Training & Mentoring Services to Strengthen Women Entrepreneurship

Background

The Office of the Minister of State for Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth (EEWAY) is partnering with the United Nations Development Programme – Lebanon (UNDP) and Senteurs d’Orient, which work together since 2011 to support the empowerment of women in Lebanon. In this framework, EEWAY, UNDP and Senteurs d’Orient are pleased to announce the launching of a competition for Lebanese Organizations to support the Lebanese women entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Project Summary

Through this Request for Applications, it is anticipated that one award will be issued to an Organization (non-profit, or for profit) with a ceiling of $13,000 to deliver training and mentoring to targeted end beneficiaries who are women-owned small businesses.

Over a period of the project, services should support one or more of the following technical assistance topics:

• Business skills development in particular branding and marketing
• Identification of market opportunities  
• Access to finance opportunities
• Use of digital technologies to scale businesses and reach customers
• Innovative ideas to increase women-income generation businesses

The proposed project should provide women small business owners with the knowledge and skills needed to strengthen their businesses in the short, medium and a long-term and provide them with practical information they can use beyond the period of performance for this award, making sure that their needs are met after the project has ended (eg. Links to value chains, connections to relevant private sector and/or civil society organizations, Ministries, and any relevant stakeholders).

Eligible Applicants

Lebanese Organizations that have been registered for a minimum of three years and have previous experience in capacity building of micro- and small enterprises are eligible to apply, including but not limited to, for-profit, non-profit and academic institutions.  Organizations must demonstrate a proven track record in recruiting beneficiaries, designing curricula, and delivering training and mentoring services to MSMEs and/or SMEs delivered by in-house and/or freelance trainers, consultants and partners across the country.

Statement of Work

The successful applicant will be awarded a 12-month contract to deliver this technical assistance program, in addition to management of the recruitment process and all logistical matters pertaining to implementation, reporting, communicating success stories as well as monitoring and evaluations. EEWAY expects to be involved throughout the project implementation period to monitor the progress of work and ensure meeting the required quality standards of performance.

Targeted Beneficiaries

Applicants must propose a specific target group that they will work with. Preference will be given to applicants that propose to follow-on previous capacity building efforts build on and/or scale up a technical assistance program that has been implemented previously.  

The targeted beneficiaries are nascent women-owned small businesses that:

• Were set up for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 3 years
• Manufacture products (rather than provide services)
• Have a minimum of two full-time staff and maximum of 25
• Are headquartered outside of Beirut

This approach will enable targeted beneficiaries to continue their journey towards growth and sustainability.