TERMS OF REFERENCE - YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT Selection of the external consultant for the final evaluation report

Firm: PlaNet Finance - currently in the process of changing its name into “Positive Planet”; the change of name in no way affected the activities of the company. Contract will be established by PlaNet Finance or Positive Planet according to the status in progress From: October,10th 2015 To: December, 15th 2015 Task Manager: Ms Cloe Badaud – [email protected] Public tender procedure applied: see Practical Guide to Contract procedures for EU external actions published on the EuropeAid web site in January 2012 – section 4.2.3 Bidders: Firms/NGO are allowed to bid; indiviuals cannot bid on their own. Consortiums are allowed. About PlaNet Finance / Positive Planet

Positive Planet (PP) is a French International NGO created in 1998 that aims to support entrepreneurship and financial inclusion of vulnerable and disabled population in developing countries. In 2014 Positive Planet implemented 88 projects in 40 countries, involving 150 specialists in Access to Finance, Support to Entrepreneurship, and Agri-business Value Chain. These projects have been led in close partnerships with 85 MFIs and 125 local civil society and grass root organizations, and reached 125,000 direct beneficiaries. At the end of the day Positive Planet’s Partners help 7.5 million people to fight poverty and build a better life. Positive Planet has a strong commitment to its values and consequently kindly request its partners to respect them, namely showing a spirit of solidarity, seeking excellence in its actions and displaying an ethical behavior. Ethics is indeed an essential dimension of the success of Positive Planet Network’s action. It includes the respect of Human Rights and Human Dignity, the respect for the Law and the environment, anti-corruption and anti-conflicts of interest policy and transparency.

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Table des matières I. Background .......................................................................................................... 3 II. Description of the YEP Project .............................................................................. 3 III. Partners of the YEP project ................................................................................... 5 III.1.

Financial partners .................................................................................................................. 5

III.2.

Technical partners ................................................................................................................. 5

IV. Expected results of the evaluation ....................................................................... 5 IV.1.

Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 5

IV.2.

Execution of the evaluation .................................................................................................. 6

IV.3.

Specific objectives of the evaluation ..................................................................................... 7

V. Applications .......................................................................................................... 9 V.1.

Profile of the Consultant ....................................................................................................... 9

V.2.

Evaluation of the bids ............................................................................................................ 9

V.3.

Budget ................................................................................................................................. 10

V.4.

Application file..................................................................................................................... 10

V.5.

Tender schedule .................................................................................................................. 10

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I. Background As the recent unrests have shown, the lack of economic opportunity for youth is one of the main causes of the political instabilities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Indeed, in general, traditional, formal sector entry points into the workforce for youth are limited. In this region the main sources of employment are micro or small enterprises, in Palestine for example, they make up for 95 percent of the enterprises created. The informal economy represents the main source of employment and self-employment for the youth. There is thus a growing need to provide support to the entry of this young population into the professional world by promoting their entrepreneurship spirit. At the same time very few Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) undertake clear initiatives of tailoring their services to youth, given that MFIs perceive youth as high risk clients with weak financial capacity and moderate business experience. As a result the vast socio-economic potential consisting of the young - and namely the young entrepreneurs - remains untapped, and the vicious circle of youth unemployment, poverty and frustration perpetuates. In Morocco, early 2007, Positive Planet developed a pragmatic approach mixing business development services (BDS), life skills, vocational training, and access to finance through microfinance to help Youth to develop their own income generating activity (IGA) or to gain employability. Many projects were founded by public and private partners (Drosos Foundation, European Commission) and their results led Positive Planet (formerly PlaNet Finance) to develop its own methodology that was replicated in Nepal in 2011 and then at a regional level in MENA region. These projects aimed at providing integrated financial and non-financial support, and building the human capital of young entrepreneurs. In 2011 the Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development (Development Cooperation Instrument) and Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument) launched a joint restricted call for proposal for 2011-2012: Strengthening the Capacities of Non-State Actors - Actions in partner countries (Multicountry) – reference EuropeAid/131140/C/ACT/Multi. Positive Planet, in partnership with Alexandria Business AssociationSmall & Micro Enterprises Project (ABA), Arab Center for Agricultural Development (ACAD), and The Lebanese Association for Development – AL MAJMOUA, submitted a concept note to support MFIs to help more efficiently the youth to enter the economic tissue and participate to the development of their respective countries. About 2 years later it leads to the Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP).

II. Description of the YEP Project The YEP project has been officially launched with European Union funding in February 2013, starting with the mobilization phase. During this period, PP and the partner MFIs – ABA, Al Majmoua and ACAD - have agreed on their respective role and responsibilities and signed partnership agreements for the implementation of the project. PP has also elaborated a project’s procedures manual to harmonize the project management procedure practices and tools according to European Union procedures and regulations. The following table summarizes the project as submitted to the EU:

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Duration

February 2013 - October 2015 (33 months)

Total budget

1,330,697 euros

Location

The Middle East Region, namely three Governorates in Egypt, five cities in Lebanon, and all West Bank cities (except Ramallah and Hebron) in the Palestinian Territories

Target sectors

Lebanon: Light Manufacturing and IT sector Palestine: Agriculture Egypt: Small Manufacturing

Objectives of the action

Overall objectives: - To foster the economic empowerment of youth across the Middle East through the dissemination of proven MF/MSME approaches adapted to the specificities of their economic profiles - To contribute to the reinforcement of Non-Governmental microfinance institutions and improve their support services targeting youth Specific objective: By the end of the project three MFIs in Egypt, Lebanon and Palestinian territories are offering sustainable, adapted, quality services for starting or reinforcing business initiatives for 3,030 youth, and are setting a model for other stakeholders in the region

Direct beneficiaries

- Young men and women, aged 18 to 30, who either reinforced an existing microenterprise or started their own businesses (3,030 will receive non-financial services, out of which 1,905 will receive loans) - Three microfinance institutions (MFIs) – ABA, ACAD and Al Majmoua – and their management and field/operations staff: o o

50 MFI loan officers will be trained and coached on the new loan products developed 45 MFI internal staff will be qualified as BDS/SYOB trainers to convey the knowledge directly to the final youth beneficiaries later on

Indirect beneficiaries

- The families of the young people benefiting from the program: 15,000 in total

Estimated results

- Sustainable business models for youth financial services designed for each MFI

- The MFIs’ clients in future years - New financial and non-financial services deployed by each MFI - Information on the pilot initiatives and exchange of experiences disseminated among the project partners (MFIs) and to other international stakeholders

Main activities

- Adapt the financial and non-financial services offered by MFIs to meet the needs of target youths based on a comprehensive diagnostic study - Train the field staff on the newly adapted services - Integrate relevant social performance management (SPM) indicators to monitor the project implementation - Establish exchange fora (physical meetings and online interface) among the project stakeholders - Conduct an end-of-project evaluation to assess the results achievements - Present project results and outcomes in regional and local conferences

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The complete logical framework shall be provided upon request. YEP aims at three complementary results to reach its specific objective:   

Result 1: Sustainable business models for financial services targeting youth are designed for each MFI by the end of Project Month 14. Result 2: New financial and non-financial services are deployed by each MFI by the end of Project Month 26. Result 3: Information on the pilot initiatives and exchange of experiences is disseminated amongst the project partners (MFIs) and to other international stakeholders by the end of the project.

III. Partners of the YEP project III.1.

Financial partners

YEP is mainly funded by the EU and cofinanced by private funders.

III.2.

Technical partners

The field partners of Positive Planet for the YEP project are the following MFIs: -

In Egypt: Alexandria Business Association (ABA) In the Palestinian Territories: The Arab Center for Agricultural Development (ACAD) In Lebanon: Al Majmoua

The percentage of young active clients in the portfolios of ABA, ACAD and Al Majmoua are 31, 42 and 30 percent respectively. PP has initiated collaborations with other organizations involved in youth entrepreneurship in the MENA region. YEP has signed a partnership agreement with Silatech Foundation, a dynamic social initiative working to expand economic opportunities for youth throughout the Arab world, to help its field partners use Tamheed Psychometric test to help in the youth selection phase. PP replicated YEP methodologies and tools through supporting the creation of a youth start-up department (including financial and non-financial services) for MicroCred Tunisia, a newly established MFI in Tunisia that launched its operations in November 2014 with the support of European Union.

IV. Expected results of the evaluation IV.1.

Methodology

The external evaluation will be carried out in all the locations of the project activities, namely in Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories. The Consultant will work in collaboration with the YEP team. The working agenda including the field mission will be defined at the kick-off meeting. The European Union validates the evaluation of its projects thanks to the Result Oriented Monitoring (ROM) method; the consultant will have to comply with this methodology. Therefore the consultant must address the following criteria:

Relevance The extent to which the aid activity is suited to the priorities and policies of the target group, recipient and donor. In evaluating the relevance of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions: 

To what extent are the objectives of the programme still valid?



Are the activities and outputs of the programme consistent with the overall goal and the attainment of its objectives? 5 / 11



Are the activities and outputs of the programme consistent with the intended impacts and effects?

Effectiveness A measure of the extent to which an aid activity attains its objectives. In evaluating the effectiveness of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions: 

To what extent were the objectives achieved / are likely to be achieved?



What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives?

Efficiency Efficiency measures the outputs -- qualitative and quantitative -- in relation to the inputs. It is an economic term which signifies that the aid uses the least costly resources possible in order to achieve the desired results. This generally requires comparing alternative approaches to achieving the same outputs, to see whether the most efficient process has been adopted. When evaluating the efficiency of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions: 

Were activities cost-efficient?



Were objectives achieved on time?



Was the programme or project implemented in the most efficient way compared to alternatives?

Impact The positive and negative changes produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended. This involves the main impacts and effects resulting from the activity on the local social, economic, environmental and other development indicators. The examination should be concerned with both intended and unintended results and must also include the positive and negative impact of external factors, such as changes in terms of trade and financial conditions. When evaluating the impact of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions: 

What has happened as a result of the programme or project?



What real difference has the activity made to the beneficiaries?



How many people have been affected?

Sustainability Sustainability is concerned with measuring whether the benefits of an activity are likely to continue after donor funding has been withdrawn. Projects need to be environmentally as well as financially sustainable. When evaluating the sustainability of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions: 

To what extent did the benefits of a programme or project continue after donor funding ceased?



What were the major factors which influenced the achievement or non-achievement of sustainability of the programme or project?

IV.2.

Execution of the evaluation

The evaluation mission is expected to start on the October, 10th 2015 and to be ended by December, 15th 2015. Positive Planet will organize a regional and final workshop in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) on October, 19th – 21st. The Consultant is kindly invited to be able to start the evaluation and meet the main YEP stakeholders around this event. The consultant is also expected to conduct the evaluation in the three targeted countries (Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories).

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Traditionally, the mission will be divided into the following phases: Phase 1: Preparation 1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Kick off meeting with the YEP team and the External Evaluation Committee to define the scope of the study: reminder of the objectives and deliverables of the mission, definition of the global methodology and scheduling of the mission, sharing of the internal documents and tools, identification of the key correspondents Document review: the consultant will have access to the internal documents on YEP (logical framework, monitoring tools, activity reports…) Elaboration of the precise methodology and timeline to be followed Selection of the sample of actors (MFIs and Vocational Center staff members, young entrepreneurs…) to interview based on unbiased and relevant criteria Redaction of survey templates and guidelines for the interviews Validation meeting on the methodology, the tools and the planning

Deliverables: -

Kick-off meeting report Inception report including methology and tools designed by the Consultant

Phase 2: Data collection (secondary and primary sources) The Consultant might implement the following activities – but not limited to: -

Conduct in-depth interwiews with key stakeholders, partners and beneficiaires Conduct focus group discussions with beneficiaries Conduct quantitative survey with representative sample of beneficiaries

Deliverables: -

Focus group discussions synthesis (main findings and quotations) Collected data

Phase 3: Data Analysis and Redaction of the deliverables The Consultant is expected to provide the Evaluation Report as follow: -

First draft on December, 1st 2015 for feedbacks from the Project Team Final draft on December 14th 2015, including an executive summary, beneficiary testimonies for each country, and a 4 pages case study for communication and capitalisation. Any other relevant information will be added into annexes.

The Consultant is expected to propose a template for the Evaluation Report that will be validated during the Kick-off meeting.

IV.3.

Specific objectives of the evaluation

The Inception Report is expected to list the methodology and objectives that should be treated by the Consultant. The final Evaluation Report should tackle the following – but not limited to – points: I - Program evaluation: 1- Analyze the program’s achieved results the set objectives a. Number of targeted beneficiaries (by YEP partner) i. Number of trained anc coached beneficiaries ii. Number of loans disbursed to end beneficiaries (existing and startups) b. Amount of loans disbursed c. Outstanding loans 7 / 11

d.

Portfolio Quality

2- Analyze the non-financial services’ quality (training, monitoring and support) a. The degree of customer satisfaction regarding the products and services delivered with YEP partners b. Selection process c. Training and coaching quality - specifically: i. Duration and structure ii. Content iii. Use and quality of the pre and post tests iv. Evaluation of coaching services provided by YEP partners after the training 3-

Product supply procedure (financial and non-financial) a. Analysis of the overall procedure to provide financial and non-financial services b. The follow-up and coaching performed by the field partners

4- Human resources a. The level of ownership and institutionalization of YEP within its field partners (including the level of knowledge of partners’ staff in the delivery process) b. The manuals and procedures for staff training (training and recycling) 5- Assess the ability of YEP beneficiaries to create their own business Four dimensions of theory of change should at least be assessed: knowledge, attitudes, competences, behaviours a. b. c. d. e.

How does the beneficiaries’s awareness elvolve regarding budgeting, financial services, credit/debt management, risk management How the beneficiaries’ attitude (feelings, perceptions, hopes, beliefs, etc.) evolved along the financial education training and coachingthe How does these changes impact the beneficiaries’s money management (for both household and professional usage) What are the limits, fears, threat that constrains the beneficiaries in their self-development towards their enterprise’s creation How the non-financial services could be improved to strengthen beneficiaries’ capacities

6- Assess the quality and sustainability of enterprises created by YEP partners. a. Does additional training needed to strengthen the capacity of young entrepreneurs b. Does additional financial support needed to allow the youth to strengthen its microenterprise II – Cost effectiveness of non-financial services 1- Assessing the costs of non-financial services (training, monitoring and evaluation) 2- The structure of costs and revenues 3- Propose concrete actions to ensure profitability (term) of YEP services . This includes among others: a. Identify, if appropriate, the necessary scale (in terms of credit volume) for the YEP services revenues to support the cost of financial and non-financial services b. To identify how to integrate the cost of non-financial services in operating expenses c. To study how to integrate the management of non-financial services in the organizations’ operations. 4- Propose recommandations to sustain the YEP services within each partner.

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V. Applications V.1.

Profile of the Consultant

The profile of the team leader must meet the following requirements:  

  

Diploma equivalent to a master degree or above related to economics, business, international development, finance, social or human sciences or equivalent experience in evaluation missions Minimum 10 years of experience on monitoring and evaluation activities with at least 3 years of international experience in external impact evaluations for European Union funded projects preferably in developing countries 3 projects minimum evaluated in the last 5 years according to the European Union methodology and OECD criteria High command of English (spoken and written), preferably Arabic speaking Ability to work in a multi-partner project and multi-cultural environment

As for the profile of the team members:     

Diploma equivalent to a master degree or above related to economics, business, international development, finance, social or human sciences or equivalent experience in evaluation missions Minimum 3 years of experience on monitoring and evaluation activities High knowledge and understanding of the European Union external evaluation methodology High command of English (spoken and written), Arabic is an advantage Ability to work in a multi-partner project and multi-cultural environment

The team will have expertise in:

   

External evaluations especially for EU financed projects Microfinance and BDS (financial and non-financial products) Young entrepreneurs characteristics and needs The Middle East region

All team members will have to be available during the mission period.

V.2.

Evaluation of the bids

The evaluation of the technical will observe the following marking grid: Criteria

Mark out of

Qualifications

65

CV of the team leader meeting the requirements above

30

CV of the team members meeting the requirements above

25

Experience and references of the Consultant

10

Methodology

30

Understanding of the issues at stake

5

Strategy of implementation of the objectives of the mission

15

Chronogram

10

Quality of the bid

5

Clarity and relevance of the bid

5 TOTAL

100

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Minimum technical mark: 70. The financial offers related to Technical proposal below 70 will not be open. This evaluation will only be conducted for the candidates having a technical mark above 70. The financial mark is calculated with the following formula:

V.3.

The global mark will be calculated as below:

FM = 100*LO/CO

GM = xTM + yFM

FM = Financial Mark LO = Lowest financial offer CO = Considered Offer

GM = Global Mark TM = Technical Mark FM = Financial Mark x = 0,75 and y = 0,25

Budget

The maximum budget available is 30,000 EUR all taxes included.

V.4.

Application file

Templates for the technical and financial offers are provided in annex. Any proposal submitted in another format will not be considered. The Consultant will elaborate a technical offer comprising of: -

a note on their understanding of the terms of reference and the ROM methodology the references and experiences of the Consultant the CVs of the team members and their expected responsibilities in the mission the activities and staffing planning

Technical (PDF) and Financial (PDF + Excel) proposal must be submitted by email to the Task Manager in separate file.

V.5.

Tender schedule

Forecasted calendar: Milestone

Date

Publication of the present Terms of reference

06.08.15

Beginning of Q&A period*

24.08.15

End of Q&A period

28.08.15

Submission date

11:59 pm - 21.09.15

Expected starting date of the mission

12.10.15

Delivery of the draft of the final report

01.12.15

Delivery of the evaluation file

15.12.15

* Questions to be submitted to the Task Manager

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