Call for Proposal for an Expert (Agency, individual) Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development Program Set Up

1. Background

Lebanon faces several economic challenges as demonstrated by the nationwide impact caused by the financial deficit, unemployment, and lack of support to MSMEs. Decree 331 of the central bank that was supposed to support SMEs with a tangible budget didn’t bring any fruits and the money was spent in vague ways. The several initiatives and programs to support the MSMEs is still divorced from a huge chunk of the prospective business ventures that many youths might be dreaming of starting.  Young people who have a skill and the will to start a business still lack the support in Business Development Services and the needed finial support in loans and in equity.

Although credit is an important platform to promote financial inclusion and more inclusive growth for engendering economic and employment opportunities, alone it can’t create the needed impact. Life skills, Business Development Training Skills, accompanied with technical skills, financial support, coaching and follow up might break this vicious circle. At the other side of the perspective, supporting existing MSMEs to expand and grow horizontally and vertically would create the needed pace for more jobs in the many sectors of business and IT. Digitization is also a third component that would support the economy whence the MSMEs get the needed digital know how to join the world wide trends and progress. 

1. Purpose

Safadi Foundation is implementing a project aiming at strengthening the role of traditional micro and small businesses in north Lebanon enabling them to become a sustainable source of income, employment opportunities and local economic growth. Considering that most businesses in the targeted area are micro and small, they present a niche market with significant potential for growth.

The project aims to Revive traditional commercial and industrial micro-small Enterprises in Tripoli and El Mina to enhance their contribution to the local economy.

A focus will be placed on businesses that demonstrate significant potential to develop their business and are in need to promote their products and services.

The expected results (outputs) from this objective:

1. Micro and small traditional businesses have systems and operations improved by enhancing traditional micro and small enterprises through designing business action plans and providing them with system services as well as equipping them with needed assets and materials.
2. Traditional businesses product and brand quality enhanced through designing marketing plans for active brand promotion.

1. Overall Responsibility

Safadi Foundation is looking to an external consultant to plan, lead and implement a rapid assessment highlighting the main challenges faced by MSMEs in the traditional businesses in Tripoli and El Mina, in order to design a set of recommendations for the sector's development with a special focus on the north, and particularly setting a business and marketing plan for 20 MSME’s with a coaching process.

At the aim of sustaining this component, the expert will be also working on designing a new unit for Safadi Foundation to manage and support the MSMEs sector in Lebanon.

The focus of the expert should be on evaluating the interventions of SF in this sector in order to support in SF in provision of program design for the support of the MSME sector in Lebanon with a complete Manual of operations that has the definitions, the objectives, procedures (selection of beneficiaries, selection of service providers etc), sectors, case scenarios, application forms, scoring sheets, TORs of the team that will run the Unit etc.

The expert will be hired based on a merit-based and cost-effectiveness evaluation of offers for service provision.

1. Tasks and Responsibilities

1. Conduct a rapid assessment aiming at highlighting the main challenges faced by MSMEs in the traditional businesses in Tripoli and El Mina aiming at analyzing the available resources in order to draft a business plan for MSMEs development. The report must give a national overview on the traditional business sector in Lebanon in general and particularly in North Lebanon and must focus on designing a set of recommendations for the sector's development with a special focus on the north. The assessment must also be conducted with a list of potential private sector business partners that are related to the sectors of intervention on a national level, as partners in employment and placement.

1. Lead and implement a marketing coaching program including detailed marketing plan design for shortlisted micro-small businesses Based on the assessment a capacity building training on Marketing will be designed and addressed to the shortlisted MSMEs. The Marketing training aims to enhance the skills of MSMEs in identifying the target market, using digital marketing such as websites, social media platforms and will deliver tips for offline marketing. draft a marketing plan to each of the identified MSMEs in order to fulfil their marketing gaps. This plan must include a description of Business, outlining the target market, listing the competition, in addition to SWOT analysis, goals and tactics, budget, and branding. It is anticipated that the expert will need 45 days to accomplish the marketing plans.

1. Support Safadi Foundation in creating a specialized Unit to manage and support the MSMEs sector in Lebanon. The support must include drafting the operational Unit manual of the unit, systems and procedures, and suggest the staff qualities and qualification to run the unit by drafting TORs.

The expert must highlight the intended impact foreseen in supporting and developing the Micro-Small and Medium Enterprise by designing a more inclusive and broad-based MSME sector unit. The outcomes of the unit would result in further expansion and strengthening of the MSME sector. For this purpose, the expert should focus on ways to enhancing the business environment and support infrastructure for doing business with better knowledge, greater access to finance, and expanded business opportunities for MSMEs.

1. Deliverables, Duration of Contract and compensation fees

1. An action plan to achieve the deliverables in collaboration with the Market Integration Unit in Safadi foundation
2. Report on the initial desk-based and field-based consultations and research (Identify data sources in collaboration with the Market Integration Unit)
3. Plan and Report of the rapid assessment on the Traditional Business in Tripoli including key issues
4. Plan and Report of the Data Collection and Complete Data Analysis for 40 MSMEs (Synthesize findings, present main findings and recommendations)
5. Analysis for the selection of 20 MSMEs
6. 20 Business and Marketing plans for 20 MSME’s
7. Detailed Capacity Building program (main learning objectives, methodology …)
8. Final Report of capacity building and coaching program for the 20 MSME’S
9. Program design for the support of the MSME sector in Lebanon with a complete Manual of operations that has the definitions, the objectives, procedures (selection of beneficiaries, selection of service providers etc), sectors, case scenarios, application forms, scoring sheets, TORs of the team that will run the Unit .
10. Present lessons learned and Recommendation report

F.Qualifications Required

• Higher Education in Business Administration, Management, Economics
• Language Requirements: Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• More than 15 years of experience in MSME support Nationally and Internationally