Engagement of a Service Provider for the Coordination, Contract Management, and Quality Assurance of Certified Local Business Advisors

Terms of Reference Engagement of a Service Provider for the Coordination, Contract Management, and Quality Assurance of Certified Local Business Advisors

ABOUT FC Africa

Founded in Ethiopia and operating across the continent, FC Africa is a pan-African organization delivering complex economic development programs at scale. Established in 2006, FC Africa has grown into a trusted partner for governments, development partners, financial institutions, and private sector actors, known for execution discipline, institutional credibility, and results that endure. Our multidisciplinary teams combine a capacity to execute with clarity of the local context. As a result, we have delivered at-scale real impact in terms of job creation, business formation, business growth, and investment attraction and mobilization.

MESMER PROGRAMME

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Recovery and Resilience Program (MESMER) is a 5-year program launched in October 2022 to support 72,200 MSMEs and 410,800 jobs by creating access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to realize their growth prospects and resilience. MESMER will also work to provide support to MSMEs through business development support, psychosocial services, and technical assistance to financial institutions.

BACKGROUND OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The Business Development Services (BDS), one component of the MESMER programme, equips entrepreneurs with essential business management, financial, and entrepreneurial skills needed to help them effectively utilize credit and ensure the sustainability of their business. Through structured training and follow-up coaching delivered by business advisors, MESMER strengthens loan repayment performance, drives business transformation, supports job creation, and enhances enterprise resilience.

To ensure the sustainability and scalability of the BDS service, MESMER’s BDS Advisors certification programme successfully established a pool of locally certified business advisors trained to deliver high-quality Business Development Services (BDS) to MSMEs. This initiative aims to build a local and sustainable source of advisors who can practically support MSMEs to improve their businesses, become more resilient, and grow over time.

Following a successful pilot phase, the scale-up will deploy:

100+certified Local Business Advisors
Each advisor supports 25 selected growth-oriented MSMEs
3-month intensive coaching cycle
In-depth Business Health Assessment (BHA)
Enterprise-specific action planning
Structured one-on-one coaching and follow-up
Focus on tangible business transformation and measurable improvements in practices, productivity, sales, and job creation

All 100+ Local Business Advisors have completed the Training of Trainers (ToT) and are certified. MESMER has set their payment rates and will directly fund these payments, which the Service Provider (SP) will facilitate and process, alongside overseeing related activities.

To ensure smooth coordination, structured rollout, contract management, milestone verification, quality assurance, and payment facilitation, MESMER intends to engage a qualified SP.

ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVE

The overall objective of this assignment is to strengthen the MSME credit risk management systems and practices of MESMER partner financial institutions (4 banks and 8 MFIs), with the aim of maintaining a healthy and sustainable MSME portfolio. The assignment will introduce best-practice frameworks, systems, and tools, and will provide targeted training and mentoring to relevant staff.

Specific Objectives

To conduct a comprehensive gap analysis and develop actionable recommendations;
To develop and/or update MSME credit risk management guidelines, tools, and templates;
To train and mentor financial institution staff to enhance their capacity in MSME credit risk management in line with best practices.

OBJECTIVE OF WORK

The objective of this assignment is to engage a competent Service Provider (SP) to:

Coordinate and oversee the onboarding, orientation, and effective deployment of one hundred (100+) certified Local Business Advisors across all implementation areas.
Ensure effective contract administration, compliance management, and performance monitoring of advisors.
Verify milestone-based deliverables and facilitate timely payment processing based on verified performance.
Establish robust quality assurance mechanisms to ensure consistent, high-standard advisory services across regions.
Improve measurable enterprise outcomes, including adoption of financial management tools, operational efficiency, implementation of growth strategies, increased sales, and job creation.
The Service Provider shall maintain a coordination, contract management, and quality assurance role and shall not duplicate or undertake the direct advisory, coaching, or training functions assigned to the Local Business Advisors. The provision of coaching and training services to MSMEs shall remain solely the responsibility of the certified Local Business Advisors.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Service Provider shall be responsible for

Business Development Services Delivery

A. In-Depth Business Health Assessment

Ensure that Local Business Advisors conduct an in-depth Business Health Assessment (BHA) capturing the enterprise owner’s education level, sector, business activity, and baseline data on employment and sales to enable measurement of changes following the coaching cycle.
Verify that enterprises are properly classified by sector and growth stage, and that validated baseline data is established on monthly sales/revenue, employment (full-time and part-time), and existing market channels.
Review and validate that Advisors develop structured action plans based on identified gaps, ensuring they are achievable, measurable, and focused on growth outcomes.
Ensure that each BHA clearly identifies one primary growth bottleneck (e.g., customer acquisition, pricing inefficiency, operational constraints) supported by evidence.
Confirm that Advisors prepare a prioritized Growth Action Plan limited to 2–3 high-impact actions within the three-month cycle, with each action including a defined output, measurable indicator, and clear timeline (weekly or bi-weekly milestones).
Ensure that all action plans are realistic within the three-month coaching period and appropriately aligned with sector dynamics and regional market realities.

B. Growth-Focused Support

Develop and institutionalize a structured Growth Support Framework requiring Local Business Advisors to support each MSME in implementing at least one revenue-generating test during the coaching cycle (e.g., new sales channel, pricing adjustment, promotional strategy).
Ensure consistent application and enforcement of the Growth Support Framework, shifting coaching from general advisory support toward clearly measurable business growth outcomes.
Introduce and monitor the use of standardized weekly sales and revenue tracking templates to enable short-cycle performance monitoring and evidence-based review of progress.
Provide standardized tools, templates, and guidance materials to Advisors to support financial management improvements, operational efficiency, growth strategy implementation, increased sales, and job creation—while ensuring that direct coaching and training delivery remains the responsibility of Local Business Advisors

C. Demand-Driven, Sector-Sensitive Support

Establish and oversee the implementation of a demand-driven BDS approach requiring Local Business Advisors to deliver tailored coaching and advanced support (e.g., market linkage facilitation, business expansion, growth acceleration) aligned with the sector and growth stage of each enterprise.
Ensure that all follow-up and coaching delivered by Advisors is responsive to the specific operational realities and evolving needs of each enterprise.
Verify that coaching priorities are derived from findings of the Business Health Assessment (BHA) and ongoing engagement
Monitor and confirm that Advisors conduct a minimum of eight (8) structured in-person coaching sessions per enterprise, complemented by continuous virtual follow-up, with sessions focused on resolving clearly identified business challenges.

2. Operational activities

A. Onboarding certified business advisors

Prepare and administer individual contracts for the 100+ certified Local Business Advisors, in accordance with programme guidelines and approved templates.
Conduct structured onboarding sessions to orient Advisors on programme objectives, coaching standards, reporting requirements, digital tools, compliance expectations, and the milestone-based performance system.
Coordinate orientation sessions for selected MSMEs to clarify the purpose and scope of BDS coaching, roles and responsibilities, coaching structure and duration, and expected commitment and participation requirements.

B. Advisor Coordination and Operational Management

Coordinate the structured deployment of 100+ Advisors across assigned clusters and regions in line with the approved implementation plan.
Ensure proper allocation of up to 25 enterprises per Advisor, as determined by the programme.
Serve as the primary coordination and communication interface between MESMER and Local Business Advisors.
Consolidate and submit weekly updates and monthly performance reports, disaggregated by Advisor and cluster.
Implement digital verification and monitoring systems (e.g., KoboToolbox) to support evidence-based tracking of activities and results.
Identify operational, performance, or compliance risks in a timely manner and recommend appropriate mitigation measures to the programme team.

C. Project Closure

Prepare and submit a comprehensive project closure report summarizing implementation progress, verified results, lessons learned, challenges encountered, and actionable recommendations for future cycles.

Expected number of enterprises and available advisors/locations

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAMES

Duration of the coaching

The coaching will cover one full 3-month intensive coaching cycle, renewable based on performance and program needs.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The service provider should meet the following requirements:

At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in implementing or managing Business Development Services, enterprise support programs, or MSME development initiatives.
Proven experience in managing and coordinating large pools of advisors, consultants, or field-based service providers.
Experience delivering or overseeing one-to-one enterprise coaching, mentoring, or advisory services.
Demonstrated experience working across multiple regions in Ethiopia, preferably including regional and city administrations.
Strong understanding of MSME development, BDS ecosystems, and enterprise growth challenges.
Experience in contract management, performance monitoring, and milestone-based performance verification.
Robust monitoring and quality assurance systems
Experience using digital data collection tools (e.g., KoboToolbox) for monitoring and verification.

WORKING ARRANGEMENT

The service provider will be working under a contract with FC Africa. The service provider will report directly to the MESMER BDS team.
The service provider is obligated to work within the required deadlines and be available by schedule, which can be adapted at any time as deemed necessary.

TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

A technical proposal outlining their understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, implementation plan, and team composition.
A financial proposal detailing cost breakdowns by activity, area, and deliverable, inclusive of all applicable taxes and related operational expenses.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should email their technical and financial proposals separately to bids2@fcafrica.com with the relevant information detailed in the technical and financial sections of the proposal.

The subject of the email should be stated as “Coordination, Contract Management, and Quality Assurance of Certified Local Business Advisors”.

Proposals must be received on or before March 23, 2026, until 5:00PM (GMT+3:00).

INFORMATION:

For the scheduled information session, please use the link provided below to join.

Topic: Info Session – Coordination, Contract Management, and Quality Assurance of Certified Local Business Advisors

Time: Mar 19, 2026 02:00PM Nairobi

Zoom Meeting Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/100+681786738?pwd=RUzDPztumrHmqBPawRmRnXsz8IBO0l.1

Meeting ID: 100+6 8178 6738

Passcode: C846PS

For clarification or for any queries relating to this assignment, please contact the focal persons below on or before March 19, 2026, until 5:00 PM (GMT+3:00):

Name: Habtamu Ertiro
Title: BDS Manager, MESMER
Email address: hertiro@fcafrica.com

Or,

Name: Tirsit Mamuye
Title: Senior BDS and PSS Officer, MESMER
Email address: tmamuye@fcafrica.com

N.B: FC Africa reserves the right to reject the bid fully or partially.