ToR on Basic Business Skill Training

Background of the Training

Basic Business Skill Training

Basic Business Skills training refers to foundational instruction that helps individuals understand and apply essential concepts for starting, running, and managing a small business. It is especially important for first-time entrepreneurs or those with little or no formal business education. Basic Business Skills training focuses on equipping individuals with the fundamental knowledge and abilities necessary to effectively operate and manage a business. Topics typically covered include Entrepreneurship and identifying business opportunities, business planning and goal setting, Marketing basics and customer service, Budgeting and cost control, Savings and personal financial management, Basic record keeping and financial tracking. The goal is to prepare participants to understand and execute key business processes and improve their entrepreneurial potential.

The control over economic resources is a crucial driver for women’s empowerment providing increased security and independence and improving standards of living, as well as developing their businesses. Women-owned income-generating activities(businesses) make significant contributions to their household economies. However, these entrepreneurs face a range of challenges (financial and non-financial) in realizing their growth potential. The challenges can be listed as: lack of business management skills, lack of entrepreneurial skills, running businesses that are largely unlicensed, unregistered and or not properly formalized.

 

Rationale of the Training

Basic Business Skill Training

Empowering women has been recognized as a critical issue that cuts across multiple development priorities, as women are key contributors to the economic and social well-being of their communities. Strengthening their capacity is expected to play a vital role in tackling challenges such as food insecurity, poverty, lack of decent employment, and limited economic growth. The training targets women that going o be engaged in IGAs and SHGs found in Dehana, Ziquala, Sekota Zuria, and Tsagibji Woredas.

These women’s groups often lack essential entrepreneurial and business management skills, including business planning, costing and pricing, record keeping, marketing, and basic financial literacy. Many of them are unfamiliar with what defines a successful entrepreneur or how to develop those characteristics. As a result, their businesses are typically vulnerable to economic shocks, competition, and market saturation. With limited access to profitable markets and weak financial planning, these women face significant barriers to growing and sustaining their businesses. Basic Business Skills training aims to close these gaps by equipping them with the tools and knowledge needed to build resilient, market-oriented enterprises.

Objective of the Training

Considering the above, the capacity building training workshop seeks to address the following objectives:

• To equip 180 women engaged in income-generating enterprises with essential entrepreneurial skills and cultivate a culture of entrepreneurial behavior among them.
• To enhance the ability to understand and effectively use various financial concepts and skills to manage money, make informed decisions, and achieve financial well-being.
• To equip 10 government staff with essential entrepreneurial skills and financial literacy

Scope of the Work/Training

Consultant Responsibilities

• Conduct a brief pre-training assessment to tailor the content to the participants’ knowledge, literacy level, and local context.
• Develop and submit a tailored training curriculum and materials in Amharic, incorporating local examples and case studies.
• Ensure all sessions apply gender-sensitive and participatory training methodologies.
• Facilitate group discussions, practical exercises, and team-based activities to reinforce learning.
• Use culturally appropriate, visual, and interactive approaches suitable for low-literacy rural participants.

Training Content Areas

Basic Business Skills and Financial Literacy (Estimated duration: 3 days)

• Entrepreneurship and identifying business opportunities – 0.5 day
• Business planning and goal setting – 0.5 day
• Marketing basics and customer service – 0.5 day
• Budgeting and cost control – 0.5 day
• Savings and personal financial management – 0.5 day
• Basic record keeping and financial tracking – 0.5 day

Deliverables

• Inception report with proposed training approach, topics/modules and work plan
• Finalized training curriculum and materials
• Delivery of basic business skills training to 180 rural women and 10 government staffs (possibly in batches) in Wag himra woredas
• Pre/post-training assessment tools and results
• Final comprehensive training report

Methodology of the Training

The training methodology will focus on capacity strengthening and skills transfer in the following areas. With the basic business skill training it will focus on Entrepreneurship and identifying business opportunities, business planning and goal setting, marketing basics and customer service, budgeting and cost control, savings and personal financial management, basic record keeping and financial tracking.

The program will use the adult learning training methodology, that is premised on getting the participants to bring wisdom from their experiences into the learning. Training will utilize active learning methods and tools such as case studies, games, simulations, group work, individual exercises, self-introspection and plenary sessions. The highlights of the workshop will be when participants asked about the competences of a successful entrepreneur, e.g. participants will be asked to self-introspect to find out which of the competences they already possessed and which ones they lacked. They will also be asked to share their experiences with record systems in place or why they have no record systems in place, and they are not formalized. They will also be asked to share their experiences about business plans or why they did not own business plans.

To ensure accessibility and active participation, the training will be conducted at the woreda level, allowing women to stay close to their families and caregiving responsibilities. All sessions and training materials will be delivered in Amharic, ensuring clarity and cultural relevance. Each session will include 30 women per group, with two rounds of training reaching a total of 180 women over 10 days (5 days per round).

• Round 1: 90 women (3 groups x 30 participants) over 3 days
• Round 2: 90 women (3 groups x 30 participants) over 3 days
• Training Duration: 3 days per group (3 days for Basic Business Skills )

Training Methodology

• Participatory Learning: Interactive sessions that include discussions, group work, storytelling, and peer learning.
• Culturally Appropriate Materials: Use of Amharic-language tools, visuals, role plays, and real-life rural examples.
• Low-Literacy-Friendly Approaches: Visual aids, hands-on exercises, and oral presentations tailored for participants with limited formal education.
• Gender-Sensitive Delivery: Facilitators will ensure inclusive participation, recognizing the specific needs and contributions of women.
• Small Group Size: Capped at 30 participants per group to maintain quality engagement and personal support.

 

Duration of the Work

The expected duration of this assignment is 10-12 workdays and shall commence at contract signing or no more than one week. The target date for the start of work is July 15, 2025, and the expected completion date is July 25, 2025. The execution of this assignment should take into account all Save the Children’s relevant policies, guidelines, procedures and code of conduct.

Trainees

The trainees are rural women who are found Sponsorship program target woredas

Woreda	Kebele	# of trainees
Dehana	Amdwerik	60
Dehana	Chilla	30
Ziquala	Tsistika	30
Sekota zuria	Rubaria	30
Tsagibji	Tsata	30
Government staffs		10
Tota		190

Expected Result of the training

• Women and government staffs understand core concepts of entrepreneurship, including business planning, financial literacy, saving, recording budgeting, and marketing.
• Improved confidence to start, manage, or expand small-scale businesses or income-generating activities.
• The ability to track income and expenses using basic bookkeeping methods.
• Improved decision-making related to pricing, product selection, and local market engagement.
• Women recognize and map existing assets within their community (skills, natural resources, social networks, etc.).
• Increased capacity to initiate or support community-driven development projects using local strengths rather than waiting for external help.
• Enhanced self-esteem and leadership among women participants.
• Strengthened participation of women in community decision-making and group-based economic activities.
• Increased potential for income generation, leading to better food security and financial resilience at household level.

Institutional Arrangement for Reporting and Supervision

• Administratively, the Consultant will work under the supervision of the contracting/hiring manager, Sponsorship Program Manager, in Save the Children International Ethiopia Wag himra FO. The contracting/hiring manager also works in close consultation with CO Food Security and Livelihood TA. Technically, the Consultant will primarily be accountable to and report to the Sponsorship Program Manager. The Consultant will seek approval/acceptance of outputs/deliverables from both. The contracting/hiring manager will approve any payment based on formal written quality satisfaction report. During implementing the assignment, the Consultant will interact with all stakeholders to understand their expectations. Regular progress updates will be required, with interim reports provided at key milestones.

Payment Terms

• All payments are based on a signed contract agreement signed between the two parties and it is non-negotiable.
• All payments are effected in ETB and through bank transfer to only legally registered bank accounts upon the approval of the technical team approval of service completion notes. Payment is effected after completion of assignment based on satisfactory delivery of milestones, with payment made in one installments upon completion of agreed deliverables.
• Payment will be processed upon receipt and approval of deliverables and reports.

 

Trainer Technical Evaluation Matrix

Main Criteria	Sub-Criteria	Evaluation Details	Max Score	Scoring Guidelines
1. Technical Understanding of ToR	– Clarity on Basic business skill training -Understanding of rural, low-literacy context- Alignment with women’s economic empowerment goals	Does the proposal reflect a deep understanding of basic business skill training, women’s empowerment, and localized implementation in rural areas?	15	0–5: Weak or misaligned understanding 6–10: Moderate alignment, some Basic business skill components addressed 11–15: Excellent integration of basic business skill and empowerment of women in rural setting
2. Relevant Organizational Experience	– Similar project history- Rural women-focused training- basic business skill training and specific training experiences	-Experience of working with women IGA groups -Demonstrated experience with community-driven or trainings, basic business skill trainings especially targeting rural women	20	0–5: Little/no relevant experience on provision of basic business skill training 6–10: 1–2 years’ experience on providing basic business skill training to similar projects 11–15: 3+ years’ experience in providing basic business skill trainings relevant projects, s 16–20: Proven, highly relevant portfolio with case studies/references on basic business skills training provision
3. Methodology & Training Approach	– Participatory approach- Cultural sensitivity- Practical vs theoretical balance- Use of local language (Amharic)	Quality of proposed training methodology in terms of inclusion, engagement, and contextual relevance	20	0–5: Unstructured, generic approach 6–10: Structured, but lacks contextual fit 11–15: Well-designed, culturally sensitive 16–20: Tailored, participatory, highly practical, uses Amharic
4. Training Curriculum & Tools	– Basic business skill concepts simplified- Visual aids for low-literacy learners- -Basic business skill training mapping tools- Materials in Amharic	Appropriateness and accessibility of training content and resources	15	0–5: Lacks key materials 6–10: Covers basics, but not fully adapted 11–15: Rich, contextual, Amharic-ready, basic business -aligned toolkit with visuals, exercises
5. Trainer Team Profile	– Gender-sensitive facilitation- Amharic fluency- Knowledge on basic business skill – Adult learning expertise	Suitability and competence of proposed trainers (CVs, roles, experience with rural women’s training)	15	0–5: Underqualified or generic team 6–10: Qualified but lacking basic business skill trainings 11–15: Strong facilitation team on basic business skill topics and inclusive training background
6. Training Schedule & Logistics	– Realistic timeline (July1 5–25)- Batch size & location planning- Accommodation for rural mothers- Use of local halls	Ability to implement training across woredas/kebeles in a timely, effective and logistically sensitive way	10	0–3: Unrealistic or unclear plan 4–7: Generally aligned, minor issues 8–10: Clear daily plan, matches ToR design (3-day sessions, 30 per group, local halls)
7. Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)	– Pre/post-assessment- Trainee feedback collection- Behavior change indicators- post-training follow-up plan	Approach to tracking knowledge gain, behavior change (IGA initiation, SACCO participation), and community impact	5	0–2: Weak or missing M&E 3–4: Generic M&E tools only 5: Basic business skills trainings , gender-sensitive, practical M&E with follow-up mechanism
TOTAL SCORE			100

This section outlines the criteria that will be used to assess submitted proposals. The technical evaluation will be scored out of 100 points and then converted to a maximum of 60%. To proceed to the financial evaluation stage, a minimum score of 40% (equivalent to 67 out of 100 points) must be achieved. The selection process will follow a combined scoring approach, where the technical qualifications will carry a weight of up to 60%, and the financial proposal will account for the remaining 40%.

14. Required Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in business, Community Development, Economics, management and similar fields
• Proven Experience in Delivering Basic Business Skills Trainings in rural area(Women)
• Strong facilitation skills and experience working with women’s groups
• Fluency in Amharic
• Excellent reporting and communication skills

15. Code of Conduct

Save the Children’s work is based on deeply held values and principles of child safeguarding, and it is essential that our commitment to children’s rights and humanitarian principles is supported and demonstrated by all members of staff and other people working for and with Save the Children. Save the Children’s Code of Conduct sets out the standards which all staff members must adhere to and the consultant is bound to sign and abide by the Save the Children’s Code of Conduct. A contract will be signed by the consultant before commencement of the action.

The contract will detail terms and conditions of service, and aspects on input and deliverables. The Consultant will be expected to treat as private and confidential any information disclosed to her/him or with which she/he may come into contact during her/his service. The Consultant will not therefore disclose the same or any particulars thereof to any third party or publish it in any paper without the prior written consent of Save the Children. Any sensitive information (particularly concerning individual children) should be treated as confidential

16. Application Procedure

Application Procedure Candidates interested in the assignment are expected to provide the following documentation:

• A technical proposal with detailed response to the TOR, with specific focus on the scope of work, deliverables, workplan (timeframe) and key selection criteria.
• A financial proposal detailing the daily rate of the consultancy, detailing both the number of unites/days/weeks and rates, and other modes of payment

Company profile or lead consultant CV (add additional CV if you apply as a team) including a minimum of 3 references

Closing date for Applications

• Interested candidates shall submit their technical applications through email , and Financial Application Should be submitted in Person Save the Children International | Ethiopia Country Office | Addis Ababa | close to Meskel Square, near the Hyatt Regency Hotel

Technical Document Submission Guide:

• Email submissions should be sent to: ——————————
• Important Note: This is a sealed email inbox, and submissions will not be opened until the tender closes. Kindly refrain from sending any tender-related queries to this address, as they will not be answered.
• Email Subject: ” _——————————-
• Ensure all attached documents are clearly labeled to reflect their contents.

Financial Submission Guidelines:

• Interested candidates shall submit their financial applications Save the Children International | Ethiopia Country Office | Addis Ababa | close to Meskel Square, near the Hyatt Regency Hotel |
• Deadline: The application should be submitted on or before JULY 16TH Save the Children reserves the right to contact only shortlisted candidates or cancel the assignment