UGANDA YOUTH NETWORK Youth Livelihood Champions/mentorship Modal Project Terms of Reference for Small Business Development Consultancy September 2015 1
1 Background Uganda Youth Network, a national youth serving umbrella organization in partnership with Justice and Advocacy for Women and Children Uganda with support from Oxfam are implementing a project aimed at developing a thriving youth support system through the champion/mentorship between youth, the local economy and the mentors so that youth can access increased opportunities for productive engagement in societies/communities. The four month project is being implemented in two regions; North and Central. In the Northern region, the project will be implemented in four sub-regions; Karamoja Acholi, Lango and West Nile regions and in the district of Kampala in the central region. UYONET commissioned a survey aimed at providing a general gender disaggregated overview on the knowledge, attitudes, practices and perceptions of the informal sector youth in central and northern Uganda. The survey findings pointed to the fact that young people are less knowledgeable in running livelihood initiatives, policy frameworks and opportunities available through current government programmes. This activity therefore is aimed at addressing the challenge of youth livelihood in the project regions by enhancing the knowledge and skills of young people in small business enterprises. 2. Objectives of the assignment The overall objective of the assignment is to enhance the knowledge and skills of the identified groups of young people in the project regions in business enterprises for improved livelihoods. Specifically, this engagement aims at; a) Developing a guideline/structure for development of a good business idea/proposal. b) Refining 12 business ideas developed by the ten beneficiary groups. c) Developing a comprehensive business training manual to facilitate the training of 147 beneficiaries in business skills and management. 3. Purpose and statement of work Uganda Youth Network seeks to contract a qualified business consultant; individual or firm to facilitate the achievement of the three specific objectives listed above. This process is intended to spur up a robust socio-economic transformation among the youth through business skills development. 2
4. Scope of the assignment UYONET intends to provide practical entrepreneurial and business skills that can spur youth livelihood and socio-economic development in the project regions. This consultancy will therefore focus on follows; i. Development of a business proposal guide/structure. This project is aimed at supporting the youth realize their business potential, and this is against a background that most groups in the project regions were formed with the intention of enhancing the members livelihoods and therefore each group will be required to generate business ideas which will be refined to constitute a business plan/proposal. So as part of this contract, the consultant will be required develop a structure for a good business proposal framework to be used by the beneficiaries. ii. Refining the developed business ideas. The developed business plans/ideas by the beneficiary groups will be subjected to technical review by the consultant to refine them into practical and tangible business plans. Each business plan shall be customized to the local context of the group for easy implementation. iii. Developing a comprehensive business training manual entailing key components of business planning, development and management. After developing the business ideas, the groups are expected to implement them, and therefore, they will need to be equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills to do so. The consultant will thus be required to develop a comprehensive training manual which will be used as a guide in the training. iv. Draw terms of reference between the groups and the selected mentors. After the training, each group will select a suitable mentor among the different successful young people in that line of business within their respective communities. The consultant will therefore be required to draw terms of reference for mentorship for all the twelve groups in respect to the groups business needs as highlighted in their plans. 5. Methodology Development of the business proposal structure, review of the business ideas, development of the training manual and drawing of the terms of reference for mentorship shall majorly be desk review of relevant business documents and existing contemporary literature of the economic setup, culture and traditions of the communities where the groups are coming from. UYONET will provide activity and survey reports in the region to inform the process. The consultant is also expected to consult the National Employment Policy, National development Plan, National Youth Policy and any other literature that can enrich especially the training manual. 3
6. Management of the consultancy The consultant will work under the overall supervision of UYONET coordination team and UYONET will provide all necessary guidance as well as administrative and logistical support to the consultant in fulfilling the above tasks. 7. Required Expertise The assignment will be undertaken by a local consultant with the following skills, experiences and qualifications: Bachelor s degree in business studies or related social science fields. At least 5 years of relevant experience business development and management or development programming. Proven experience in business training and development of training manuals. Excellent ability to communicate in English both written and spoken, and to work in a team. Familiar with youth programme interventions, local governance and development issues. Ability to manage and deliver high-quality work on tight deadlines. Prior experience of consulting or working in northern region will be an added advantage. 8. Implementation Arrangements The consultant will work independently but regularly consult and inform the project management team on the progress of the assignment. The timetable for the evaluation, including when different deliverables or products such as business proposal structure, draft manual, final business proposals and TOR for mentors is provided in the table below: The work schedule should run as follows Deliverable Inception report Business proposal structure/guide Refining group business ideas Draft business training manual TOR for mentors Time frame 2 days after signing the contract 2 days after submitting the inception report 10 working days after receiving the business ideas 14 working days after refining the business proposals 5 working days after submission of the final 4
draft of the training manual The consultant (s) shall submit the all the above deliverables to the Executive Director of Uganda Youth Network 9. Financial Projection As full consideration for the services performed, UYONET shall pay the consultant the agreed fees as per the schedule below; 60% upon presentation of inception report and signing of the contract 40% at presentation of final policy briefs Expression of Interest Interested and qualified persons are expected to submit a technical and financial proposal to the Executive Director, Uganda Youth Network through jobs@uyonet.or.ug or hand deliver to UYONET offices; Plot 55A, Kimera Rd, Ntinda, Kampala before 5.00 pm on Thursday 24 September, 2015. For details on the above deliverables, kindly refer to the project proposal included in the Pack / Zip archive. 5