Reference No.

PN/FJI/052/21

Consultancy Title

Strengthening the youth entrepreneurship ecosystems in Pacific Countries

Location

Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu (Virtually)

Application deadline

26th July 2021

Type of Contract

Individual Contractor/Firm

Post Level

International

Languages required:

English

Duration of Initial Contract:

100 working days

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a massive disruption of labour markets that has had disproportionate impacts on youth employment. Given that youth have relatively limited skills and experience, they face higher rates of unemployment than adults regardless of the sector and business cycle. Young people are also more likely than adults to work in less-secure, lower-wage, lower productivity employment, frequently with limited legal rights, social protection, and representation[1].

As a result of the pandemic, slow economic growth hampers the ability of the economies in the Pacific Island countries to absorb the growing numbers of labour force entrants, especially in formal sector jobs. Even before the pandemic, countries in the Pacific encountered challenges with regard to job creation, decent work, and necessary skills for the labour market resulting in high and persistent youth unemployment. The lack of access to business support services and intermediation services such as entrepreneurship programmes, quality career guidance, counselling and public employment services are also an important structural constraint for an efficient transition of young people to the labour market. Many governments in the Pacific are actively engaged in policies to create productive employment opportunities and to create an enabling environment for youth to grow and attain the skills they need to do well in work and in life, as well as to either start a business or find suitable employment.

Based on evidence from the ILO rapid assessments of the impacts of COVID-19 on workers and enterprises and SMEs in particular, in the Pacific Island countries, most enterprises have difficulty operating, especially youth-led businesses in the informal sector. Their limited ability to counterattack the involved risks, business environment, and afford the costs due to the slowed down business activities face the complex problems of the lack of funds and liquidity, skills, employees, customers, and technology.

The role of young entrepreneurs and youth-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have steadily gained an essential role as a driving force for fuelling employment, business innovation and green and inclusive growth. It is essential to understand the environment in which young entrepreneurs and MSMEs operate - the so-called entrepreneurial ecosystem – to improve business outcomes and facilitate job creation.

Objectives:

The overall objective of this study is to analyse the youth entrepreneurship ecosystems in Pacific Island Countries. This includes assessing the barriers facing youth in entrepreneurship and productive self-employment in the formal sector and how these can be overcome by proposing national interventions which relevant actors could lead in the Pacific Island Countries. The study will provide country-specific analyses of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, exploring and identifying dynamics and potential entrepreneurship stimulation, allowing to design effective reform interventions. The output of the study is supposed to identify the gaps in the ecosystem which hamper the stimulation of youth entrepreneurship. It also provides recommendations on areas in the ecosystem that need to be adjusted to support entrepreneurs in a sustainable and disaster resilient maner.

The study is a joint effort by UNDP and ILO in the context of the UN Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth and contributes to the thematic area on youth entrepreneurship and self-employment. The knowledge products will be made available in the joint knowledge facility of Decent Jobs for Youth (https://www.youthforesight.org/).

Scope of the work:

The study needs to address the underlying following pathways:

• Understanding the role of existing components of the ecosystem: Policy, Finance, Culture, Support, Human Capital and Markets in the development of entrepreneurship ecosystem in selected Pacific Island countries. The analysis should also provide insight into the coherence of the entrepreneurship ecosystem as a whole, i.e. identify communication flows and partnerships between the individual ecosystem components as well as shortcomings such as parallel systems or absent communication.
• Mapping of key actors in the national entrepreneurship ecosystem, their role and services in the ecosystem, and their relation and linkages with other ecosystem stakeholders.
• The role of education and training to increase the chances of better business skills and entrepreneurial performance by young men and women.
• The quality of business climate to create a conducive environment that stimulates youth entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on addressing the impact of informality on youth entrepreneurial performance (Including the legal aspects/environment for stimulating youth entrepreneurship)
• The outreach and quality of the business development and support services to youth provided by various public and private institutions
• The difficulties of youth accessing finance and managing resources to start and improve entrepreneurial performance.
• Understanding the cultural aspects, attitudes, opinions and experiences of young people in entrepreneurship, and the likelihood of becoming a young entrepreneur.
• Recognising the barriers and introducing recommendations from different perspectives, addressing green, gender, fragile contexts and/or digital entrepreneurship.

The findings of the study will assist national partners in the Pacific island states and relevant institutions to design policies and programmes to tackle the barriers of youth entrepreneurship with the objective to:

• Increase opportunities for youth entrepreneurship, productive self-employment and business development services
• Improve access to business development services and financial resources for youth
• Promote youth entrepreneurship culture and economic empowerment

The Consultant(s) will provide a detailed methodology, explaining how he/she will address and deliver the objectives in this ToR. The methodology should consist of the following:

1. Conducting a thorough mapping to understand the existing entrepreneurship ecosystem for youth in every selected island country, with a focus on identifying the gaps and weaknesses of the current entrepreneurship ecosystems.
2. Examining the type of barriers and knowledge, attitude and practices of young people in entrepreneurship, using supplementary research methods, mainly focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with ecosystem stakeholders, field experts, UN agencies and development partners.
3. Mapping the ecosystem based on an analytical framework, developed by Daniel Isenberg (see chart below). Indicated Entrepreneurial Ecosystem framework is a growth-oriented approach consisting of six main domains: policy, finance, markets, human capital, support and culture. Conducting and analyzing research based on this framework will help provide a comprehensive review of efficient and effective entrepreneurship processes in Pacific Island countries.

Institutional arrangements:

The Consultancy will work under the close guidance of the Inclusive Growth Deputy Team Leader throughout the assignment period.

Duty Station:

The select will be home based.

Duration of work: The expected duration of this assignment is 80 days with a start date of July 2021 and planned to be completed by 31 December 2021. 

Methodology:

The Consultant will explain how he/she will address and deliver the objectives in this ToR by providing a detailed methodology description, considering the quality assurance mechanism.

The study is required to conduct a thorough mapping to understand the existing entrepreneurship ecosystem for youth in every selected island country, with a focus on identifying the gaps and weaknesses of the current entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Pacific. The study will also provide insights into how these may be addressed in the national context and review relevant existing reports, studies, and best practices of conducted projects among island countries and other similar countries. In addition, a general review of the Asian countries' ecosystems and loopholes. The Consultant should propose a detailed methodology. The study will also examine the type of barriers and knowledge, attitude and practices of young people in entrepreneurship, using supplementary research methods, mainly focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with field experts, UN agencies and development partners.       

Numerous frameworks could shape the entrepreneurial ecosystem and how it functions. Daniel Isenberg developed one of the most renowned models. According to him, the entrepreneurial ecosystem consists of six domains: policy, finance, markets, human capital, support and culture. We strongly propose using Isenberg's Model of Entrepreneurship as the main framework for the research and analysis from and to the lens of youth. Indicated Entrepreneurial Ecosystem framework is a growth-oriented approach consisting of six main domains (see the picture below).  Conducting and analyzing research based on this framework will help provide a comprehensive review of efficient and effective entrepreneurship processes in Pacific Island countries.

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity. 
• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Self-development, initiative-taking.
• Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.
• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively
• Creating synergies through self-control.
• Managing conflict.
• Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.
• Informed and transparent decision making.

The Consultant(s) must have the following qualifications:

• At least 10 years of research and analysis experience in conducting labour market studies with a special focus on youth issues and entrepreneurship;
• Relevant knowledge and understanding of the business environment and labour market in Pacific Island Countries;
• Advanced university degree or equivalent in entrepreneurship, business administration, economic development, or other related social sciences; Ph.D. degree is an asset;
• Experience working on similar assignments for international organizations or the public sector;
• Demonstrated knowledge of SMEs and local economic development approaches;
• Strong writing skills in English

Administration, Reporting and Coordination

The contract for this assignment will be issued by ILO and UNDP. The Consultant will work closely with the national focal points in the selected countries.

Language requirement:

• Proficiency in English (written and spoken) required.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Consultancy must send a financial proposal based on Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

Deliverables

The expected contract period is from 26 July 2021 to 31 December 2021  To complete the assignment, the consultants, in close collaboration and consultation with UNDP and ILO specialists, and national counterparts is expected to perform the following tasks:

1. First payment of 20% will be made upon submission of the inception report.
2. Second payment of 30% will be made upon submission of a research proposal in line with the proposed framework of the ecosystem for every selected Island countries.
3. Third payment of 30% will be made upon submission of Draft country-specific report structured in line with the proposed framework of ecosystem.
4. Final payment of 20% will be made upon submission of a final report structured in line with the proposed framework of ecosystem

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Consultancy, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultancy will be evaluated based on the following methodology Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the consultancy whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

• Criteria 1: Relevance of Education – Max 5 points
• Criteria 2: Relevance of language and Key competencies - Max 5 Points
• Criteria 3: Relevance of expertise to requirements of ToR- Max 25 points
• Criteria 4: Relevance of experience, in particular Pacific experience, to requirements of ToR – Max 25 points
• Criteria 5: Quality of Assessment of approach/methodology to assignment – Max 10 Points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Shortlisted candidates shall be called for an interview which will be used to confirm and/or adjust the technical scores awarded based on documentation submitted.

Documentation required

Interested consultancies must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
• Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
• Technical proposal, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II. Note: Consultancies must quote prices in United States Dollars (USD).

Note: Successful individual will be required to provide proof of medical insurance coverage before commencement of contract for the duration of the assignment.

Incomplete and joint proposals may not be considered. Consultancies with whom there is further interest will be contacted. The successful consultancy shall opt to sign an Individual Contract or a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) through its company/employer with UNDP.

Annexes

• Annex I - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions
• Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to Mr. Dale Kacivi - procurement.fj@undp.org/dale.kacivi@undp.org

All applications must be clearly marked with the title of consultancy and submitted by 5:00pm, 26th July 2021 (Fiji Time) online via UN Jobs website https://jobs.undp.org/ or etenderbox.pacific@undp.org