Design and Delivery of a Product Quality Assurance and Standardization Training for REAP Retail Trading Groups

Background and Context

The Response to Education and Protection Needs (REAP) Project is a 27-month humanitarian and development intervention funded by Save the Children Italy and implemented by the Somali Lifeline Organization (SOLO) in partnership with Save the Children International (SCI) and the Relief, Reconstruction and Development Organization (RRDO), running from October 2024 to October 2026 across the Dadaab Refugee Complex, Garissa County, Kenya. Under Output 4.1, the livelihoods component supports adolescent mothers, caregivers and foster parents with enterprise-based livelihood training and start-up capital in the Ifo 1, Ifo 2, Dagahaley and Hagadera settlements. In May 2026, SOLO commissioned the first round of a planned bi-annual longitudinal REAP Tracer Study — Livelihoods Component, covering 419 respondents through a mixed-methods design combining a structured survey, Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, enterprise observation and light-touch market validation. The study found that 99.8 percent of respondents are running a business and that mean monthly profit increased by 167.7 percent since programme entry. It also found that 96.2 percent of all REAP-supported enterprises are concentrated in only two sectors, retail trade (82.6 percent) and livestock (13.6 percent), making retail trade by far the dominant REAP livelihood activity. Vendor Key Informant Interviews conducted for the study described how this concentration plays out in practice: retail kiosks across Ifo 1, Ifo 2 and Dagahaley overwhelmingly stock the same narrow range of goods, staples such as sugar, rice, oil and flour, alongside soap and small personal care items. Vendors reported that this product homogeneity across competitors made price the primary competitive variable, pushing selling prices and margins down for all sellers in the same market row. The study further found that 64.0 percent of REAP enterprises have no formal or informal market linkage, with most retail groups sourcing stock through informal spot purchases from market intermediaries or Dadaab town wholesalers, with no negotiated pricing, quality assurance, or guaranteed supply relationship. This leaves retail groups competing almost entirely on price within a saturated local market, with no basis to differentiate their goods or access markets beyond the camp economy. SOLO therefore wishes to engage a qualified consultant or consultancy firm to design and deliver a product quality assurance and standardization training for REAP retail trading groups, so that these groups can move from undifferentiated, price-based competition toward offering quality-assured goods that meet recognized Kenyan standards, building consumer trust and opening access to more competitive markets beyond Dadaab. Rationale for the Assignment This assignment responds directly to structural findings of the REAP Tracer Study (Chapters 19 and 23) regarding retail market saturation and the absence of quality or market differentiation among REAP-supported traders: - Retail trade dominates REAP enterprises (82.6 percent of all enterprises), and 96.2 percent of enterprises overall are concentrated in retail trade and livestock, creating market saturation and collective vulnerability to the same demand-side shocks. - Products are undifferentiated and price is the only competitive lever (Chapter 19 vendor interviews): the emergence of new kiosks selling essentially the same goods has driven downward pressure on prices and margins for all sellers in the same market row. - Market competition is the second most cited constraint on applying REAP skills, reported by 63.7 percent of respondents, after capital shortfalls. - Market linkages are largely absent (Recommendation 5): 64.0 percent of enterprises have no formal or informal market linkage, and stock is sourced through unverified, informal spot-purchase arrangements rather than structured supplier agreements. - A strong group-based foundation already exists to build on (Recommendation 8): 99.3 percent of REAP beneficiaries report group membership (VSLA/cooperative structures), providing a ready platform for collective, group-level quality assurance practice and joint market access. The tracer study's overarching conclusion is that the programme needs to shift from enterprise entry support toward enterprise incubation, including market linkages and differentiation strategies for existing enterprises, not only diversification into new sectors. A product quality assurance and standardization training, aligned with the frameworks used by Kenya's national quality and trade institutions, offers retail trading groups a practical route to differentiate their goods, build consumer and buyer confidence, and reduce the price-based competition documented in the study. Purpose and Objectives of the Assignment Overall Objective To equip REAP-supported retail trading groups with the practical knowledge, tools and referral pathways needed to source, handle and sell quality-assured goods that meet recognized Kenyan quality and trade standards, specifically those administered by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), so that groups can differentiate from saturated local competition and access more competitive markets. Specific Objectives - Build practical, group-level understanding of the KEBS quality frameworks most relevant to REAP retail product categories: The Standardization Mark (S-Mark) for locally manufactured goods, the Import Standardization Mark (ISM) for imported stock, and the Diamond Mark of Quality (D-Mark) as a voluntary premium differentiator, including how groups can verify supplier and product compliance and avoid substandard or counterfeit stock. - Train groups on basic product handling, storage, display, labelling and record-keeping practices consistent with recognized quality and consumer-protection standards, building on the existing REAP business