CONSULTANT - ANNUAL STUDY FOR THE FEMINIST ENTREPRENEURS GROWING GREEN ECONOMIES PROJECT

Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) invites applications for CONSULTANT - ANNUAL STUDY FOR THE FEMINIST ENTREPRENEURS GROWING GREEN ECONOMIES (FEGGE) Project in Tanzania.

MEDA’s work is built on a foundation of Mennonite business roots and faith-based values, within the global context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We believe business solutions are effective interventions to address poverty. Through a market-systems approach and strategic partnerships, MEDA enables access to finance and provides business and technical expertise to build transformative agri-food market systems that create decent jobs, allowing traditionally excluded groups to become active participants in a sustainable economy. MEDA welcomes all who share our values and want to join us in our mission. To find out more about MEDA, please visit our website at www.meda.org.

Job Details:

Job Status: Consultant (Short Term)

Duration of Engagement: January 15th to March 30th, 2025

Location: Hybrid – Tanzania (Open to East-African, Swahili-proficient consultants)

Application Deadline:  10th December 2024 @ 5:00pm EAT.

Background

Since 2021, MEDA has been implementing the Feminist Entrepreneurs Growing Green Economies (FEGGE) Project in ten (10) regions in Tanzania. FEGGE is a six and half year’s initiative (May 2021 to March 2028), funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) with a value of $ 25 million CAD. The project focuses on an improved business enabling environment and facilitation of opportunities for women-owned businesses in the dryland and semi-arid regions of Tanzania. FEGGE partners with businesses and service-providers that are operating in Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Manyara, Dodoma, Shinyanga, Simiyu, Singida, Tabora, Iringa, and Njombe regions.

While project partnerships focus on women-owned small-medium enterprises (SMEs) and women entrepreneurs (WEs), the project also works with men-owned SMEs, men small entrepreneurs (SEs), organizations, and service providers to ensure understanding, acceptance, and value of women-owned businesses in Tanzania. These business partnerships aim to strengthen value chain linkages to foster inclusive and sustainable work opportunities for small and medium size farmers. The priority value chains are honey, rice, maize, sunflower and dairy.

Over the duration of FEGGE project, MEDA is expected to form partnerships with 300 F-SMEs (50% F), 22,500 SEs (20,000 WEs), and 6 business associations and/or accelerators; and work with an array of service providers. Project partnerships are primarily founded on partnerships with Feminist SMEs (F-SMEs) as Lead Firms (LFs); this capacity strengthening, and implementation partnership, will allow the LFs to become sectoral leaders who will work with new and existing value chain actors to grow, formalize, and facilitate sustainable value chain relationships using MEDA’s LF Methodology

MEDA is seeking a survey Consultant for the GAC-funded FEGGE project. This consultancy will be a fixed short-term period from January 15th to March 30th, 2024.

The project is committed to gender responsive and environmentally sustainable approaches, which include:

• Access to agrotechnology to reduce time and labour in processing activities.
• Technical assistance to Small Scale Businesses to help them grow their market share; and
• Access to finance to support growth of businesses and entrepreneurial efforts.

MEDA is seeking the services of an East-African, Swahili-proficient survey Consultant for the GAC-funded FEGGE project. This consultancy will be a fixed short-term period from January 15th to March 30th, 2024.

Annual Survey Purpose and Scope

MEDA Tanzania wishes to engage the services of a consultant to collect its second annual survey study data from small entrepreneurs (SEs) who are crop farmers (sunflower, maize, rice), dairy keepers, and beekeepers. Others are SMEs including those receiving matching grants (Lead firms) and Business Development Services (BDS) who are spread across the targeted regions. The study will focus particularly on the performance measurement framework outcome indicators and poverty index.

The annual survey study is intended to provide program staff, donors and partners with detailed data on key project indicators to enable measurement of changes in comparison with the baseline and last year annual survey. The data collected will be qualitative and quantitative in nature and will include information gathered on income and other business Matrix.

The primary objectives of the annual study survey are to:

• Collect quantitative and qualitative data relevant to the study's focus areas.
• Apply advanced statistical techniques to analyze data, ensuring robust and reliable findings.
• Incorporate sample weighting techniques to adjust for survey design, non-response bias, and representativeness.
• Visualize the findings using Power BI for clear, actionable insights.
• Perform a cost-benefit analysis to assess the project’s economic value in relation to its outcomes and impact.

Review Approach and Methodology
The consultancy will use the principles of Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach that maximizes shared learning. The consultants will engage in data collection on targeted project clients (the Lead firms and their associated farmers) and SMEs who have received Business Development Service (BDS) from the independent consultants hired by the project. Data should be collected via a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions with the farmers, and KIIs with Lead firms\SMEs owners. The evaluation will use multiple lines of evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, to triangulate findings. The study will make use of existing project monitoring and results data (e.g. baseline and outcome reporting) to develop data collection instruments and make comparative assessments.

An Evaluation Advisory Committee (EAC) will be formed, comprising key project stakeholders, to provide technical guidance to ensure alignment with industry and MEDA’s research and evaluation standards. We expect the evaluation study to employ advanced statistical analyses. The consultant is highly encouraged to suggest innovative evaluation approaches and methodologies in their proposals.

Project Outreach The project has contracted 27 SMEs\Lead firms (LF’s), which have enabled access to about 18,563 (with 73% Women) farmers who are associated with the SMEs\LFs, and 150 SMEs that only receive business capacity building. These SMEs and small-holder farmers are the project’s clients; and theyare located in Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Njombe, Shinyanga, Simiyu and Singida. The consultant together with the project IKM lead will determine a representative sample of  LF’s, SEs and SMEs for the annual survey.

Targeted Indicators

The main indicators to be collected during the survey are related to the following outcomes.

1.  Improved economic prosperity of feminist SMEs and women entrepreneurs promoting gender equality and climate-smart business in the dryland regions of Tanzania. Key indicators under this include:

• The percentage of F-SMEs with an increase in net income, disaggregated by sex of ownership.
• The number of decent work opportunities created or sustained for women and men employees and suppliers, disaggregated by sex and sex of ownership.
• The percentage of men and women entrepreneurs that adopt gender-responsive practices in their businesses, disaggregated by sex.

2. I****mproved business performance of feminist SMEs in the drylands of Tanzania. Indicators for this outcome include:

• A change in sales revenue levels among feminist SMEs by 10% by the end of the project, disaggregated by sex of ownership.
• The percentage of feminist SMEs reporting changes in the number of suppliers, disaggregated by sex of ownership.
• The percentage of feminist SMEs reporting changes in the number of full-time employees, disaggregated by sex of ownership.

3. I****mproved climate-smart business performance of women entrepreneurs and farmers (WEs). The indicators include:

• A 10% change in sales revenue among women entrepreneurs by the end of the project.
• The percentage of WEs reporting changes in business performance, as measured by:
  • Income increases,
  • Good sales performance,
  • Business expansion, and
  • The ability to afford better equipment.
• The percentage of small enterprises adopting a minimum set of climate-smart agriculture practices based on a value-chain vulnerability analysis.

4. Improved enabling environments for women-owned SMEs in the drylands of Tanzania. Indicators include:

• The percentage of feminist SMEs able to register their business.
• The ease of completing business registration and licensing procedures, measured on a 1-4 scale.

5. Increased sustainable business management capacities of feminist SMEs. Indicators include:

• The percentage of F-SMEs reporting changes in marketing skills, disaggregated by sex of ownership.
• The perception of F-SMEs reporting changes in financial management and production skills, disaggregated by sex of ownership.

6. Increased access to financial services for value chain upgrading by feminist SMEs. Indicators include:

• The percentage of F-SMEs reporting changes in access to appropriate financial services, disaggregated by sex of ownership.

7. I****ncreased business capacities of WEs. Indicators include:

• The percentage of WEs reporting changes in production techniques.
• The percentage of WEs reporting changes in participation in decision-making on household and business income matters.

8. I****ncreased capacities of WEs to manage natural resources for improved and sustainable livelihoods. Key indicators include:

• The percentage of WEs adopting identified sustainable climate-smart technologies such as mulching, intercropping, rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation, and soil conservation.
• The percentage of women reporting changes in their workload.

9. Increased capacities of business incubators to catalyze and support sustainable growth for women-owned SMEs. Indicators include:

• The perception of F-SMEs reporting changes in financial management and production skills as a result of incubation programs.

10. Increased capacities of feminist constituency-based partners to support women-owned SMEs. Indicators include:

• The percentage of actors/partners perceiving improvements in stakeholder dialogues and collaboration for enhancing the business environment and gender equality.
• The percentage of women-owned SMEs reporting changes in awareness of organizations that promote their human rights.

Additionally, the survey will incorporate the Poverty Probability Index (PPI), as per Tanzania's set of questions, and utilize the Gender Equality Mainstreaming (GEM) hybrid tool. The survey design and implementation will adhere to principles of gender equality, inclusion, and non-discrimination throughout.

Task, outputs and Proposed timeframe

• Recruitment and Contracting phase: 10th January 2025.
• Inception Phase: Deliverable - Inception report including a detailed work plan, data collection methodology, sampling approach, and finalized quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, to be completed within 7 days.
• Recruitment and training of additional enumerators if needed: 3 days.
• Data collection phase: 15-20 days.
• Data Cleaning and Report Writing phase: 15 days.
• Draft Report: 5th March 2025.
• Final Report Submission: 15th March 2025.

The consultant will work closely with the Project’s IKM Manager during this exercise. All relevant secondary data on clients will be provided to the consultant, MEDA field staff will support with logistic arrangements where applicable and assist with organizing with the SMEs\lead firms representatives and the farmers. MEDA will facilitate only costs approved in the budget submitted.

Logistical Arrangements

The local project team will be responsible for making logistical arrangements for field visits and scheduling interviews with key stakeholders.

Application Template

The Expressions of Interest may take the format below:

A. Contact Information

1. Organization’s Legal Name:
2. Mailing Address:
3. Main Contact Person and Title:
4. Telephone:
5. Email address:
6. Website, if available (Facebook, twitter):

B. Proposal Outline

1. Introduction (maximum half page): provide understanding of the ToR and how your organization or company can respond to the ToR’s requirements. Proponent to add a brief explanation on their motivation to partner with MEDA.
2. Capability Statement (maximum of three pages):

• Briefly describe your organization or company’s business services provided, in relation to the expertise required by this ToR, in the last three years with specific information on the clients, contracting company/organization, and results of your engagements.
• MEDA is looking for a consultant/team with the following skills and qualifications:
  • Consultant must have three team leaders with demonstrable expertise in market system, lead firm approach and or SMEs development
  • Expertise in advanced statistical analysis, including sample weighting, regression modeling, and inferential techniques
  • Proficiency in using Power BI for data visualization and dashboard creation.
  • Experience in conducting cost-benefit analyses for development projects.
  • Strong understanding of survey methodology and data collection processes.
  • Proven track record of producing comprehensive reports and actionable insights
  • An outstanding record in developing and conducting diverse types of evaluation including qualitative and quantitative techniques
  • Experience in managing and coordinating evaluation/research exercises, delivering agreed outputs on time and on budget
  • Previous experience working with communities using participatory approaches with a gender lens
  • Excellent and demonstrated understanding of ethical issues in research
  • Strong experience in the use of analytical software SPSS, and mobile app data collection

3. Proposed Methodology (maximum of three pages). Describe how the consultant will meet the deliverables outlined.

• • Discuss the strategy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the survey

4. Proposed Work Plan (maximum of four pages). Outline the activities, timeline, expected outputs, resources and the expertise needed. At minimum, the work plan should include the following:

• Detailed methodology with sampling protocol;
• Data gathering tools;
• Proposal for data analysis (component areas aligning with evaluation objectives and priority areas);
• Proposal for data validation and reporting

5. Deliverables and Time Frame:
The evaluation is expected to be done within the months of January to March 2025. The deliverables expected will be based on the targeted indicators.

6. Estimated Cost of the Engagement (in matrix format): Itemized cost comprising of professional fees and reimbursable (travel, communication and accommodation).

How to apply: All interested candidates should email their application to hrtz@meda.org email subject: ANNUAL STUDY FOR THE FEGGE PROJECT.

For clarifications, email: hrtz@meda.org

Note:

1. MEDA may request supplementary information or documentation for determining eligibility for qualification where necessary_._

Application Deadline: 10th December 2024@ 5:00pm EAT.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

Keywords

ConsultantSurveyData CollectionMarket SystemStatistical AnalysisEvaluationGender EqualityClimate-Smart BusinessTanzaniaFEGGE Project