Consultancy: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Assessment on women in Micro, Small Businesses (MSEs)

The overall objective of this assignment is to conduct a Market Systems Development (MSD)-oriented Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) analysis to assess how the business ecosystem functions for women-owned and other marginalized MSEs, evaluate LIWAY’s direct and indirect (systemic) contributions to improving the inclusiveness and performance of this ecosystem, and identify systemic constraints, incentives, and opportunities, including strategic entry points to strengthen the ecosystem in support of the growth and agency of women-owned businesses.

Specific Objective of the Assignment

Specifically, the consultancy will:

• Map and assess key market actors such as financial institutions, BDS providers, market platforms, technology providers, business associations and examine their services and products including trainings, business support packages, access to loan, access to market opportunities, membership and leadership opportunities (particularly for business associations) from GESI perspective.
• Identify systemic constraints and root causes that limit women-owned and other marginalized groups’ businesses from accessing, using, and benefiting from available services
• Assess selected LIWAY interventions through a systemic GESI lens to evaluate their direct and indirect contribution to the business ecosystem, including what has worked well, what has been less effective, and what could be improved to strengthen inclusive and sustainable market system outcomes.
• Assess incentives and behaviour of both market actors and MSEs that influence the delivery and uptake of inclusive services and products,
• Identify capacity gaps and opportunities for selected market actors and business association particularly Ethiopian chamber to adopt and scale inclusive business practices
• Generate actionable and systemic recommendations that leverage market incentives and partnerships to improve inclusiveness and outreach of services.

Interested consultants (Individual or firms) are expected to meet the following requirements:

Educational Background:

• A Masters in a relevant field such as Gender, Sociology, business development/administration and training on MSD/PSD or other related social sciences.

Demonstrated Experience:

• A proven track record in conducting comprehensive GESI analysis, studies and assessments for development programs, particularly in the fields of market systems development (MSD), private sectors, youth and women’s economic empowerment, and private sector engagement.
• Substantial experience in the Ethiopian context, with an in-depth understanding of the private sector particularly The Chamber of commerce, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) ecosystem, and the policy environment related MSMEs, business start-up.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting analysis and developing strategies related to the core themes of this assignment: MSD/PSD oriented GESI analysis and capacity building.

Team Capacity:

• Ability to mobilize and lead a multi-disciplinary team with combined expertise covering the key assessment areas of the assignment. The CVs submitted must show relevant knowledge and experience Gender and social inclusion.

Research Skills:

• Proven experience and expertise in designing and implementing mixed-methods research, including both qualitative (interviews, FGDs) and quantitative data collection and analysis.

Language Proficiency:

• Excellent written and spoken proficiency in both English and Amharic.

Ethical Standards: Must adhere to SNV policies, principles, and core values, including a commitment to ethical standards and a code of conduct.