81315328-Strengthening of Entrepreneurial Support Organisations (ESOs) and provision of green Business Development Services (BDS)

The contractor shall support IYBA WE4A with strengthening ESOs and adapting green BDS which will be offered to IYBA WE4A women entrepreneurs. The contractor will implement four (4) work packages: - In work package 1, the contractor is expected to compile data from previous needs assessments and green entrepreneurial ecosystem analyses conducted by the IYBA WE4A country teams. This data will inform the adoption of green BDS by pre-selected ESOs in IYBA WE4A partner countries. The ESOs will have been pre-selected by each IYBA WE4A country team before the start of the contract and detailed information on the ESOs will be provided to the contractor. - Work package 2 is about equipping selected ESOs with the skills to provide enhanced, green and gender-responsive BDS to women entrepreneurs. By focusing on capacity development and piloting these services, the project aims to ensure that ESOs can effectively support the growth of green businesses. The contractor is expected to adapt the BDS to ensure that they are at least gender-responsive, better gender transformative, and environmentally sustainable, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs. The adapted BDS should focus on "greening" business models - allowing companies from different sectors, for example focusing, to enhance their resource efficiency. - Work package 3 is the core piece of the assignment and makes a range of business development services available to the entrepreneurs that contribute to the green transformation; it also makes it possible to create green and decent jobs, it improves employment opportunities and increases the competitiveness of the green enterprises. It is crucial for reaching the objectives and indicators of the contract. - The objective of work package 4 is to foster regional exchange and learning among ESOs to enhance their capabilities in delivering gender-responsive and green BDS. By facilitating knowledge sharing and encouraging healthy competition, this work package aims to build a collaborative network of ESOs that can collectively improve the quality and impact of green gender-responsive BDS across the region. For work packages 1, 2 and 3 the following activities (among others) are included: - The contractor shall develop action plans for the introduction and roll-out of customised green BDS and capacity building plans for ESOs. - The contractor shall adapt BDS according to specifications (such as maturity of target group businesses, gender responsiveness, greening BDS). - Following the adaptation of BDS, high-quality materials shall be created, wherever necessary. - The capacity development workplans, as well as the adapted BDS specific modules, and other activities required to enhance the ESOs' ability to provide green and gender-responsive BDS shall be implemented. It also includes Training of Trainers (ToT) conducted for selected personnel and/or associated consultants from each pre-selected ESO. - Following the ToTs and the development of the BDS methodologies (around 7-21 in total for the assignment and at least 1-3 BDS per country) and resources, the contractor shall train the ESOs "on the job "and pilot the delivery of green gender-responsive BDS to a selected group of women entrepreneurs in each country. - After the pilot delivery, the contractor is expected to assess the effectiveness of each BDS. - Based on the assessment results, the BDS delivery methods shall be refined to enhance their effectiveness. - The refined BDS are offered by the ESOs and reach further entrepreneurs. For work package 4, activities include (but are not limited to): - The contractor is expected to organise at least 4 virtual regional exchange sessions between ESOs. - Following the regional exchanges, the contractor shall compile best practices. The contractor shall achieve the following results: - 1050 of the women-led start-ups and MSMEs supported by the project that contribute to the green transformation, have improved their business capacity. - 700 people have found employment in companies that are driving the green transformation. - 700 persons have improved their employment situation. - 7 companies and organisations implement the gender-responsive approaches to employment promotion for women and promotion of the green transformation that partner companies and organisations have successfully tested. - 7 - 21 BDS adapted or newly developed by ecosystem actors. - 1050 women entrepreneurs confirm that the conducive, adapted and/or newly developed business development services offered by ecosystem actors proved useful to increase their competitiveness. - 80% of supported ESOs, which introduced adapted or newly developed BDS and that participated in capacity development measures, confirm that they have strengthened their competitiveness in the entrepreneurial ecosystems. - 1200 women entrepreneurs that accessed adapted and/or newly developed BDS (actively supported by IYBA WE4A). - 1050 women entrepreneurs that further developed their environmentally sustainable, climate-friendly products, services and business models. - 1050 women entrepreneurs confirming better access to relevant business information, business opportunities and/or networks via the platform and IYBA WE4A activities. - 1200 beneficiaries, have participated in new or improved offers of active labour market policy. - 7 successfully tested, scalable approaches to promoting female employment are available in a prepared format, of which 3 are gender-transformative approaches and 3 are approaches to ecologically sustainable, climate-sensitive products, services and business models. - 7 MoUs for integration of the successfully tested, gender-responsive approaches to promoting female employment or promoting the green transformation are available from 30 additional companies and organisations.