Become A Client

The Facility Investing for Employment is an investment mechanism for job creation that provides co-financing grants for private and public projects in its eight African partner countries. On 1 June 2023, a competition round will launch in Ghana. The Call is open to all sectors of the economy.

Private companies as well as public and non-profit organisations are invited to submit investment proposals. Applications are accepted in four categories. They range from purely private sector investments to public infrastructure projects. The Facility supports the projects with grants ranging from 1 million to 10 million euros per project. The amount of the grant depends on the project category and ranges from 25% to 90% of the investment volume. It is essential that each project contributes to sustainable job creation in the private sector in Ghana. The Facility only finances mature projects that have not yet started and that offer reasonable chances for being operationally and financially sustainable.

Candidates can apply individually or in a consortium with other candidates, provided they are based in African countries or in the EU/EFTA.

This is how the application process works

Applications for the competition round can be submitted from 1 to 30 June 2023. In the first step, the Facility will make a pre-selection from the submitted concept notes. In a second phase, the selected applicants will be asked to submit elaborated project proposals, which will then be evaluated in detail.

Successful applicants will be offered a grant contract. Potential applicants can contact the IFE Helpdesk from May 2023: helpdesk-ife@invest-for-jobs.com.

General information on the application process is available at https://invest-for-jobs.com/ife.

The competition criteria for this Call for Proposals and the dates of the online information sessions are published in the Key Information Sheet and the Guidelines for Applicants. Both documents will be made available in the Download Center at https://invest-for-jobs.com/en/ife-download-center.

If you have questions about this competition round, please write to: cfp-ife.june2023@invest-for-jobs.com

The Facility Investing for Employment is an investment mechanism created by the KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as an integral part of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition". The Special Initiative, which also operates under the brand Invest for Jobs, aims to team up with companies to create good jobs in the eight African partner countries, and to improve local working conditions.

General Information and further support services are offered by the Special Initiative: https://invest-for-jobs.com.

Background to the Assignment

The Ghana Enterprises Agency in partnership with the German Cooperation's 'Invest for Jobs' (an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), is implementing a Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs.

The project seeks to provide capacity-building to women-owned/led SMEs on different aspects of digitalization and how their companies can grow from its use and increase their process efficiency and competitiveness by providing access to knowledge, digital tools, and expertise in the field of digitalization and innovation management challenges. It will Create a digitalized business environment conducive to the rapid growth of SMEs in Ghana, ensuring that they are creating jobs after the program.

The Objective of the Assignment

The purpose of issuing this ToR is to select competent and highly qualified consultants who have sufficient capability and experience in implementing an operational visibility (including social media) pack for virtual engagement and service marketing. Also, the Consultant should be able to recommend innovative solutions that could be considered for adoption. The solution should enable or deliver the following at a minimum:

  1. Optimal digital visibility
  2. An informational website and a social media platform to increase the business performance of MSMEs
Scope of Work

The scope of work of this role under the project covers:

Informational Website: The Consultant shall develop, using a recommended template/theme and an easy-to-configure website for SMEs with a modern user interface that delivers an excellent user experience for customers and partners.

The website should have the following sections and components at a minimum:

  1. About the Company
  2. Vision
  3. Mission
  4. Any other vital information
  5. Product and Services
  6. Teams page [optional]
  7. Contact Us page
  8. Links to social media pages
  9. Link to the website privacy policy
  10. Backend content management
  11. Proposed Domain name
  12. Hosting
  13. Email Hosting

Social Media Presence: The Consultant shall create/update one (1) of the under-listed social media accounts for digital engagement of customers and marketing visibility.

  1. Facebook
  2. Instagram
  3. Twitter
  4. YouTube
  5. WhatsApp Business

A. Proactively create editorial content (stories, photos, advocacy images, contests, campaigns, audio, video, infographics, etc.) in cooperation with web and social media, posting daily to respective channels; Adapt multimedia assets from beneficiaries.

B. Social Media Content Calendar: The Consultant shall develop a comprehensive year-round social media content calendar to deliver engaging content and value to sustain and grow followers and generate excitement for events.

C. Social media strategy and account growth framework: The Consultant shall develop a holistic social media strategy and account growth framework such that SMEs can grow their follower base and generate leads for more business and consequently higher revenues.

D. Interactions: Train account holders to actively engage with online audiences through social media channels.

E. Generate and analyze reports on web traffic and KPIs using Google Analytics and other social media-focused analytic channels.

Expected Deliverables

Considering the Scope of Work of this project, the consultant would provide a complete list of all deliverables that will be produced throughout the entire project timeline whether those are plans, reports, solutions, etc. in a table format mentioning the stages, activities, and timelines.

Some examples of the deliverables are mentioned here for your reference.

  1. Inception Report (Work plan)
  2. Comprehensive reports of Informational Website and Social Media platforms
  3. A comprehensive framework for optimal utilization of the online space which adequately considers and incorporates ethics, privacy, and security protocols
  4. Social media and digital visibility solutions deployment report
  5. Recommendations on innovative solutions for adoption by SMEs for increased digital visibility.
  6. Training Reports
  7. Social media account holders should be able to timely respond to messages and comments from followers.
  8. Reports of activities undertaken
  9. Post-development support plan
Qualification and Experience of Technical Consultant

This assignment is of utmost importance to GEA hence, The Consultant must prove that they have a solid technical background and operational strength to deliver the assignment without any hindrances. The consultant must also have adequate technical ability, material, and human resources. As such, the following are defined as minimum eligibility criteria:

  1. Minimum of 4 years of general experience in creating or enhancing the digital visibility of businesses.
  2. Must submit the Business Registration Certificate (Incorporation & Commencement of Business)
  3. Have developed successful Online Operational and Digital visibility packs for SMEs that are currently operational and have been deployed in at least three other large-scale projects in Africa (at least one instance in Ghana preferred) and/or other emerging markets during the last 4 years.
  4. Demonstrated experience, qualifications, and availability of key staff to be placed on the project.
Submission of CV

The CV shall be submitted by 12:00 pm/noon (GMT) on Monday, September 12, 2022, in a sealed envelope delivered to Procurement Officer, GEA, and be clearly marked "Social Media and Digital Visibility Consultant"

Applicants may obtain further information on the requirements including the criteria for shortlisting by applying to procurementgea@gmail.com, procurement@gea.gov.gh during office hours.

Deadline

Wednesday, 15th March 2023

Terms of Reference

Detailed Terms of Reference for this project may be downloaded HERE (Click Here).

Background to the Assignment

The Ghana Enterprises Agency in partnership with the German Cooperation's 'Invest for Jobs' (an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), is implementing a Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs.

The project seeks to provide capacity-building to women-owned/led SMEs on different aspects of digitalization and how their companies can grow from its use and increase their process efficiency and competitiveness by providing access to knowledge, digital tools, and expertise in the field of digitalization and innovation management challenges. It will Create a digitalized business environment conducive to the rapid growth of SMEs in Ghana, ensuring that they are creating jobs after the program.

Objective and Tasks of the Assignment

As part of this project, GEA seeks to engage a competent and highly qualified IT consultancy firm / Digital Services Provider, that has the required capability and experience in the development of digital solutions for SMEs, to lead the development or customization of (Open Source) software solutions based on key needs and demands of selected SMEs in Ghana.

The objective of this assignment is to support the digital transformation of selected women-owned SMEs in Ghana thereby increasing their process efficiency and competitiveness by providing access to demand-based digital software solutions complementing the technical assistance in terms of training and mentoring that the project offers.

The IT consultancy firm should be able to identify the needs and challenges of the target SMEs, advise on appropriate solutions to support their businesses operations, to recommend innovative open-source solutions - without license costs - that could be considered for adoption/customization to address SME’s constraints in the following areas but not only limited to these.

  1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  2. Invoicing, Order, and Sales Management
  3. Bookkeeping and Accounting
  4. Inventory Management
  5. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
  6. eCommerce

The software solutions shall be easy to handle, user-friendly, and simple but include necessary core functions, a very affordable model, context-specific and modular.

The underlying approach is not to develop new software solutions from scratch but to explore whether appropriate and effective existing open-source solutions are available on the local market that can be customized to the needs of Ghanaian SMEs.

Sustainability is key - The proposed software solutions need to be adapted to the local market so that maintenance and IT Support in Ghana are guaranteed.
The customization/configuration of the software solution shall be complemented by training/capacity building of SMEs as users but also administrators (for later adaption/configuration).

Scope of Work

The scope of work of this assignment includes the following:

  1. Identification of digital software solutions for Ghanaian SMEs: The Consultancy Firm shall undertake a desk study or leverage the needs of the selected SMEs as part of the “Women SME
  2. Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs (D4J)” to identify potential software solutions, which address the digitalization pain points of SMEs in Ghana. This would also include an analysis of open-source software solutions to be acquired off-the-shelf and to be customized.
  3. Development and customization of digitalization tools - The Consultancy Firm shall customize digital solutions for the selected SMEs.
  4. Conduct training on the procured software solutions - The Consultancy Firm shall be responsible for conducting training for the various SMEs to enhance their understanding and use (and administration) of the customized procured solutions.
  5. Provide post-implementation support - For the developed solutions, the Consultancy Firm shall be responsible for providing support to the SMEs post-implementation, to ensure the sustainability of the intervention.
  6. Identification/Marking of the solution – The Consultancy Firm shall include logos or text at the footer of the solution information provided by GEA.
Expected Deliverables

Considering the scope of work of this project and based on the proposed project development & implementation methodology, the Consultancy Firm must provide a complete list of all deliverables that will be produced throughout the entire project timeline whether those are plans, reports, applications, etc. in a table format mentioning the stages, activities, and timelines.
Some examples of the deliverables are mentioned here under for your reference.

  1. Inception report
  2. User manuals for developed solutions.
  3. Digital solutions deployment report with specific indicators to be provided by GEA.
  4. Functioning solutions
  5. Comprehensive report
Qualification and Experience of The Consultancy Firm

This is a national assignment with utmost importance to GEA, thus the Consultancy Firm must prove that they have a solid technical background and operational strength to undertake and take this work forward without any hindrances. The Consultancy Firm must also have adequate technical ability, human resources, and processes. As such, the following are defined as minimum eligibility criteria:

  1. Degree in Computer Science / Information Technology, Digitalisation, or related fields
  2. A minimum working experience of 5 years in developing digital solutions and services for SMEs
  3. Excellent knowledge of the SME landscape (their needs and challenges) regarding digitalization
  4. List of developed digital tools for Ghanaian SMEs and training conducted
  5. Demonstrated experience and qualifications of key staff to be placed on the project
  6. Excellent research, analytical, communication, and writing skills
  7. Excellent teamwork and participatory process skills
Submission of CV

The CV shall be submitted by 12:00 pm/noon (GMT) on Monday, September 12, 2022, in a sealed envelope delivered to Procurement Officer, GEA, and be clearly marked "Digital Tools Development / Customization or Acquisition"

Applicants may obtain further information on the requirements including the criteria for shortlisting by applying to procurementgea@gmail.com, procurement@gea.gov.gh during office hours.

Deadline

Wednesday, 15th March 2023

Terms of Reference

Detailed Terms of Reference for this project may be downloaded HERE (Click Here).

Background to the Assignment

The Ghana Enterprises Agency in partnership with the German Cooperation's 'Invest for Jobs' (an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), is implementing a Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs.

The project seeks to provide capacity-building to women-owned/led SMEs on different aspects of digitalization and how their companies can grow from its use and increase their process efficiency and competitiveness by providing access to knowledge, digital tools, and expertise in the field of digitalization and innovation management challenges. It will Create a digitalized business environment conducive to the rapid growth of SMEs in Ghana, this will ensure that they are creating jobs after the program.

Objectives and Task of the Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to engage an experienced and qualified individual who will help with the development of knowledge management, communication, and public relation strategy for the project and make known to the public what the Project seeks to achieve, and reach out to potential beneficiaries.

Scope of Work

The Communications / Public Relations Consultant will be responsible for drafting and implementing the communication and publicity strategy of the Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs (D4J). He/she will oversee all information circulation concerning the project

Duties and Responsibilities
  • Develop a Communication and Media Plan for the Project and manage the implementation of such plan.
  • Organize monthly meetings with staff on communications.
  • Produce change stories for the D4J Project.
  • Lead in the design of planning events and branding.
  • Providing advice, guidance, and support on planning and implementing internal and external communication efforts to strengthen national awareness of the project.
  • Ensure appropriate communications before, during, and after District, Regional and National events like knowledge sharing meetings, seminars, training, conferences, and special events; and
  • Profile effective media channels, develop a roster of media practitioners, expand contacts with print, audio-visual and social media outlets to enhance coverage, and respond to queries from the media and other external parties.
Expected Output

Progress report on challenges and achievement periodically as well as media and communication output.

Duration

The period of the assignment is 6 Months.

Reporting Requirement

Consultant shall act under the direction of the Chief Executive Officer of GEA or an appointed Representative and report to the Lead Project Consultant. The Consultant shall be expected to provide periodic reports on activities to the Chief Executive Officer of GEA.

Qualification and Experience of Technical Consultant

This is a National Assignment of utmost importance to GEA so the Consultant must have a solid technical background in communication and knowledge of the SME landscape and operational strength to undertake this work assignment without any hindrances. As such, the following are defined as minimum eligibility criteria:

  1. Bachelor’s degree in languages/linguistics, communications, or other related fields such as Journalism, Public Affairs, Public Relations, or a related field.
  2. 4-5 years of relevant work experience in a similar position.
  3. Fluency in speaking and writing English.
  4. Proven experience and understanding of communications and outreach at the international level, and proven ability to position and advocate for issues effectively.
  5. Experience in various forms of communications production such as publications, Internet communication strategies, and or campaigning.
  6. Demonstrated ability to build and nurture strong relations with the media.
  7. Previous work experience with governments and/or international development agencies would be an asset.
  8. Proven writing, editing, and language skills, and an ability to convey complex ideas in a concise, clear, direct, and lively style.
  9. Strong organizational and interpersonal skills, ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently, ability to take initiative, and be innovative.
  10. Working knowledge of relevant computer software such as MS Office, WordPress, Adobe InDesign/Illustrator/Photoshop, and electronic mail.
Submission of CV

The CV shall be submitted by 12:00 pm/noon (GMT) on Monday, September 12, 2022, in a sealed envelope delivered to Procurement Officer, GEA, and be clearly marked "CV for Communication & Public Relations Consultant for Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize For Jobs (D4J)"

Applicants may obtain further information on the requirements including the criteria of shortlisting by applying to procurementgea@gmail.com, procurement@gea.gov.gh during office hours.

Background to the Assignment

The Ghana Enterprises Agency in partnership with the German Cooperation's 'Invest for Jobs' (an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), is implementing a Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs.

The project seeks to provide capacity-building to women-owned/led SMEs on different aspects of digitalization and how their companies can grow from its use and increase their process efficiency and competitiveness by providing access to knowledge, digital tools, and expertise in the field of digitalization and innovation management challenges. It will Create a digitalized business environment conducive to the rapid growth of SMEs in Ghana, this will ensure that they are creating jobs after the program.

Objectives of the Assignment

The main objective of this assignment is to lead the Project Implementation and Coordination of the “Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs” from a technical perspective. The Lead Digital Consultant plays a key role in the successful implementation of the Project and quality assurance of the Project:

The Consultant will:

  • Advise on the initial project design and structure including the definition of the target group, eligibility criteria, selection process, etc.
  • Oversee the day-to-day project implementation and coordinate the project goals
  • Coordinate the different stakeholders and subcontractors involved and ensure that the assignments/deliverables meet the agreed requirements
  • Provide technical advice on the digitalization of SMEs to GEA and all relevant partners whenever needed.
  • Support the screening and selection process, oversees the training of the target SMEs, the customization of digital software solutions, and further support measures of the Project.
  • Provide (technical) administration and management of the Project,
  • Support the regular progress updates and final reporting as well as Monitoring and Evaluation of the Project impacts.
  • Support all communication-related tasks of the Project. He/she will advise on the optimal means of communication channels to reach the target SMEs, support the development of communication material and coordinate PR and media-related activities.
  • Support GEA Officers in the smooth logistical preparation and required administrative tasks of the Project.
  • Support the development of appropriate structures to ensure the sustainability of the intervention.

Project Deliverables

The expected deliverables for this Project will include.

  1. Inception report outlining the methodology and implementation approach of the entire Project.
  2. Project Charter which will have key sections on:
    • Stakeholder map and framework for engagement
    • Understanding of the scope, objectives, and activities of the project
    • Detailed time schedules for the implementation of the tasks: Workplan and Gantt Chart
  1. Regular (monthly) progress updates
  2. A logical framework for Monitoring and Evaluation
  3. Sustainability framework
  4. A comprehensive list of Beneficiaries and Support received
  5. Final report

Duration of the Project

The assignment is expected to be concluded over a period of up to 100 working days within a 6-month time frame from the date of commencement to the date of reporting. The Lead Consultant supports the project full-time in the implementation.

The consultant must be available for regular meetings with GEA and the Funding Partner to discuss the progress of work and further planning.

Reporting Requirement

Consultant shall act under the direction of the Chief Executive Officer of GEA or an appointed Representative and report to the Project Coordinator. The Consultant shall be expected to provide periodic (monthly) reports on activities to the Chief Executive Officer of GEA.

Selection Guidelines and Requirements

  • This is an open and competitive process.

Eligibility Criteria

  1. Degree in business administration, business management, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Marketing, Planning, Entrepreneurship, or related fields or in Computer Science / Information Technology, Digitalisation, or related fields
  2. Minimum 4 years experience in IT Project Management and similar assignments including Project Design and Structuring
  3. Demonstrated capacity to deploy a full-time experienced cross-functional team of experts in project design and structuring and managing relationships with multiple stakeholders.
  4. Demonstrated experience and qualifications in SME development and digitalization in general
  5. Demonstrated experience in the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, particularly with Open-Source solutions
  6. Excellent knowledge of the Ghanaian SME landscape as well as digitalization of SMEs
  7. Excellent research, analytical, communication, and writing skills
  8. Excellent teamwork and participatory process skills

Submission of CV

The CV shall be submitted by 12:00 pm/noon (GMT) on Monday, September 12, 2022, in a sealed envelope delivered to Procurement Officer, GEA, and be clearly marked "CV for Lead Digital Consultant for Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize For Jobs (D4J)"

Applicants may obtain further information on the requirements including the criteria of shortlisting by applying to procurementgea@gmail.com, procurement@gea.gov.gh during office hours.

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