Capacity of SMEs in Targeted Clusters for Accessing Financial Services

The government requested that the project focus on industry clusters that have the potential to increase Sri Lanka’s exports and recommended the fruit and vegetable and rubber clusters as the targeted clusters.

The project has the following outputs:

(i) Capacity of women entrepreneurs strengthened. The output is capacity development support for women entrepreneurs (WE) in the targeted export-oriented clusters in business development and management (including financial literacy).

(ii) Cluster-based loans structured. The output is capacity development support for financing at least one cluster-based loan in the ICT/BPO, fruits and vegetables, or rubber cluster.

(iii) International Branding of ICT/BPO cluster strengthened. The output is developing an international branding campaign for the ICT/BPO cluster, particularly to support the cluster’s many SMEs that cannot market internationally.

(iv) Women’s participation in ICT/BPO cluster increased. The output is developing a program to increase the awareness of careers in ICT/BPO cluster among females as a way to (i) increase their participation in the cluster; (ii) build the total workforce to meet future demand; and (iii) maintain Sri Lanka’s future competitiveness.

 

 

Qualifications: 

Women Entrepreneurship Expert

The international consultants should have

  • a postgraduate degree in social sciences, business administration or economics;
  • extensive experience (a minimum of 10 years) in the area of strengthening women entrepreneurs’ access to financial resources and services;
  • Experience in South Asia is preferred

The principal aims of the assignment will be to strengthen capacity of women entrepreneurs in the three targeted clusters in Sri Lanka.

The expected TA outcome will be at least 60% of the women entrepreneurs trained under the project have project-endorsed business management plans or have applied for business loans. Specific tasks will include:

(i) conducting a gender responsive value chain analysis of the three clusters and developing a strategy for expanding and strengthening women entrepreneurship and financing and helping them move up to the value chain in the three clusters by Q2 2016

(ii) providing business development services (BDS) to WE as per the recommendations of the analysis by Q3 2016

(iii) assessing the capability development needs of WE and design training modules on business development and management (including financial literacy) in the three clusters based on identified capability development needs by Q3 2016

(iv) launching initiatives to strengthen networks of women entrepreneurs by Q1 2017, and

(v) training 500 actual and potential women entrepreneurs in business development and management (including financial literacy) in the three SME clusters by Q4 2018.

Out of the 8 PMs international consultants work, 6 PMs are earmarked for developing gender responsive value chain analyses for each of the three targeted clusters and the remaining 2 PMs are for project management.

Collaboration with local nongovernmental organizations should be explored to efficiently and effectively utilize their existing resources and networks, especially for identifying small women entrepreneurs and providing them with the requisite business development services and capacity training.

Start / Duration: 

May 2016

If you are interested to coopertate with AFC in this tender, please send your most recent CV to:

Barbara.Braun [at] afci.de

Thank you!

Please note that only shortlisted experts will be contacted