Call for proposals for ILO grant scheme: Promoting inclusion of refugees and targeting new market areas 20 views0 applications

Summary

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Promoting Pathways for Economic Inclusion and Social Protection for Urban Refugees and Host Communities in Kenya (Pathways) project is launching a grant scheme to upgrade the retail, beauty, and artisan/construction value chains, better include qualified refugee artisans and beauticians, expand to new market areas, and facilitate refugees‘ access to social protection schemes.

Under this grant programme, the Pathways project is launching a call for proposals for private sector actors (i.e., for-profit companies) in the beauty and artisan/construction value chains, namely those offering digital platforms and/or marketplace services who would like to benefit from an ILO grant in line with the objectives of this grant scheme.

This document constitutes the terms of reference for this call for proposals, based on which certain digital platforms (hereinafter referred to as the “applicants”) are invited to submit proposals that promote the project’s objectives in this call as well as their own vision for the development of their business.

Key Information on the ILO Grant Scheme and Call for Proposals

• Total grant amount: From $40,000 to $90,000
• Percentage of the financial and/or “in-kind” contribution from beneficiaries: equivalent to at least 40% of the grant amount awarded by the ILO, of which “in kind” is considered.
• Publication date of call for proposals: 8 January 2025
• Deadline for submitting questions related to this call: 24 January 2025
• Deadline for submission of proposals: 26 January 2025
• Estimated proposal evaluation period: 27 to 31 January 2025
• Estimated negotiation period (at request of ILO): 1 to 14 February 2025
• Estimated grant award date: 17 February 2025
• Estimated start of activities: 17 February 2025
• Contract end date: 29September 2025
• ILO contact for submission of proposals and any comments on the grant scheme: [email protected] and [email protected]

1. Context

The retail, beauty, and artisan/construction value chains in Kenya hold significant potential for inclusive growth and job creation. These sectors offer valuable economic opportunities both domestically and, in the case of beauty, in the regional market, supported by Kenya’s rapidly growing urban population and established digital economy.

The retail sector in Kenya provides a critical pathway for economic survival and integration for urban refugees, especially in cities like Nairobi and Mombasa, where thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries, including Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, seek stability and livelihood opportunities. Urban refugees in Kenya, unlike those in designated refugee camps, often pursue informal and small-scale retail as a means to support themselves and their families, navigating challenges in a complex regulatory and socio-economic environment.

In the artisan/construction sector, opportunities span skilled trades such as masonry, carpentry, and plumbing, which are essential to Kenya’s infrastructure development. Meanwhile, the beauty sector, which encompasses hair styling, skincare, and makeup, caters to high demand among Kenya’s urban populations, particularly in Nairobi and key urban centres like Mombasa and Nakuru. Both sectors employ a considerable number of individuals from vulnerable communities, including refugees and low-income Kenyans, where artisan and construction jobs tend to be more accessible for men, with the beauty sector offering important opportunities for women.

Despite high domestic demand, retail, construction, and beauty value chains in Kenya have untapped potential that could be realised through improved market linkages, enhanced use of digital platforms, and tapping into new markets, both in terms of labour supply and potential clients. The construction sector is bolstered by Kenya’s demand for affordable housing and infrastructure projects, while the beauty sector can grow further through digital solutions that link service providers to a wider clientele. Additionally, research conducted by the ILO during a market systems assessment (expected publication Q1 2025) found that many refugees possess highly relevant skills and experiences in both sectors. These make such refugees valuable additions to businesses in both sectors; however, many of them face structural disadvantages that currently limit their access to greater opportunities in the market.

Moreover, these sectors face various bottlenecks that currently inhibit the overall growth and the broader inclusion of qualified but vulnerable groups like refugees. Market-driven strategies are, therefore, crucial to address these barriers by adopting innovative business models and practices that focus on reaching new market areas and clientele.

2. Objectives

In this context, the ILO is starting a grant programme for private sector digital platforms/marketplaces that would like to innovate and pilot new refugee-inclusive schemes and business models that will enable them to develop their service offers and product reach to new market areas and new customer segments, while also benefitting refugee beauticians and artisans. The program is part of the Pathway project’s activities that aim to develop the retail, beauty, and construction/artisan sectors in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru while simultaneously promoting the increased inclusion of urban refugees and host communities and their access to social protection programs.

The objective of this grant programme is to promote a shift in the way of working among businesses by helping them develop and pilot innovative refugee-inclusive business models based on digital (marketplace) platforms. These innovations will focus on expanding product and service offerings to tap into new market areas and customer segments while increasing the inclusion of well-qualified urban refugees. The ultimate objective is to create sustainable and refugee-inclusive business models that constitute a win-win situation for all actors. While Kenyan and Kenya-registered companies can expand their service offer and are connected to profitable market segments, qualified refugee and vulnerable host community retailers, beauticians, and artisans will enjoy access to more clients and markets, ensuring that these groups benefit from higher incomes, enhanced market opportunities, and better access to social protection measures.

Under this grant programme, for-profit entities (i.e., private sector companies) are invited to submit proposals to be eligible for an ILO grant to develop their businesses, markets, and customer segments (relevant to the applicant in question) in line with the objectives of this programme.

More specifically, the grant scheme aims to target three categories of private sector actors:

1. Digital platforms in the beauty sector with innovative ideas to include qualified refugee beauticians into their businesses and to expand the business into new markets (e.g., new cities that correspond to the project target areas, i.e., Mombasa and Nakuru, and/or new areas of Nairobi city that are more accessible to refugee artisans and beauticians and clients).
2. Digital platforms for artisans/construction workers that can demonstrate the capacity to include refugees in their services and that promote business models that ensure decent working conditions for artisans.
3. Digital platforms in the retail sector that could significantly empower urban refugees in Kenya by providing them with market connections, improve business efficiency, and support within the retail sector.

Applicants selected as grant recipients (through this call for proposals) will also receive technical support in certain pre-defined areas with a view to maximising the potential of the applicants’ proposals and achieving the objective of the grant programme. These specific areas are specified in the “Activities” section below.

3. Eligibility criteria and obligations

Eligible companies to make proposals to respond to this call for proposals are: Companies registered in Kenya and operational in the retail, beauty or artisan/construction sector. Additional eligibility criteria are set out in the boxes below. It should be noted that applicants will be required to provide information confirming their eligibility (in line with these criteria) in their technical proposals (including in the “relevant experience” section of Annex A).

Eligibility criteria for companies:

• Based in Kenya and have ongoing operations in the retail, beauty, or artisan/construction sector
• The company should have established ongoing business based on a digital platform and/or application with a proven track record of offering retail, beauty, and/or artisanal services or goods to customers
• The company must express a strong interest in collaborating with the project to include refugees as suppliers of retail, beauty, and/or artisanal goods and services into their ongoing business model. The company must demonstrate a clear idea and strategy for refugee-inclusive business growth and expansion. These shall be outlined in the companies’ proposal, for example, how refugees fit into the company’s supply chain or service models, and key milestones and intended outcomes for refugee-inclusive growth. This will then be assessed based on factors including clarity of strategy, alignment with business goals, scalability, and sustainability.
• The company should be in excellent financial health. To demonstrate this, companies should provide key financial metrics as part of financial due diligence such as, but not limited to revenue growth rate, burn rate, profit margin, debt to equity ratio/equity structure, and cash flow analysis. The ILO shall reserve the right to request evidence of these metrics as needed.
• The Company must accept specific terms and conditions for ILO Grants and Specific Terms and Conditions USDOS funded contracts.

Contractual obligations

It is also worth highlighting at the outset some of the contractual obligations of the applicants that will have to be accepted by them in order to receive ILO support for this project:

1. Non-disclosure of ILO’s support and involvement in the grant programme to individuals and parties who are not members of the applicant enterprise.
2. Applicants will be required to complete a certification form (provided in Annex H) which conditions their eligibility to receive an ILO grant. In addition, applicants will be required to certify that they intend to use the grant funds as indicated in their technical and financial proposal in line with the objective of the grant. In addition, they will be required to certify in writing their acceptance of the terms and conditions applicable to the grants awarded by the ILO as well as the specific terms and conditions applicable to the grants awarded under this grant programme (as mentioned in these terms of reference).
3. Applicants will be required to provide a written acceptance of the Specific Conditions for USDOS funded Contracts (Annex I). Successful applicants will be required to register themselves in SAM.gov and provide the ILO with its Entity Identification Number (EIN as issued bySAM.gov) prior to the signing of the Grant Agreement.
4. Grantees will be required to provide information on the implementation of the grant’s activities and sub-activities, including in the end-of-implementation narrative report, and the certified financial report (see also section “Deliverables and disbursements”), but also throughout the implementation of the grant, at the request of the ILO. The requested information may include any details relevant to the implementation process, such as the actual financial expenditure of the funds, accompanied by appropriate supporting documents, as well as any commercial data pertinent to the grant activities. The ILO will treat all commercial data with complete confidentiality. Grantees will be required to share this information in a transparent manner and within a reasonable period of time following ILO requests. In addition, grantees will be required to maintain regular and appropriate data/information relating to the implementation of the grant, which they will be required to share with the ILO and relevant third parties mandated by the ILO for verification purposes upon request by the ILO (see also the terms and conditions applicable to ILO grants mentioned above).
5. Successful applicants will be required to work closely with the ILO and third parties mandated by the ILO under the grant (firms, consultants, etc.) during the implementation of the grant, where deemed relevant by the ILO.

4. Activities

Under this call for proposals, the project will offer co-funding to applicants, which will cover four “mandatory” thematic activities but could also be extended to other additional activities, depending on the needs and aspirations of the applicants, in line with the objective of the ILO programme, which will be subject to ILO approval**.**

Mandatory thematic activities (and sub-activities):

The four mandatory thematic activities of the companies in the framework of their collaboration with the ILO are**:**

1. Developing a market plan for refugee-inclusive business expansion
2. Including refugees as suppliers of retail goods, beauty, and/or artisanal/construction services into the business model
3. Raising awareness on and/or facilitating access to options for social protection for informal workers
4. Implementing marketing plans to expand to new markets and/or attract new clients

Sub-activities of each of these four thematic activities are proposed in the sub-sections below. The sub-activities are offered only for information/optional purposes and as a non-exhaustive list (i.e., candidates may propose others if relevant).

It should also be noted that the ILO will provide technical support in specific areas. This technical support is specified in the following subsections on mandatory thematic activities.

Additional activities (and sub-activities):

Applicants may also include other additional activities (in their proposal) that they consider necessary to achieve the above-mentioned objectives of the ILO project. These additional thematic activities included in the applicants’ proposals will not be accepted “automatically”, they will be subject to review by the ILO to determine whether they are in line with the objectives of the ILO programme and can indeed be included as activities covered by the grant.

Eligible and non-eligible activities, sub-activities and expenditures:

Finally, it should be emphasised that all activities and sub-activities proposed by applicants, as well as the anticipated expenses associated with them, must be in line with the instructions provided below on eligible and ineligible activities, sub-activities and expenses.

Eligible and non-eligible activities, sub-activities and expenditure

Eligible activities and sub-activities:

Under the grant programme, applicants are encouraged to encompass a range of activities to sustainably adapt their business model to include refugees as suppliers of retail goods, beauty, and artisan services and goods in ways that enhance access of refugees to new markets and clients and/or required inputs, training and other support.

Additionally, applicants shall focus on activities that aim to attract new clients and explore new markets in line with the above objective and in an effort to enhance access to more end clients for refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans.

Applicants are also encouraged to include activities that aim to raise awareness of adequate social protection schemes for informal workers, including refugees, including but not limited to the NSSF Haba Haba scheme, and facilitate access to these measures.

Eligible expenses:

The grant program will accept expenses necessary for the implementation and management of the grant. The following costs are eligible for funding:

• Training Expenses: Expenses for conducting training sessions, including venue rental, equipment, materials, and logistics.
• Research and Analysis Costs: Costs related to field research, data collection, market research, reporting, and dissemination of findings to support marketing and market expansion.
• Marketing and Communication Costs: Development of marketing strategies and materials, branding efforts, organising marketing campaigns, raising awareness of new products or services, participation in trade fairs and field trips aimed at entering new markets or attracting new clients.
• Venue and Rental Fees for Events and Demonstration Sites: Rental of spaces for organising events, demonstrations, and trials, including logistics such as translation and sound systems.
• Infrastructure and facilities: Establishment of new facilities or infrastructure aimed at entering new markets/customer segments or expanding company activity into new geographic areas in an effort to attract or reach new clients.
• Travel Expenses: Costs related to transportation, accommodation, and per diems for staff, consultants, and stakeholders attending grant-related activities. This includes participation in initiatives to vet, train and onboard refugees. All expenses should follow the thresholds of the United Nations Joint Framework in Kenya (this will be discussed and revised if needed during the review of financial proposals).
• Other direct costs related to the implementation and management of the project, including legal and administrative costs and insurance.

Any type of expenditure not covered in the list of eligible expenditure may be eligible if the ILO deems it necessary and gives its express approval to the beneficiary in respect of the expenditure in question (before the expenditure is incurred by the beneficiary).

Non-eligible expenses:

The grant program will not accept expenses necessary for any purpose other than the implementation and management of the grant. The following costs are ineligible for funding:

• Indirect costs, contribute to the overall operation of the organisation but are not related to expenses directly related to the grant.
• Expenses related to individual sponsorships of studies or internships
• Expenses to support political parties
• Large-scale infrastructure, construction and renovation spending

A. Development of marketing plan for refugee-inclusive business expansion (mandatory thematic activity #1)

The first deliverable under this grant scheme will require grantee companies to develop a comprehensive Marketing Plan explicitly outlining how the potential grantee will grow their business and expand to new markets and customers while simultaneously enhancing the inclusion of qualified refugees as suppliers of relevant goods and services. Building on their existing business models for the provision of goods and services in the retail, beauty, and artisanal/construction sectors, the companies will outline how they will refine and expand these plans to include refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans as suppliers of services into their platforms and applications, and how the company will grow and expand to new markets and/or reach out to new clients. The deliverable will include a clear timeline and strategy for adopting new business innovations or models to achieve these objectives. In addition to the above, grantees should develop a sustainability plan that outlines how the business operations will continue after the end of the grant period.

Possible (non-exhaustive list) sub-activities for the development of a marketing plan could include:

• Conducting research, surveys and market assessments to analyse the demand for services in certain geographic areas or amongst new population segments, as well as the needs of new clientele, in an effort to explore the potential of extending services into new geographic areas or new population segments
• Developing a detailed marketing strategy to define strategic marketing initiatives that will be implemented to reach new markets and clientele based on conducted research, surveys and assessments
• Developing a detailed strategy for vetting and onboarding refugees: Grantees will develop and provide a detailed strategy outlining how they plan to vet and onboard refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans to their platforms or applications. This should also include detailed projections on the number of refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans that will be onboarded and a timeline for the onboarding process.
• Based on research conducted and marketing plans developed, the grantee may revise the initial financial proposal (provisional budget with information related to the planned expenditures) and the initial technical proposal according to the format provided for this purpose (see more information in the “contract management” section in the subsection “Changes to the technical and financial proposals following mandatory activity #1”).

Grant recipients will be expected to implement activities identified in their marketing plan to include refugees in their existing business model and link refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans with end clients. The design and implementation of activities should be informed by the specific needs, aspirations and capacities of the refugees as well as the capacities and aspirations of the beneficiaries of the grant.

The ILO may provide technical support to grant recipients for the development of marketing plans. Such technical support could be provided through the use of a specialised external organisation or person contracted for this purpose by the ILO (in which case, the grantees will have to collaborate with this third party for this purpose).

B. Including refugees as suppliers of retail goods, beauty, and artisanal/construction services in their business model (mandatory thematic activity #2)

Under this mandatory thematic activity, grantees will implement activities to identify, vet and effectively onboard refugee retailers, beauticians, and/or artisans as service suppliers onto their platform or application. This will build on marketing and onboarding plans developed under the Mandatory thematic Activity 1 and encompass all activities required to effectively integrate refugee retailers, beauticians and/or artisans as service suppliers in the business model so as to ensure that they can provide services to end clients through existing applications and platforms.

Possible (non-exhaustive list) sub-activities for the development of a business plan could include:

• Identification and vetting of refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans to select and onboard qualified refugees and/or decide on additional measures in preparation for onboarding to their platforms or applications.
• Information and training sessions toeffectively build the capacity of refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans as needed to be onboarded on the platform or application.
• Additional measures needed to include refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans, such as modifications to existing platforms or applications to accommodate the specific needs of refugees or any other measures that need to be taken to include refugees effectively.

The ILO may provide technical support to grant recipients for the identification, vetting, training and onboarding of refugee retailers, artisans, and beauticians if required. This may also include organising training of trainers and training of entrepreneurs using the ILO’s dedicated ‘Start and Improve your Business (SIYB)’ entrepreneurship training programme for the benefit of grantees, with the ultimate objective of reinforcing the capacity of grantees to use the entrepreneurship training programme to train beauticians and artisans that provide services through their company in business management. Such technical support could be provided through the use of a specialised external organisation or person contracted for this purpose by the ILO (in which case, the grantees will have to collaborate with this third party for this purpose).

C. Raising awareness on and facilitating access to options for social protection for informal workers (mandatory thematic activity #3)

As part of this mandatory thematic activity, grant recipients are required to implement innovative solutions to improve or facilitate access and/or awareness of official social protection programs such as the Haba Haba scheme, NSSF, or SHIF. This may involve raising awareness of refugee eligibility for these schemes during worker onboarding processes or could involve the provision of information on available schemes and procedures through the company’s app or digital platform.

Possible (non-exhaustive list) sub-activities for improvements could include:

Organising information sessions as part of the onboarding or training process to provide information on available social protection schemes and their benefits.

• Integrating features on the company’s digital platform or application that provide information on available social protection schemes and their benefits.
• Supporting refugee and host-community retailers, artisans, and beauticians in the registration process of social protection schemes.

The ILO may provide technical support to grant recipients in the form of experts and research for this if required. Such technical support could be provided through the use of a specialised external organisation or person contracted for this purpose by the ILO (in which case, the grantees will have to collaborate with this third party for this purpose).

D. Implementing marketing plans to expand to new markets and/or attract new clients (mandatory thematic activity #4)

As part of this mandatory thematic activity, grantees are required to implement the marketing plan (developed under Mandatory activity 1) with the aim of expanding company activities to new markets or population segments in order to attract more clients and users. Specifically, grantees are expected to target new markets to grow businesses in the project target areas of Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru. Targeting new markets and attracting new clients shall create a win-win situation of both a) helping the grantee grow, increase turnover and profit, while and b) ensuring that refugee and host community retailers, beauticians, and artisans have access to a sufficient number of end clients to which services can be provided. The Grant Scheme seeks to target each platform to benefit at least 200 refugees and 100 host communities, spread across the three target counties (the distribution across cities will be decided by the company according to relevant market opportunities).

Possible (non-exhaustive list) sub-activities for the development of a marketing plan could include:

• Launching marketing campaigns to make the company offer knowledge to new clients and build a brand in an effort to reach and attract new clients
• Improve the functionality of existing apps or platforms in an effort to attract new clients or to enable use by clients in new geographic areas
• Investing in required infrastructure and facilities to expand the business model to new geographic areas or population segments
• Piloting new services or offers to expand the service offer and attract new clients or users.

The ILO may provide technical support to grant recipients for the implementation of the marketing plan. Such technical support could be provided through the use of a specialised external organisation or person contracted for this purpose by the ILO (in which case, the grantees will have to collaborate with this third party for this purpose).

5. Deliverables and disbursements

Deliverables

As part of the implementation of the grant activities, grant recipients will be required to provide the following deliverables to the ILO:

Deliverable 1: Marketing plan with revised technical and financial proposals (at the end of mandatory activity #1) and appropriate evidence (e.g. bank statements, receipts/invoices, etc.) of the major expenses specified in the initial technical and financial proposals to the satisfaction of the ILO. Date: 14 March 2025.

Deliverable 2: Narrative mid-term implementation report of the grant, covering all the activities funded and the results achieved through these activities. Annex E is the template for grant recipients to follow. Date: 30 June 2025.

Deliverable 3: Final narrative report at the end of the grant period, covering all the activities funded and the results achieved under these activities (including the business case). Annex C is the template that grant recipients must follow for the final narrative end-of-implementation report.

Deliverable 4: Completion Certification Form (Annex D).

It should be emphasized that the mid-term implementation narrative, and the end-of-implementation narrative report will need to demonstrate the compliance of the activities with the revised technical and financial proposals.

Disbursements

Payment of the grant to the selected grant recipient will be made in three instalments, following the satisfactory delivery of the deliverables associated with each disbursement, according to the schedule presented in the table below:

Disbursement | Related deliverables | % of ILO grant amount | Anticipated date of disbursement

1. Signature of the grant contract | 30% | Upon contract signature
2. Deliverable 1 – Marketing plan with annexes (revised technical and financial proposals) and appropriate evidence of major expenditures specified in the initial technical and financial proposals, to the satisfaction of the ILO | 40% |14 March 2025
3. Deliverable 2 – Narrative mid-term report covering all the activities funded | 15% | 30 June 2025
4. Deliverables 3 – Final narrative report of completion and appropriate evidence of major expenditures specified in the revised technical and financial proposals, to the satisfaction of the ILO. Deliverable 4 – Completion Certification Form. | 15% | 30 August 2025

It should be noted that it is foreseen that the selected applicants will, to a certain extent, have to pre-finance activities (beyond their financial contribution included in their financial proposal). In particular, pre-financing from the selected applicants will be required at the start of the grant to cover activities carried out before the first ILO payment reaches their bank account after signing the grant contract.

Cases of return of funds at the end of the grant agreement or the termination of the grant agreement

It should be noted that several scenarios could lead to the successful applicants being obliged to return funds to the ILO:

1. If there are any unspent funds remaining at the end of the grant contract, the beneficiaries will have to return the remaining amount to the ILO.
2. No later than 1 month after the end of the grant contract, grantees will be required to submit Deliverable 3. Final narrative report of the end of the grant (Annex C) and Deliverable 4: end-of-performance certification form (Annex D), to the satisfaction of the ILO. In the event that grantees do not comply with these obligations, the ILO reserves the right to demand the full amount of the grant from the ILO.
3. In the event that grant funds have not been spent in line with the initial technical and financial proposals (prior to the submission of the revised proposals) or with the revised technical and financial proposals (after the submission of the revised technical and financial proposals under mandatory activity #1), the ILO reserves the right to require the repayment of the grant in part or in full.
4. ILO decides to terminate or suspend the grant agreement for reasons as listed in Section 12 Termination and Suspension in Annex H: Terms and Conditions for ILO Grant Contracts, the ILO may decide to terminate the grant agreement if the ILO and the grantee do not reach agreement on the changes to be made (at the request of the ILO) to the revised proposals, if the grantee does not respond to the requests for additional information requested by the ILO, or if the grantee does not meet other requirements mentioned in this document.

6. Guidelines for the submission of proposals

As part of this call for proposals, we invite applicants to submit proposals that are in line with the objective of this grant programme.

In their proposals, applicants will have to demonstrate their eligibility to the grant programme and provide a “technical proposal” as well as a “financial proposal” and comply with certain technical rules to do so. The information to be provided and the formal rules to be followed are specified in the subsections below.

It should also be stressed that the initial technical and financial proposals submitted by the applicants are to some extent of a “provisional” nature, as they may be amended twice: 1. During an optional negotiation period, opened at the request of the ILO (between the receipt of the proposals and the award of the grant); 2. Following the mandatory activity #1. Changes to the financial and technical proposal that will be authorised and/or requested by the ILO (if deemed necessary) in these two periods will nevertheless be subject to ILO approval. Thus, while knowing that their proposals will potentially be modified to some extent later if deemed necessary, applicants are encouraged to formulate realistic and well-thought-out initial financial and technical proposals.

Technical proposal

Applicants’ technical proposals should be modelled on the technical proposal template, provided in Annex A, which asks applicants to provide four key elements: an overall strategy; the specific activities to implement the strategy and indicators of achievement; a work plan that includes key time frames for planned activities; and relevant experiences.

In their proposals, applicants must explain what they plan to do and the relevance of the activities they propose to achieve the objectives of this call for proposals. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate innovation, efficiency, feasibility and sustainability of the activities in their proposal, with a focus on achieving tangible results (expected number of new customers, additional volumes or services sold, return on investment for customers, number of refugees to be integrated on the app/platform/business etc.). More information on the elements expected in the technical proposal is provided in Box 1 below and in the template for the technical proposal to follow provided in Annex A.

It should also be noted that, although within the framework of these activities, the ILO will provide some specific technical support to beneficiaries, covering certain specific areas (as indicated in the “activities” section of this document). The exact nature of this support will be informed in part by the grantees’ initial technical proposal as well as after the marketing plan has been developed and the technical proposal reviewed and discussed directly with the grantees. Grantees may mention requested technical support for specific activities to be provided by the ILO in their proposals. However, it should also be noted that this support will be of a “targeted” nature and that the grantees are thus encouraged to base their technical proposals on their current capacities and aspirations. In addition, applicants are encouraged to demonstrate their technical, administrative, financial and managerial capacity to carry out their proposal independently (especially in the “relevant experiences” section of their technical proposal).

Additional guidance on the general elements expected in the technical proposal

Proposals should include the following (however, this is not an exhaustive list, and applicants may cover other elements deemed relevant):

1.Marketing and expansion strategy:

• Product/Service Selection and Promotion: What products and services will be promoted and why? What is the rationale for targeting these in existing and potential markets/customer segments?
• Market Expansion Strategy: What will be the strategy for entering new high-potential markets? Provide details on how users can reach and promote the products and services in these markets, including innovative methods to attract buyers through product differentiation.
• Marketing: How will the services be promoted to specific consumer segment and why? What measures will be taken to make services and products known to new consumer segments and/or in new geographic areas?

2. Refugee Inclusion:

• Identification and vetting of refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans: how will refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans be identified, vetted and onboarded to their platforms, application, or business network? What kind of trainings, information sessions or capacity building measures, if any, are foreseen to effectively onboard refugee beauticians or artisans? What kind of additional measures such as modifications to existing platforms or applications will be taken to accommodate specific needs of refugees?
• Description of benefits for refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans: What are the benefits refugee retailers, beauticians, and artisans gain once onboarded on the platform? This may include access to clients using the grantee’s app, platform or business network, access to specific inputs, material or services at preferential rates or specific terms, access to grantee’s infrastructure, access to support, training, advice or information or any other benefits.
• Volume and timing projections: What is the expected number of refugee retailers, beauticians and/or artisans that will be onboarded? What will be the expected timeline for the onboarding process?

3. Social protection awareness:

• Raising awareness to social protection access and available schemes: As the project is also mandated to raise awareness of available protection schemes (Haba Haba, NSSF, or SHIF), how would the business ensure that refugees and host communities onboarded are aware and informed on the available protection schemes?

4. Investment requirement and financial viability:

• Required investment to achieve expansion goals: What is the required investment (financial, time, human resources) to achieve the business’ expansion goals as well as impact goals, to ensure that refugee inclusion is financially viable beyond the project support?

Financial proposal

The applicants’ financial proposal shall be modelled on the financial proposal template provided in Annex B, which requires applicants to provide information on the anticipated expenditure of the activities and sub-activities proposed in the technical proposal. Applicants may provide an explanatory note of this provisional budget of up to 2 pages to add any relevant explanations regarding the proposed budget (see more information in the Annex B section of this document).

It should be stressed that the financial proposal must be directly linked to the technical proposal of the applicants. In other words, the activities and sub-activities and their time frames mentioned in the technical proposal must coincide with the activities and sub-activities and their time frames mentioned in the financial proposal.

The financial proposal must cover the total cost of the activities, bearing in mind that the ILO’s share of the grant will represent a minimum of USD 40,000 and a maximum of USD 90,000, which will represent a maximum of 40% of the total amount of the financial proposal (as specified in the budget). Beneficiaries will thus be required to contribute at least 40% of the total amount of the budget, which may take the form of a “monetary” contribution and/or an “in-kind” contribution.

7. Grant award

From the receipt of the proposals, three major steps will take place before the grant is awarded, including an “optional” one that will only open at the request of the ILO (these three steps are explained in more detail in the subsections below):

Evaluation of proposals submitted by candidates (internal to the ILO)

• Optional negotiation period at the request of the ILO (between ILO and the candidate)
• Award decision and grant contract with the ILO (internal to the ILO)

During this period from the receipt of proposals to the award of the grant, it should be noted that the ILO reserves the right to, inter alia: reject all proposals received; accept proposals received as they are and award a grant without going through the negotiation period; close the tendering process (without awarding a grant) with applicants who have submitted proposals that do not comply with the directives or which are not considered to be of sufficient quality; open a period of negotiation with the candidates; close the negotiation period at any time deemed necessary, by deciding whether or not to award a subsidy.

Evaluation of proposals submitted by applicants

Following the submission of proposals by the applicants, the ILO will proceed with the evaluation of these proposals.

During this evaluation period, the ILO will determine whether the candidates’ proposals comply with the guidelines for the submission of proposals required by the ILO (see dedicated section above) and will assess the content of the candidates’ technical and financial proposals.

The ILO reserves the right not to award a grant, in particular, if the applicant’s proposals are incomplete, do not comply with the guidelines, or are deemed to be of insufficient quality. The ILO also reserves the right to award a grant to applicants on the basis of their initial proposals submitted (without going through a negotiation period). As such, the initial proposals submitted by applicants must be well thought out, realistic, and present the best possible “terms” of the applicant relating to the technical and financial efficiency of the proposals. If the ILO deems it appropriate, a “negotiation period” with the applicant will open in order to obtain information and/or negotiate amendments to the proposals (see subsection below).

The criteria for evaluating proposals are listed in the boxes below. This also includes the eligibility criteria for applicants, about which applicants will be required to provide information in their technical proposals (including in the “relevant experiences” section) to confirm their eligibility in line with these criteria.

Assessment Criteria

Candidate Eligibility Criteria:

• The company must be a Kenya-registered for-profit entity.
  • The company must demonstrate a clear focus, experience and knowledge on products or activities within the retail, beauty, and/or construction/artisan value chains.
  • The company must have an active digital platform/marketplace application.
  • The company must express a strong interest in collaborating with the project to access additional market areas and customer segments, as well as a willingness to work directly with qualified refugees residing in Nairobi, Mombasa, and/or Nakuru (e.g., with relevant skills) to improve product and service provision and entry into new market segments.
  • The company should be in good financial health This can be demonstrated by submission of key financial metrics as part of financial due diligence such as, but not limited to revenue growth rate, burn rate, profit margin, debt to equity ratio/equity structure, and cash flow analysis, whereby the ILO maintains the right to request evidence.

The technical and financial proposals will be scored as follows:

• Technical proposal:

  – Technical proposal demonstrates feasibility of achieving outlined objectives as specified in Section 2 of this document; Score 30/100

  • Technical proposal links to relevant experience of the grantee and builds on existing business model and activities; Score 25/100
  • Technical proposal is clear and demonstrates an innovative approach to refugee inclusion; Score 25/100
• Financial proposal: Financial proposal shows required financial and in-kind contribution from applicant and is clear and supportive of the technical proposal; Score 20/100

Optional negotiation period at the request of the ILO

As indicated in the previous section, following the submission of proposals by the applicants and before the ILO takes a decision on the award of the grant, a period of “negotiation” between the ILO and the applicant(s) concerned will open if the ILO deems it necessary. It should be emphasised that the ILO reserves the right to open this negotiation period or not, either because the ILO decides to accept proposals submitted by a candidate without going through this negotiation stage or because the ILO decides to terminate the tendering process for a candidate whose proposals submitted are not considered acceptable.

During the negotiation period, the ILO reserves the right to request amendments to the initial technical and financial proposals or additional information from the applicants, where deemed necessary by the ILO. It should be emphasised that the negotiation process will be bilateral, i.e. the ILO will enter into negotiations with each of the candidates with whom this negotiation process has been opened separately (ILO and one candidate). It should also be stressed that in each negotiation that the ILO opens, the candidates concerned will be required to keep the content of these negotiations confidential (including beyond the grant period). In addition, they will be required to make themselves available during this period for bilateral meetings with the ILO and, in general, to be transparent and in good faith with the ILO.

Information and changes requested by the ILO during this period could include but are not limited to: the proposed activities and sub-activities; the planned budgetary expenditures under the activities and sub-activities; the total amount of the grant; the financial and “in-kind” contribution of the applicants; the amount of disbursements and their maturities; the relevant experiences of the applicants; and any other relevant elements.

At the end of this negotiation period, the final versions of the initial technical and financial proposals will have to be submitted in accordance with the solicitation guidelines and in line with the changes negotiated during the negotiation period. It should be stressed, however, that the candidate(s) involved in this stage of negotiation will be required to work closely with the ILO during the negotiation period and that the content of the final versions of the technical and financial proposals (developed during the negotiation period) should in principle be agreed before they are submitted to the ILO at the end of the negotiation period.

During the negotiation period, the ILO reserves the right to terminate the negotiation process before the end of the negotiation period and to award or not award a subsidy. The ILO reserves the right not to award a grant in particular if the ILO and the applicant do not reach agreement on the changes to be made (at the request of the ILO) to the proposals if the applicant does not respond to the requests for additional information requested by the ILO, or if the applicant does not meet the requirements mentioned in this document.

Award decision and grant contract with the ILO

Following the evaluation of the proposals and at the end of the negotiation period (if the latter takes place), the ILO will decide on the allocation of the grant to the applicants.

Following the decision of the grant to be awarded to the beneficiary by the ILO, the ILO will offer a grant contract to the beneficiary, based on the standard grant contract awarded by the ILO. This contract will include the following documents and annexes:

• Annex F – Grant Agreement signed by the ILO and the beneficiary and its annexes
• A copy of the latest versions, agreed with the ILO, of the initial technical and financial proposals (Annexes A and B, respectively, and their respective annexes, as indicated in the “Submission of proposals” section)

8. Duration of the contract

The contract is effective / will start at the time of its signature and will end on 29 September 2025, with a potential extension to 30 December 2025 if the project no-cost extension is granted. These dates may be slightly adjusted, with the approval of the ILO, depending on the budget and provisional timetable submitted by the candidates as part of their proposals.

9. Contract Management

Supervision and collaboration with the ILO during implementation

During the implementation of the activities, the beneficiaries of an ILO grant under this programme will report to the ILO Pathways Project Manager.

Progress updates and deliverables will be submitted according to the agreed schedule. In addition, as indicated in the section “eligibility criteria and obligations”, grant beneficiaries will be required to collaborate with the ILO and third parties mandated by the ILO in the implementation of the grant and to provide information/data on the execution of activities and expenses incurred in a transparent manner and within a reasonable period of time following ILO requests for this purpose. In this context, it should be noted that the ILO will carry out compliance verification activities (including field visits) to ensure the agreed use of funds.

Modification of the technical and financial proposals following mandatory activity #1

As previously mentioned, under mandatory activity #1, grantees will be required to revise their technical and financial proposals in light of the market research they have conducted and the market plan they have developed within this activity. Revised technical and financial proposals should be submitted in the same format as mentioned in the guidelines for the initial submission.

Regarding the scope of the changes to these proposals, it should be noted that the total amount of the ILO grant and the beneficiary contribution will not be changed. However, changes could include (but are not limited to) the proposed activities and sub-activities, the budgetary expenditures planned under the activities and sub-activities, and the work plan for the implementation of activities.

A period of evaluation of the marketing plan and revised proposals will open following the receipt of the deliverables associated with mandatory activity #1. During this period, the ILO reserves the right to request additional information regarding the revised proposals, the marketing plan and any other area deemed relevant.

Then, if additional changes are deemed relevant by the ILO, a negotiation period will open between the ILO and the grantee for 5 working days from the ILO’s notification of the opening of this period. During the negotiation period, the ILO reserves the right to terminate the negotiation process before the end of the negotiation period.

During the evaluation period and the negotiation period (if the latter takes place), the ILO reserves the right to terminate the grant agreement, in particular, if the ILO and the grantee do not reach an agreement on the changes to be made (at the request of the ILO) to the revised proposals if the grantee does not respond to the requests for additional information requested by the ILO, or if the grantee does not meet other requirements mentioned in this document.