Terms of Reference (ToR) for the procurement of Impact Investment Readiness trainings for the YELA Program

Alfanar, a pioneer of Venture Philanthropy in the Arab world, is implementing under a grant agreement with GIZ/EPL a sustainable approach that supports early and growth stage Social Enterprises (SEs) that will create a significant number of jobs and decent income opportunities for the target beneficiaries of the GIZ Employment Program, namely for youth from Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Strengthening the social enterprise sector and helping youth access more income and employment opportunities, including through freelance opportunities, will help alleviate the impact of the economic crisis on young people and slow down the mass exodus that the country has been witnessing.

The overarching impact objective of the YELA program is to provide increased access to decent income and employment opportunities for youth, women and Persons with Disabilities from Beirut and Mount Lebanon (or those who are working there) via strengthened Social Enterprises.

To achieve its development impact, the YELA Program is structured around 2 Streams with activities, outputs, and target KPIs directly linked to close knowledge, capital, and network gaps for SEs in order to help them reach their employment targets.

Stream 1 – Creating opportunities for individuals: Provide training, income and employment opportunities to 626 youth from Beirut and Mount Lebanon or working there (incl. at least 35% women and 24 Persons with Disabilities), by scaling the business of 6 SEs in the ICT, Construction, Electrical, Artisanal and Disability Inclusion Sectors, through access to capital and management support. The support provided to strengthen these 6 SEs will allow youth to be provided with employment and income opportunities in a sustainable and long-term fashion, long after the YELA Program ends.

Stream 2 – Supporting social enterprises: Support 26 Social Enterprises (incl. at least 35% women-led), that operate in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, by providing capital and management support to 20 SEs through Alfanar’s SEED Program, impact management to 26 SEs, to expand their reach to Lebanese youth as well as local & international markets, thereby strengthening their financial sustainability and their impact in terms of employment. Among the 26 SEs mentioned above, 6 SEs have already been selected, over the entire YELA program timeframe, and twenty SEs will need to be selected through a competitive process, and then split into cohorts of five SEs to be supported one after the other over a six months' timeframe. All the SEs will be provided with funding and management support through Alfanar. The YELA program was launched in August 2022 and will last until September 2024.

The assignment covers the period from July 15th 2024 till August 15 th 2024.

OBJECTIVES

The contractor is responsible for creating the Impact Investment Readiness training module and providing training for Alfanar team as well as a training for up to 26 Social Enterprises (SE) part of the YELA program. The objectives of the assignment will be:

A- Impact Investment Readiness: Increasing social enterprises capacity for making positive social and environmental impact: through supporting social enterprises in expanding their influence, offering valuable insights into investor expectations, aids in preparing for funding opportunities, improving business expertise, refining presentation abilities and pitching skills, facilitating networking and access to opportunities, and encouraging ongoing learning and enhancement.

B- Impact Investment Support: Building the capacity of Alfanar team members on the topic of impact investment readiness for social enterprises in Lebanon and providing training and recommendations on how to best support social enterprises.