their financial literacy. It aims to develop self-learning BDS modules that help enterprises effectively interact with the digital platform to be built, learn relevant business skills, gain knowledge that will help them grow their business and help them see their business from a different perspective. The modules developed will focus on financial literacy in the Ethiopian context with a slight touch of business skills from the view of MSMEs and startups

The module is meant to help enterprises develop their understanding of concepts like managing business money, saving, loan application/repayment and help enhance their entrepreneurial skills. The modules will be engaging, interactive, and concise in a sense to get a message across precisely to help MSMEs learn and also serve as a reference material for the future. Considering the literacy level and availability of time for learning of the participants, the BDS service should be easy to be customized and converted to digital self-learning content.  Program targets to reach 80 % women and 70 % youth-owned enterprises, thus the need for considering friendliness and context of contents for these target groups. At minimum 10-15% of enterprises are expected to grow from micro to small and 5-10% grow from small to medium enterprises, which might require targeted content design to support the transitions.

SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

The service provider is expected to bring its experience and knowledge to complete the following tasks:

1.       Module development

·         Module to be developed based on the courses selected for the pilot phase. Courses selected are Entrepreneurial mind-set, financial literacy, savings and loan. More courses could be added after pilot phase.

·         The module should be engaging and interactive (visually rich) and aligned with the needs and interests of youth and women owned enterprises

·         Incorporate a facilitator guide together with methodologies of delivery

2.       Instructional design development

·         Design a detailed digital conversion mechanism for the modules developed.

·         Develop an instructional design by utilizing interactive and creative methods (storyboard, videos, audio, flip cards, and other content) for the digital BDS platform.

 - By providing information in the smallest and shortest time possible

-Making new information easy to understand

• - Using graphic illustration

-Creating storyboard for interactive video-based learning/animations

·         Develop a method to evaluate the MSMEs and start-ups’engagement, pre and post assessment and scoring mechanism (assignments and exams after each title/courses)

3.       Work closely with course producers and web developers to realize production and hosting of developed content digitally in to an online learning platform

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAMES

The minimum deliverables are listed in the table below. The digital BDS implementation is planned to commence on 1 Aug, 2023, during which all preparatory works are expected to be completed.

Activities

Deliverables

Timeframe

Initiation

Inception report 30 June, 2023

Modules

Development of Module together with facilitator guide 14 July, 2023

Instructional design

Storyboard  21 July, 2023

Incorporating interactive learning contents

Interactive and engaging content ((videos, animation, in-person recording) development

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The service provider is expected to have;

·         A minimum of 5 years of experience in BDS provision

 ·         A firm with formal business license and registration documents

·         Hands-on experience, knowledge, and skill in BDS provision and working with all forms of enterprises

·         Experience and familiarity with challenges facing micro, small, and medium enterprises and barriers to formalization and growth

·         Excellent analytical, technical, and conceptual knowledge of business management and grasp of business management principles and practices

·         Proven experience on design and development of online learning contents or interactive learning materials/courses that suits for self-learning using digital platforms

  WORKING ARRANGEMENT

• The service provider will be working under a contract with First Consult. The service provider will report directly to MESMER BDS Manager and also work with other service providers and MESMER team intensively.

·         Service provider is obligated to work within the required deadlines and be available by schedule which can be adapted at any time as deemed necessary.

BUDGET

All costs should be stated in ETB and including any taxes. The budget should be presented in a format where cost areas are clearly identified for each activity. The budget should also indicate unit cost, quantity and number of days, if applicable.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should email their proposal (both technical and financial) to bids3@firstconsultet.com with the relevant information detailed in technical and financial section of a proposal. The technical proposal should comprise: understanding of the assignment, methodology, proposed team, list of relevant experiences, timeframe for delivery of assignment and any other supporting documents. 

The subject of the email should be stated as “Terms of Reference for Business Development Service Module Development for Startups and MSMEs”.

Proposals must be received no later than 5 PM on June 13, 2023. For any queries relating to this assignment please contact Sihin Tesfaye at stesfaye@firstconsultet.com