RECRUITING A CONSULTANT TO DOCUMENT KEY LESSONS LEARNT FROM “ENABLING ENVIRONMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP” PROJECT.

1. INTRODUCTION 

Women for Women Rwanda (WfW-Rwanda) is a non-for-profit national NGO legally established in December 2020. The organization recently transitioned from Women for Women International (WfWI) that had been operating in Rwanda since 1997 has served over 79,000 women with our transformative programs and support. Its mission seeks to support women and girls in Rwanda to break the vicious circle of poverty and social exclusion, by enabling them to become socially and economically capable to lead themselves and their community to better health, education, and social conditions. Since its establishment as a local organization, Women for Women Rwanda manages different social and economic empowerment projects for women and girls.

Since 2021, Women for Women Rwanda has been implementing the enabling environment for successful female entrepreneurs supporting 1,440 women agri-preneurs in Nyaruguru, Muhanga, Gasabo, Kicukiro, Bugesera, Rwamagana and Kayonza districts.  

Women for Women Rwanda is looking for a consultancy service provider (an experienced individual or a consulting firm) to collect and document key project lessons leant from the 3 years of project implementation.

2.OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY

The consultancy has the following objectives:

• Collect learnings on best practices about connecting women micro-entrepreneurs with key market and finance stakeholders in Rwanda to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Investigate best practices of Wealth Inequality in the context of this project.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative data throughout the 3-year project life to identify main drivers of successful engagement of women micro-entrepreneurs into key markets and entrepreneurial ecosystem. This learning exercise seeks to understand the impact of the project’s interventions in contributing to engage the bottom 40% of the income ladder with the top 40% in a mutually beneficial exchange that fosters the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Develop learning paper and policy brief capturing learnings of the project and policy recommendations.
• Lead and present findings at the dissemination event with private and public market and finance actors at national level, including policy makers and different key project stake holders.
• To highlight successful strategies, challenges faced, and solutions implemented.
• To provide insights and recommendations for future projects and programs within a similar context.
• To share knowledge and experiences with relevant stakeholders, including internal teams and external partners.

3.  SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will be responsible for:

• Reviewing secondary data including project documentation, reports, etc.
• Collect primary data to capture key lessons and challenges.
• Conducting interviews with key project stakeholders, including project team members, beneficiaries, and partners.
• Analyzing quantitative and qualitative data to identify key lessons learned.
• Developing a comprehensive learning paper that includes a summary of findings, key takeaways, and recommendations for future initiatives.

4. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The consultant will deliver:

• An inception report outlining the proposed methodology and work plan.
• A first draft learning paper for review and feedback.
• A second draft of a polished learning paper incorporating feedback received.
• A final approved learning paper incorporating.

5.TIMELINE 

It is expected that this assignment will be completed within 30 working days after signing the contract.

6.QUALIFICATIONS

The consultant’s skills and education must encompass:

• At least a master’s degree in statistics, economics, or a management related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience in producing learning papers, writing reports, or a similar publication.
• Strong research and analytical skills.
• Familiar with doing project assessments/evaluations.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.

7. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated based on but not limited to the following criteria:

• Relevance of experience and expertise.
• Soundness of the proposed methodology
• Cost-effectiveness of the budget.
• Timeliness and feasibility of the proposed timeline.

8. APPLICATIONS DEADLINE

The deadline of all applications is 10 January 2024, and please note that hand delivered hard copy applications will not be accepted.

Only short-listed applicants will be invited to interview. Telephone inquiries are not accepted.

9. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Interested consultants or consulting firms should submit their technical and financial proposals, updated CV, cover letter, 3 justifications of similar rendered services, and 3 professional references to: wfwr.procurement@womenforwomenrwanda.org

Berna Rusagara

Executive Director

Women for Women Rwanda