Expression of Interest – Market Assessment to establish goods and services in demand within the community

Job Description

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)

S. No: 1

TENDER NO.: WVSOM/04/FY24

DESCRIPTION: Expression of Interest- Market assessment to establish goods and services in demand within the community

World Vision is a relief, development, and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and communities. We work with community members, supporting them to overcome poverty and injustice. Our aim is to lift poor and marginalised households out of the vicious cycle of dependence by addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability to environmental and socio-economic shocks.

Assignment Overview:

Under SomRep consortium, World vision is implementing a durable solutions project fund EU funded project named through promoting economic empowerment among vulnerable individuals in Somaliland, Burao, including refugees, host community and poor and marginalized women and youth. We achieve this through capacity building and support of market-linked skills development, development of new income-generating activities (IGAs) (refugees) and MSMEs, and access to services to support growth of existing, high-potential IGAs and MSMEs. These efforts are intended to support self-sufficiency among target beneficiaries by expanding their access to economic and social resources.

Many factors are important to the success of these economic activities, including access to markets, quality of products (quality inputs, standard production and processing skills), market demand, competitiveness and compatibility, easy availability of raw material/inputs and market trends/polarity, etc. In addition, activities and considerations related to vulnerable groups e.g. obstacles, risks, and opportunities that are unique to men or women, youth or adults, people with disabilities, and/or other marginalizing characteristics. Thus, a robust market assessment and mapping must be conducted.

The project is also providing financial and non-financial services; assisting refugees and marginalized people develop life and technical skills, access social resources, and engage in IGAs to reduce their social and economic vulnerability.

The project will support displacement affected community members in Burao to develop/expand MSMEs to increase and diversify their livelihoods opportunities. As a first step in this process, WV will conduct a market assessment to provide market information to guide the selection of viable business opportunities. Agro-businesses will particularly be explored as a way to create linkages between urban displaced communities and the rural communities, strengthening business opportunities for both contexts. The assessment will focus on providing analysis of the different types of businesses currently available and those that could be created in the near future, identifying the maturity duration of each type of business. This will include identifying the barriers to accessing new opportunities and suggest ways of overcoming them, focusing on key success factors for different types of businesses and start-up requirements, including business expansion for existing businesses.

This study will provide detailed focus on analysis of the current markets, livelihood capacities, and competencies in Burao, Somaliland.

The assessment methodology should include desk analysis and collection of primary data through focus group discussions, business surveys, key informant interviews, and market observations, as detailed in the present Terms of Reference (ToR). It will also involve review and analysis of relevant policies and dynamics that affect access to economic opportunities, including government policies, access to financial services, access to markets, and transport.

The study will support targeting/planning of project activities and strengthening participants’ understanding of local market dynamics, opportunities, and risks. Information from the assessment report (or results) will also be shared with potential funding sources and may be shared with other stakeholders such as local decision makers and public policy makers within and outside of Burao.

Research Objectives:

The market assessment has several key objectives, which apply to current and potential geographic areas. World vision is seeking an evaluation of market demand and opportunities for work and self-employment outside those traditionally offered by livelihoods programming including access to finance markets. Objectives include:

Analyze and describe local markets, including current goods, services and self-employment in retail trade on demand in the local market
Identify, describe and assess livelihood opportunities related to these local markets, including promising business niches, potential employment and self-employment opportunities for refugees and vulnerable community members, noting how these opportunities differ for each demographic
Identify, describe and assess livelihood capacities and competencies among target groups, including skills, resources and specific constraints around income earning opportunities for women and youth.
Analyze how livelihood opportunities differ between the refugee and local community, including how they related to business creation and business expansion; identify opportunities and provide recommendations for entering into new market niches and for avoiding market saturation by project-supported entrepreneurs.
Analyze the value for money (cost effectiveness and comparative analysis). This may include a cost-benefit analysis, a social return on investment calculation, benchmarks with comparable programs, or other approaches. Within this analysis, alternative programs should also be analysed, such as “do nothing”, training and technical assistance only (no direct financial support), full government subsidies, and indirect market system development (no direct support to beneficiaries).
Identify market dynamics with a focus on innovative partnerships (including partnership with the private sector) in addition to innovative, impactful delivery methods (e.g., in time of disruption, but also to reach scale, improve inclusivity of programs).
Design a livelihoods and market assessment questionnaire for IDPs, as well host community members, government actors and coordinating bodies, as well as the humanitarian and development community working in the target locations;
Conduct interviews to map out market actors and institutions operating and delivering goods and services in the area; the accessibility of financial services and business service providers (i.e. microfinance, banks, training providers, in any)
Map existing markets and value-chains (Size of the markets, volume of sales, market integration/segmentation, supply and demand for products and services, etc.);
Identify sectors and value chains that are not overly saturated and present potential for growth, profitability and employment. It should focus on sectors and businesses that allow for women’s effective participation, including IDPs and women with disabilities;
Identify and study successful home-based businesses, income generating activities and employment integration of vulnerable women and adolescent girls
Undertake desk research to map out the broad historic dynamics of the financial services sector in Burao market
Design questionnaires and undertake field trips to carry out interviews and focus group discussions with the businesses, organizations, and individuals supplying and utilizing financial services in Burao town
Map key existing market actors in the Financial market systems
Map out the existing demand for financial services (including what type of services are needed) in the Burao.
Determine market size, consumer base, market actors, types of products, and prices. Determine supply and market demand for existing and additional financial services
Identify the market gaps, constraints, risks, and opportunities for investment in the financial services sector in the area
Provide recommendations on the potential for investment in the financial services sector in Burao districts. Propose specific financial inclusion models that may be appropriate for VSLAs, farmer, livestock groups, cooperatives and other MSMEs in Burao.
Market analysis and key recommendations – Identify key recommendations for how to intervene in identified program target locations, including identifying opportunities to improve access to quality and quantity of production or business through.
With support of the Economic development and Market systems advisor, organize a workshop to present the findings and recommendation of the market assessment to relevant partners, including banks, MFIs, development partners, government etc.
Research Methodology: The methodology and research tools to be employed during the assessment include, but are not limited to, the following:

Desk Analysis
The consultant will review recent (last 5 years) documents related to the following: (1) existing market assessments in the target areas; (2) market regulatory and price control policies, laws and mechanisms (including those that restrict refugee livelihoods), (3) relevant documents on market trends, where available, especially for Burao and surrounding villages (4) Formal Financial markets available in Burao and (5) other relevant documents, resources, and data sources.

Market Mapping and Value Chain
The consultant will provide a general map of potential local and regional markets in terms of type, size and volume of market, supply chain, women- and youth-led businesses/trades, main access barriers, key trade organizations, and security arrangements, especially for women and youth.

Interviews with Key Informants and Focus Groups
The consultant will interview key informants in the areas where SOMREP operates in Burao and relevant communities/geographical areas; these will include mainly women and youth, beneficiaries of BREACH project, aspiring entrepreneurs, membership bodies (e.g. chamber of commerce, syndicates), suppliers, wholesalers, producers, farmers, vendors, consumers, financial institutions, and other relevant market and policy actors. The consultant also will conduct at least one focus group discussion in each project village involving individuals who are members of the targeted demographic for project beneficiaries: Burao and refugee women and youth.

More information is available in the official RFP document

Skills and Qualifications
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How to apply
IMPORTANT NOTES TO BIDDERS

a) Interested bidders must be registered to provide consultancy services in their respective countries.

b) Request for Proposal documents will be available Free of Charge to all interested bidders who express interest by filling the form provided in https://forms.office.com/r/2zURVeCRRU by 5:00PM Friday 6th September 2024.

c) For enquiries and questions, kindly send an email to Somalia_Procurement@wvi.org

d) Instructions for submission of completed proposals shall be indicated on the Request for Proposal document.

e) Nothing in this Expression of Interest shall be construed to give rise to contractual obligations with World Vision.

f) World Vision, may at its absolute discretion, suspend or defer this EOI process.

“World Vision reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid and is not bound to give reasons for its decision”