Terms of Reference for Mentors to support Enterprises on the Youth Adapt Programme
INTRODUCTION
Introduction to GCA
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization that works as a
solutions broker to catalyze action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector, to ensure we learn from each other and work together for a climate resilient future. Adapting to impacts of climate change provides a “win-win” for livelihoods, food security, water supply chains, health, security and economic growth. The work of the GCA elevates the visibility and political importance of climate
adaptation and facilitates solutions, such as smarter investments, new technologies and better planning to become more resilient to climate-related threats. GCA is a rapidly growing
organization with its Global Headquarters in Rotterdam, a Research & Innovation Hub in Groningen, and Regional Offices in Abidjan, Beijing and Dhaka.
To fight climate change and take advantage of the green investment opportunities it presents, Africa’s greatest asset is its youth. By 2050, Africa’s population of 1.2 billion people is expected to double and become the home to over one-quarter of the world’s population. The continent will remain the world’s youngest region with a median age of 25. By 2100, almost half of the world’s youth will be African. Africa’s young working population will drive its economic transformation.
However, this opportunity could also bypass Africa if nothing is done to harness the youth dividend. Most youth on the continent do not have secure work or economic futures. Of the 420 million youth aged between 15 and 35 in Africa today, the majority are unemployed,
underemployed, have insecure jobs or are in casual employment. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world at 70%. In addition, 95% of employed African youth are typically in low-productivity employment. On average, youth unemployment is roughly double the rate for older people.
Significant variations do, however, occur across African countries. The challenge is
multifaceted. Over ten million youth come on to the job market each year, but only three million formal jobs are created annually. The lack of paying jobs push youth into the informal sector, where jobs are typically less stable and have lower wages. Women seeking both formal and informal jobs are particularly affected, often facing greater barriers to opportunities. Thirty-five percent (35%) of female youth are not in employment, education, or training (NEET), compared with only 20 percent of men.
African Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP)
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) are
Program (AAAP), aimed at mobilizing $25 billion to scale up and accelerate climate change adaptation actions across Africa. One of the four flagships under this program is the Youth Adapt Program: Empowering Youth for Entrepreneurship and Job Creation in Climate Adaptation and Resilience. The YOUTH ADAPT flagship program is structured into four complementary pillars that build and reinforce each other:
Pillar 1: Enabling Policy Environment to boost knowledge generation, in order to scale up support for policy, legal, and regulatory reforms to remove structural barriers to youth enterprise development and financing.
Pillar 2: Scaling up Youth Innovations for Climate Action through the Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge.
Pillar 3: Building Youth Capacity and Unlocking Access to Finance.
Pillar 4: Mainstream "Adaptation Jobs" into Investment Projects.
The goal of the Youth Adapt program is to boost sustainable job creation through support to entrepreneurship and youth-led innovation in climate change adaptation and resilience across Africa. The specific objectives of Pillar 2: Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge are to:
i. Strengthen inclusive growth and broaden investment & economic opportunities for youth through entrepreneurial skills development by providing training, mentorship and financing to an initial 10 out of the target of 300 bankable youth-owned businesses (50% women-owned) to enable them to scale up their innovative adaptation businesses and build resilience among marginalized communities in Africa.
ii. Equip young innovators and MSMEs with customized business development skills and resources to scale up climate adaptation innovations and boost the creation of jobs.
iii. Support the youth-owned enterprises with initial grants up to 100,000 USD to support their short-term growth and link them to private equity and loan products for longer term growth.
iv. Expand partnership, knowledge sharing, exchange and learning through a network of youth entrepreneurs in Africa.
Introduction to this Request for Proposal
Purpose of this Request for ProposalKCIC Consulting (KCL) has been engaged as Enterprise Support Agency by GCA to manage Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge program jointly run by GCA and the African Development Bank. KCL is therefore seeking mentors to support 10 African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge winners across five African countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia)
KCL is requesting individuals to submit applications to mentorship support within the incubation programme.
Information about the Contract
KCL intends to enter into a contract with the mentors from March to December 2022.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
The project seeks to support enterprises to create sustainable jobs/livelihoods and wealth, while promoting climate mitigation and adaptation. The end result of these will be:
a) 10 Youth - led enterprises engaged in interventions promoting climate adaptation across Africa will have viable and sustainable business models
b) 10 stronger businesses that perform better financially, create sustainable jobs and generate wealth
The enterprises will receive technical support through business advisory, technical training, mentorship and networking opportunities to support them in scaling their businesses.
Role of the mentors
This engagement aims to assist KCL to implement the mentorship component of the Youth Adapt Programme alongside other interventions.
The mentors will serve as advisors to the 10 youth entrepreneurs. The mentorship will involve a one-to-one interaction with each individual enterprise. The engagement is task based and tied to the achievement to set out milestones which are unique to each of the enterprises. The one- to-one engagement will also seek to encourage personal learning and the mentor plays the role of an accountability partner to the entrepreneur. Mentorship will be ongoing for the duration of the programme (March to December 2022).
The youth-owned businesses selected through the African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge, have met the following criteria:
• Entrepreneurs are aged between 15- and 35-years old and operating in Africa;
• The enterprise has been operational for at least 2 years, and created at least 2 years of revenue;
• Their business ideas are related to climate change adaptation and resilience;
• Are profit making institutions which provide climate adaptation and resilience solutions in key social and economic sectors affected by climate change with clear value
proposition to go to scale for greater impact and to create specified direct jobs.
The mentors will work directly with KCL staff and the Youth Adapt clients in executing all aspects of the mentorship programme.
The mentorship programme is envisioned to enhance:
a) The enterprises’ ability to incorporate and effectively track the climate adaptation impact b) The sustainability of the enterprises evidenced by improved financial performance and
economic outcomes of the enterprises
The mentee businesses
Business mentoring is a relationship between the mentor and business’s owner / manager. In turn, this sets in motion wider changes to the business. In particular, optimizing the company structure could be a strong outcome of the mentoring programme. Mentors will help businesses to address the specific gaps identified for each of the enterprises.
Scope of Work
The Mentor
The mentor will be expected to spend an average of 2 to 3 hours a month with on each enterprise subject to achievement of agreed milestones.
Phase 1 – Inception meeting and Gap validation
During this phase, the mentor shall undertake the following activities:
Inception Meeting: The mentor will participate in a coordination meeting with KCL to be briefed on the on the programme design
Gap Validation and Work Plan Development: The mentor will be part of a gap validation session together with KCL staff. From this gap validation session, the mentor will prepare gap analysis briefs and a baseline report for every client which will be used as a guide throughout the mentorship programme. The reports will consist of both quantitative and qualitative data to be used when evaluating the programme.
The mentor will use the information from the gap analysis briefs to prepare an implementation plan and deliverables which will be used as a roadmap to action the gaps noted
Phase 2 – Execution
The following activities shall be executed during this phase:
The mentor will execute the work plan through physical and virtual engagement with the mentee.
At a minimum one, the first session must be held at the premises where the enterprise undertakes the core business activities.
Phase 3 – Monitoring and Evaluation
KCL shall be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation activities of the mentorship programme. The monitoring and evaluation activities will include but not limited to:
• Meetings – The mentor shall ensure that regular meetings are held with KCL to review the progress of the programme and, where necessary, take corrective action to keep the programme aligned to its overall goals and objectives. A KCL staff should be invited to all virtual meetings which should be communicated at least two (2) weeks before the date.
• Reports – The mentor shall, at a minimum, submit to KCL an inception report, periodic progress reports, in addition to a comprehensive final report at the end of the mentorship engagement.
• Baseline data taken during programme inception and at the end of the programme based on format provided and guiding KPIs which will be indicated.
KCL
• KCL shall work closely with the clients to enlist their active participation in the mentorship programme.
• KCL shall, where applicable, work with the mentor to ensure corrective action is taken to resolve challenges that arise during the mentorship programme.
• KCL shall provide backstopping during the programme.
Expected Deliverables and Output
By the end of the programme, the following outputs should be delivered to the satisfaction of KCL:
• An inception report detailing the methodology and milestones over the programme period.
• Baseline report for each client detailing the validated gaps and type of mentorship support that shall be provided to address the gaps.
• Work plan for the implementation period including time estimates required for all the stages of the work
• End line report for each client detailing the type of mentorship provided to each client, benefits derived, challenges faced, and to include clear recommendations and action plan for each recommendation.
• All other deliverables and reports specified in the Scope of Works and/or Inception Report.
Qualifications and Specialized knowledge
The mentors will be selected will based on the following;
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience offering business mentorship, technical assistance and SME advisory;
• The individual should demonstrate experience working with small and medium enterprises in the area highlighted within the location indicated.
• The mentor should have at least a first degree in their area of expertise as indicated in the table below.
• Demonstrate ability to understand the business environment in the target location especially within the purview of small and medium entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• High level of written and oral communication skills in languages commonly used in the target location.
We seek mentors with the following expertise for each of the preferred locations:
No. Location Expertise Number of Businesses
1. Cameroon Investor Readiness Two (2) 2. Ghana Financial Management and
Investor Readiness
One (1)
3. Kenya Sales and Marketing One (1)
4. Kenya Business Model and Strategy One (1) 5. Nigeria Business Model and Strategy Two (2) 6. Nigeria Developing blockchain powered
business models
One (1)
7. Zambia Business Model and Strategy Two (2)
Duration and timelines
The programme is expected to run for a maximum duration of 9 months beginning March 2022
Reporting Arrangements
The assignment will be carried out under the broad guidance and direction of the Youth Adapt Project Manager (Prabhakar Vanam) or anyone else that might be assigned that role.
SUBMISSION
If interested please submit your expression of interest to [email protected] by 8th April 2022, with the subject: Youth Adapt Mentorship. Submissions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and contracting may give preference to an earlier applicant subject to fulfillment of requirements.
