ILO CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Needs assessment for entrepreneurship/SME support in the agriculture and agro-food sectors in Lebanon

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In view of the long term structural challenges that Lebanon is facing as well as the profound effects that the subsequent crises are having on its economy, there is ongoing need to support job creation and inclusive economic growth especially for women and youth in the most disadvantaged areas. The Productive Sectors Development Program (PSDP) is funded by the Lebanon Recovery Fund through the generous contribution from the Government of Canada and implemented by UNIDO, FAO, UNDP, ILO, UNWOMEN and UNICEF with support from the RCO in overall coordination. It presents a comprehensive approach to supporting the manufacturing (agro-food) and agriculture sectors in Lebanon, identified as having a high potential for job generation for women and youth. The PSDP was designed to include interlinked activities on the Macro, Meso and Micro levels and present a flagship example for joint service delivery and for promoting the “Delivering as One” approach between the implementing UN agencies.

The Productive Sector Development Programme (PSDP) sits within the United Nations Strategic Framework’s (UNSF) Outcome 3.1, which stipulates that the Government of Lebanon shall be assisted in “strengthening Lebanon productive sectors of the economy to promote inclusive growth and local development especially in most disadvantaged areas”. It aligns with national priorities and complements the Government’s Vision for Growth, Stabilization and Employment that was announced during the CEDRE Conference in April 2018, as well as relevant government strategies. In particular, the PSDP aligns with Lebanon’s Economic Vision published in January 2019 by the Ministry of Economy and Trade which sets Agriculture and Industry (including agro-food) as priority sectors for government interventions. The programme also aims to complement other UN agencies initiatives targeting women and youth economic empowerment in productive sectors as well as partners’ initiatives.

The identified intermediate outcomes of PSDP’s activities are outlined below:

- Macro : Improved enabling policy environment for women economic empowerment and participation in productive sectors

- Meso : Improved access to markets for women and men-led Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in productive sectors

- Micro : Improved capacity of women farmers, women-led cooperatives and women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as male-led entities in productive sectors to create and sustain gender equitable job opportunities and adopt environmentally sustainable practices.

The outcome of PSDP’s inception phase resulted in the final selection of Fruits, Vegetables and nuts (including pulses) preparation as an identified value chain among 13 pre-selected ones. The selection process was made based on a value chain assessment including following set of criteria and indicators:  growth and export potential, women active economic participation, linkages with agriculture, food security and the environmental impact.

For the provision of training and business development support to agro-food firms and cooperative, IDRAC (Industrial development and research Agro-Agri center) in Tripoli was selected specifically to serve as PSDP’s main service center based on the identified capacity for project implementation in the finalized assessment.

The service center Lebanon will be set up and will provide direct services to women and men farmers, women-led cooperatives and women and men-led MSMEs (at least 50%-75% of beneficiaries will be women). Services will be provided by all UN implementing agencies based on their mandate, and will include technology transfer and skills training, environmental sustainability training and in-kind support, Women Economic Empowerment Principles training, business development training and apprenticeships amongst other services.

The overall aim of this center is to improve the capacity of women farmers, women-led cooperatives and women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), as well as male-led entities in productive sectors to create and sustain gender equitable job opportunities and adopt environmentally sustainable practices.

ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

ILO’s activities within PSDP fall under the micro level of the identified intermediate outcomes listed in the previous section. The ILO will be rolling out gender sensitive business support services and coaching to existing and newly created MSMEs prioritizing women and youth starts ups in the selected value chain.  

In order for the ILO to implement an adequate business management training programme for potential entrepreneurs and existing SMEs in the agriculture and agro-food sectors, the ILO is seeking to conduct a needs assessment as a pre-requisite to adapt and design existing business management training packages.

In line with the Micro level intermediate outcome “Improved skills of female and male youth in targeted value chains strengthening their employability and entrepreneurship capacities”, the needs assessment aims to capture the challenges and enabling factors requested by the end-line receivers of ILO’s activities. The needs assessment will run across the identified stakeholders to capture the existing gaps, and will be annexed by a mapping of similar existing projects within the area of intervention.

This exercise will help the ILO deliver an accurate crisis-responsive activity with impactful inputs to ensure proper knowledge dissemination as a key factor for sustainability.

SCOPE OF WORK AND METHODOLOGY

The consultant will be developing and conducting a needs assessment and is requested to undertake the following tasks:

1. Undertake a desk review to identify similar existing projects supporting entrepreneurs/SMES in the agriculture and agro-food sectors in the North region within the area of intervention across other agencies and organizations operating under different developmental sectors.

• Identify existing (being implemented and recent) activities under the same sector of intervention and collect recommendations based on the recognised risks, project evaluations, and the lessons learned documents (if available).
• Provide a summary table of the identified existing projects, which should at least include the name of entity implementing the project, geographical area and year of implementation, target beneficiaries, target sector/value chain, and a brief analysis of project outcomes and impact. 

2. Assess the needs of existing and potential business owners, with a special focus on women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the agricultural sector with a focus on the value chain of Vegetables, Fruits, and Nuts (including pulses) preparations in the North of Lebanon. The needs assessment will also capture the enabling factors requested by the end-line receivers of ILO’s activities and the potential challenges:

Design of the needs assessment tool.

• Outreach to and select the interviewee groups for data collection, including IDRAC beneficiaries.
• Undertake the data collection through telephone and face to face meetings (primary data).
• Submit a final report based on the findings.

3. Overall tasks:

• Coordinate regularly with the ILO and provide constant feedback on activities.

DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to submit the following deliverables:

Deliverable 1: A needs assessment tool and methodology.

Expected days of work: 2

Deliverable 2: A table with the mapping and review of existing projects and activities implemented in the targeted area under the selected Value Chain in recent years.

Expected days of work: 3

Deliverable 3: A final report on the results and recommendations based on the needs assessment. The report will be analytical in nature and is to be considered confidential for the ILO.

Expected days of work: 7

All data and information received from ILO for this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference (TOR). The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the express advance written authorization of the ILO. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these TOR are assigned to the International Labour Organization. The intellectual property rights of the materials modified through the assignment remains with the International Labour Organization.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The consultant is expected to have the following qualifications:

• 5-7 years of experience in SME development in Lebanon
• Experience in research methods (data collection, interviewing, mapping, and data analysis)
• Experience in the agriculture and agro-food sectors in Lebanon
• Good  understanding of the current context of multiple crises in Lebanon
• Fluent in English and Arabic
• Knowledge of the ILO mandate and ILO tools and methodologies used for private sector development in Lebanon

SUPERVISION AND LOGISTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant will conduct the assignment under the supervision of the ILO PSDP Project coordinator and the overall guidance of the director of the decent work team of ILO Regional Office for Arab States.

TIME FRAME

This assignment should take place from 1 to 30 July 2021.

Please refer to the attached document for more information.

The consultant will be remunerated the full amount upon completion of work to the satisfaction of the ILO which includes the submission of the final report.