Procurement of business development consultancy services

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES - PROVISION OF END-TO-END BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES- FIRMS SELECTION)

Ref No: EWADE /0796

COUNTRY: Kingdom of Eswatini

NAME OF PROJECT: Eswatini Youth Employment Opportunities project (P507360)

Loan No./Credit No./ Grant No.: IDA Credit No. 77910 (IDA Credit)

Assignment Title: Procurement of consulting services for end-to-end business development services (BDS) Providers to Support Youth Employment under the Eswatini Youth Employment Opportunities Project (EYEOP) Reference No . (as per Procurement Plan): SZ-EWADE-549413-CS-QCBS 1. The Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini, has received financing from the World Bank towards the cost of the implementation of the Eswatini Youth Employment Opportunities Project (EYEOP), and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The Eswatini Youth Employment Opportunities Project is a five-year, national, multi-sectoral initiative that seeks to expand income-earning opportunities for Eswatini youth by strengthening employability, promoting entrepreneurship and supporting inclusive, resilient livelihoods. The Project delivers an economic inclusion package comprising market-relevant skills training, business development support, access to finance and integration into value chains, and is implemented through three components, including Component 1: Youth Income-Earning Opportunities, under which Sub-component 1.1 (Income-Earning Opportunities for Youth in Agriculture), led by the Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE), targets 20,000 youth (at least 50% female, 5% disabled) in agriculture and related value chains. The consulting services comprise of the provision of end-to-end Business Development Service Providers to support youth participation in priority agricultural and agribusiness value chains under Sub-component 1.1 (Youth Income-Earning Opportunities) of EYEOP. The Services will support eligible youth through an integrated pathway covering value chain intelligence and market analysis; beneficiary profiling and pathway allocation; socio-emotional, entrepreneurship, technical and business skills development; business planning and enterprise establishment; finance readiness and access productive finance; market linkages and value chain facilitation; mentorship, coaching and aftercare support; and monitoring, quality assurance and performance monitoring. The services will focus on prioritized value chain including selected commodities across vegetables, field crops, small ruminants, poultry and aquaculture sub-sectors. The assignment is expected to commence upon contract signature and will be implemented throughout the EYEOP implementation period, in accordance with approved Annual Work Plan and Budgets (AWPB). The engagement will initially be for one (1) year, with the possibility of annual renewal, subject to satisfactory performance, achievement of agreed deliverables and performance targets, availability of funding and continue need for the services. 2. The Terms of Reference for the primary procurement stage for the assignment are attached to this request for expressions of interest in Annex 1. 3. The Eswatini Water and agricultural development Enterprise invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are: Core business and institutional experience: Demonstrated core business in business development services, enterprise development, business advisory services, entrepreneurship development, skills development, training, mentorship, market linkage facilitation or related areas relevant to the assignment. Relevant assignment experience: Successful completion of at least one (1) assignment of similar nature, scope and complexity within the last five (5) years, demonstrating experience in the delivery of BDS, enterprise development, youth entrepreneurship, business advisory services, training, mentorship, market linkages or related services. Experience in youth and enterprise development: Demonstrated experience in implementing youth entrepreneurship, employment, skills development or economic inclusion programmes, including support to emerging and/or existing enterprises. Agriculture, agribusiness and value-chain experience: Demonstrated experience in agriculture, agribusiness or related value-chain development, including facilitating linkages between smallholder farmers or enterprises and buyers, aggregators, processors, financial institutions, input suppliers or other private-sector actors. Financial and business development experience: Demonstrated institutional experience in financial literacy, finance readiness, business planning, enterprise financing and/or agriculture and value-chain financing. Geographic and contextual experience: Demonstrated experience working in Eswatini and/or Southern Africa, with an understanding of the regional agricultural, youth employment, entrepreneurship and enterprise-development context. Technical and operational capacity: Demonstrated institutional capacity, systems and operational reach to deliver integrated BDS at the scale envisaged under EYEOP, including the ability to mobilize and manage appropriate technical resources, delivery personnel, logistics, data-management systems and quality-assurance arrangements. Experience in inclusive and sustainable development approaches: Demonstrated experience integrating gender, youth inclusion, disability inclusion, climate resilience, climate-smart agriculture, environmental sustainability or related cross-cutting considerations into programme delivery.

Development programme experience: Experience implementing donor-funded, government-funded or multi-stakeholder development programmes will be considered an advantage.

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