Business Consultancy Service for Small and Medium Size Enterprises

Business Consultancy Service for Small and Medium Size Enterprises

1. Who is the Danish Refugee Council?

Founded in 1956, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international NGO with a specific expertise in forced displacement. Active in 40 countries with 9,000 employees and supported by 7,500 volunteers, DRC protects, advocates, and builds sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement affected people and communities. DRC works during displacement at all stages: In the acute crisis, in displacement, when settling and integrating in a new place, or upon return. DRC provides protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance; supports displaced persons in becoming self-reliant and included into hosting societies; and works with civil society and responsible authorities to promote protection of rights and peaceful coexistence.

2. Purpose of the consultancy

The Danish Refugee Council based in Ukraine seeks proposals from a firm consisting of multiple consultants, to deliver business consultancy services for conflict-affected micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) located in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. The consultants will be providing business consultation services to 397 finaMSMEs in the identified locations, targeting at areas of technical expertise identified by MSMEs as needing support. The purpose of the business consultation is to strengthen the existing capacity of the MSMEs, and support the restoration and expansion of their operational, financial and technical capacity to a level prior to the 2022 escalation. The business consultancy will complement a small business grant of up to 5,000 USD provided to the business by DRC based on their own identified needs.

3. Background

The program aims to address the most critical livelihood needs in the target conflict-affected oblasts through evidence-based activities, including sectoral cash to conflict-affected subsistence farmers, training and employment facilitation for vulnerable job seekers, and MSME support to conflict-affected business owners. Collectively these activities are aimed at supporting the mitigation of the most acute economic recovery needs created as a result of the conflict.

Increasing opportunities and capabilities in the Agriculture and Economic Recovery and Market Systems sectors is critical to enhancing the resilience of vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations who continue to feel the economic impact of the war on a daily basis, and who are confronted with the burden of negative coping and basic needs gaps due to lost income generation opportunities as a result of the war. In order to achieve this, responses will be tailored to the needs of people and realities that confront the business environment since the full-scale invasion.

The business restoration component of the project includes the distribution of a grant of maximum 5,000 USD to conflict affected MSMEs in order to promote small business recovery. Both self-employed and private enterprises will be able to use the funds to purchase equipment, purchase raw materials, pay rent (no more than 25 percent of the grant amount), repair/rehabilitate damaged premises, train staff, or pay for equipment leasing, etc. In addition to this, the enterprises targeted by the project will receive business training from outside consultancy services up to a maximum of 5 hours.

The MSMEs profiles are largely consist of up to 20 employees, with a turnover of under 10 million UAH annually. The business may consist of but not limited to agricultural businesses, wholesale, petty trade and food services.

4. Objective of the consultancy

DRC is seeking experienced service providers to provide business consultation services for 397 small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the four target oblasts. Ideally this should be a consultancy group or firm with multiple available consultants who have different fields of expertise, to ensure optimal reach, flexibility and operational effectiveness for the provision of the service.

The objective of the business consultation is to provide MSMEs with consultation and capacity strengthening, targeting specifically areas needing improvement identified by the MSME itself. The business consultant would identify opportunities and solutions to provide value, advice and expertise in the identified area where support is required by each business. This may include, but not limited to foreign trade and export, taxation management, supply chain rehabilitation and development, material sourcing, business law, marketing, human resources, finance management, improvement of current business plan, support in identifying additional revenue sources etc.

As a result of the intervention, it is expected that target businesses will be able to meet the specific business needs created by the war, increase productivity and apply better business practices, and generate sustainable employment through their improved productivity and functionality.

5. Scope of work and Methodology

DRC will submit the consultancy firm with a list of businesses to be served and the specific area in which each requires support, as well as their contact details. Based on this, the company will deploy a consultant to each company with the required profile and expertise. One consultant may serve multiple enterprises, but care must be taken that their qualifications fit the consultancy demand.

The business consultant selected for each business must reach out to the business to jointly agree on a work schedule in order to achieve maximum desired impact and time suitability. The modality of delivery of this service may be varied from face-to-face consultation to remote consultation through an online platform. This may depend on the availability, preference and existing capacity of MSMEs and the business consultant. The consultant is expected to provide a maximum of 5 hours of consultation service, targeting areas identified by the MSME, to be completed by the end of August 2024.

The modality of consultation may be delivered through individual consultation or a group consultation. The preferred modality of delivery is individual consultation with the MSME. However, DRC may initiate group consultation to be delivered to targeted MSMEs, of no more than 10 MSMEs per online session, if the desired area of support is largely aligned across number of MSMEs. For this modality to be adopted, maximum operational effectiveness must be one of the essential consideration.

The consultant will be required to lead on the initial consultation on the area of concern identified by each MSME and the desired outcome and deliverable (s) after the conclusion of business consultation. After the initial kick-off meeting, the consultant will be required to submit a one-page work plan with deliverables and needs to obtain confirmation from the MSME before they can proceed with the assignment. The business consultant is also expected to submit a final report to DRC following the completion of the consultancy. This report should include the objective agreed with the business at the beginning of the consultancy, an action plan in order to achieve the desired outcome, the progress update during each meeting, and a final result report at the end of the consultancy. Throughout the consultancy, DRC may set up a progress update meeting with the consultant to maintain oversight on the ongoing project progress.

6. Deliverables

Please refer to the Terms of Reference.

7. Duration, timeline, and payment

The consultant shall be prepared to complete all tasks related to the consultancy no later than 31st August, 2024.

Payment for the consultancy will be completed at the end of the assignment, within 30 calendar days from the submission of the final documentation needed for the project.

8. Proposed Composition of Team

• Project Manager
• Assistance Project Manager
• Technical business consultants, with coverage of a wide range of business skills and knowledge
• Quality control

9. Eligibility, qualification, and experience required

The service provider is expected to be able to dispatch business consultants with the following qualifications:

Essential:

• Excellent and updated knowledge in key business skills in demand by MSMEs, including but not limited to foreign trade and export, business taxation management, supply chain rehabilitation, material sourcing, business law, marketing, human resources, finance management, improvement of current business plan, support in identifying additional revenue sources.

Desirable:

• Master’s or higher degree in Business Administration or Management, Accountancy, Economics, Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management or other related field.

Experience:

• A minimum of three years of hands-on experience in different relevant areas of business development.
• Strong technical knowledge and in-depth understanding of (agri)business operations, expansion and revenue sources.
• Previous work with INGOs desirable.

Skills and knowledge:

• A solid understanding of the economic context and opportunities for business growth in relevant rayon’s of Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, including areas close to the front line.

Language requirements:

• Written and spoken fluency in Ukrainian and Russian is essential.
• Working knowledge of English is an advantage.

10. Technical supervision

The selected consultant will work under the supervision of:

• Francesca Lai, Economic Recovery Manager, Dnipro, [email protected]
• Viktoriia Klimova, Economic Recovery Manager, Mykolaiv, [email protected]

11. Location and support

The service provider may be a national or regional service provider. The service provider must have essential knowledge for the business landscape and challenges faced by the MSMEs in the local context. Desirable if the business consultant is able to travel to the business establishment location. The final selection of the provider will be based on the technical capacity and financial bid of the provider. The service provider is expected to ensure that each consultant has sufficient equipment available to complete the assignment, including a laptop, mobile phone and stable access to internet connectivity.

12. Travel

Although travel to the business site is not mandatory, consultants who are able to travel to the business site to conduct the business consultation service is highly desirable. All logistical arrangements are to be made by the service provider or individual consultant and costs included in the financial proposal. Alternative, business consultant may consider adopting the online business consultation with MSMEs. Business consultant must ensure they have sufficient equipment available to complete the assignment. This includes a laptop, mobile phone, and a stable access to internet connectivity. This must also be appropriate to the business need of the MSMEs.

In areas within 30 kilometres from the frontline and in other cases where business owners agree the consultancy services may be provided remotely.

DRC will not be responsible for covering or reimbursing any cost related to boarding/ lodging, accommodation, travel, insurance, food etc.

13. Submission process

Please check RFP Invitation Letter for any details with regards to bid submission, tender evaluation and award criteria.

Interested consultant must submit their operational plan in providing consultation services to 397 MSMEs, indicating their operational capacity, internal structure, focal point, and the modality that they wish to adopt for providing this service. Please indicate if wishes to provide this consultation service through face-to-face modality, thus travel.