Request for Application
Overview
Livelihood Improvement for Women and Youth (LI-WAY) is a market development program funded by Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and implemented in Addis Ababa by four international consortium members; Netherland Development organization (SNV) lead, Techno Serve, Save the children international and MERCY CORPS.
The project is designed to improve the livelihood of youth and women in the urban contexts with the overall objective of the program contributing to sustainable poverty reduction. The specific objective is to improve the livelihoods situation of 200,000 poor people, of which at least 50% are women and 75% youth, by increasing their income and access to economic opportunities.
Purpose
The purpose of this RFA is to solicit Expression of Interests (EOI) from prospective awardees for implementing activities under the LI-WAY project, focused on promoting growth of three prioritised sectors which are listed below:
1) Labour market: it is a supply of skilled and unskilled labour to formal and informal employers. The following closely related activities are identified to contribute for proper functioning of labour market.
· Child care: A function that, if not available, may reduce the quantity and quality of mothers’ labour force participation
· Job matching: The mechanisms that bring the supply of jobs and demand for jobs together.
· Referencing: Verification services (character, skills, health, and criminal background) that employers require of potential employees.
2) Growth Sectors: Industries generating wage employment for women and youth due to firms’ expansion.
· Production management– relates to the skillset necessary to put in place a system to optimise productivity.
· Human Resource management - Employer's internal HR development strategy, including sourcing, staff development and work force retention.
· Workforce development – the way the technical or management competencies are acquired in order to enhance the local workforce capacity to meet the needs of an organisation or local economy.
3) Micro enterprises;
· Access to finance – facilitate access to start-up or expansion capital in the form of a cash loan, lease financing and other forms of financing such as micro-venture
· Marketing: expand the exchange platform or facilities that are physical or virtual for increasing sale outreach of existing micro-enterprise and motivate/ incentivize the new micro-enterprise stat-ups.
Eligible Enterprises
Who may apply for an award?
· The Applicant must be a local (indigenous) organization, defined as an entity organized or recognized in accordance with the laws of Ethiopia;
· Any formally registered private sector profit making organizations with renewed license which is proposing activities that support the objectives of the LI-WAY as identified above.
Who may not apply for an award?
· Any organization that is prevented from receiving donor and specifically SIDA funds
· Any organization which is proposing activities that do not support the objectives of the LI-WAY as identified above.