SPARK develops higher education and entrepreneurship so that young ambitious people are empowered to lead their post-conflict societies into prosperity. In Lebanon, SPARK has been working to develop the capacity of Syrians and improve their access to higher education, economic empowerment, entrepreneurship and leadership development. Moreover, SPARK supports existing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to grow and create new job opportunities. SPARK is a not-for-profit, non-political NGO with headquarters in Amsterdam and field offices in South East Europe, Africa, and the MENA region.

SPARK is making available $50,000 USD in support for a pilot that will support a minimum of 6 (M)SME in Lebanon with a combination of financial and technical support to adapt to Covid-19. SPARK specifically is seeking to support Lebanese SMES with a minimum of one aspect of a digitized system already in place (this can include marketing). Priority will be given to SMEs working in essential fields.

Our support will include a blend of technician and financial support valued at 1,000- 5,000 USD per company that is selected. Fiscal support is not meant to be spent on salaries of employees unless stated clearly, why and how this spending will ensure long-term adaptation and sustainability of their businesses. Technical support from SPARK is related to how our team will provide training or material that will support operating under in the case of this pandemic or future shocks. Each company, which is selected, will be provided both technical and fiscal support based on SPARK assessment needs in customized proportionality.

Objective

The overall objective of this component is to contribute to support struggling businesses and helps them digitise and fast-track towards new trends. Moreover, this component aims to provide technical assistance and business advisory services to MSMEs to increase the impact of SPARK financial support.

 

 Scope of the Work

SPARK entrepreneurs will be supported through a local partner that will be a one-stop shop for business support and they will be tasked with providing a variety of business support services including:

  • Select 6 (M)SMES to receive one-to-one coaching and access to finance according to SPARK requirements
  • Provide access to finance to 6 (M)SMEs, selected according to SPARK terms and conditions
  • Place 10 SPARK students on (digital) internships, according to SPARK manual. Students have to be previously part of SPARK skills training project (jobs skills, writing CVs, jobs interviews, reporting, digital skills of soft skills course)

Target Group

(M)SMEs:

  • Companies with 3 to 30 employees
  • Operating in Lebanon;
  • Company owners must be residing in Lebanon and working within the company.

Interns:

  • SPARK Students
  • 50% Syrians
  • 50% Women

Indicators

  • # of SME who received financial support
  • # of SME who received technical support
  • # of students placed internships for 3 months

Conditions:

  1. The partner must meet the following criteria: 
  1. Have actual operations in Lebanon;
  2. Be responsible for the preparation/ management/ implementation of the project in collaboration with related local partners and institutions,
  3. Be experienced in the field of curriculum development, training and, placement, and able to show that they have the capacity needed to manage the scale of the project in question, 
  4. Deliver tangible and efficient results,
  5. Be able to efficiently budget and contribute to the success of the activities.
  1. The partner will comply with any legal obligations it is bound by under national law;
  2. The partner will adhere to SPARK’s General Terms and Conditions for partnership agreements.

Application:

The proposal (in English) must detail the following:

  1. Objectives, results/outcomes & indicators/outputs,
  2. Proposed dates / duration for implementing the program, 
  3. Detailed project activities,
  4. Monitoring and evaluation plan and description of the monitoring system,
  5. Project team structure, roles and responsibilities,
  6. Communication plan and activities
  7. A brief description of the expertise/portfolio for the applying agency in the field of curriculum development, training and, placements,
  8. Details why the applicant agency is a good candidate for this partnership based on the project,
  9. Estimated efficient budget (including human resources, other admin costs and, internship stipends).

Annexes: Activity plan and budget breakdown.

The proposal must be maximum 10 pages in addition to the annexes.

How to apply

Submit online by email to [email protected]

Using Tilte: COVID-19 Programme Response

Expired
Deadline
Thursday, 15. Oct 2020
Type of Call
Call for Proposals
Intervention Sector(s):
Development, Recovery and reconstruction
randomness