Engagement of Organisations to Deliver Digital Entrepreneurship Interventions for Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria
1. Background and Context
Sightsavers is an international development organisation, preventing avoidable blindness and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities to have equal access to inclusive education, citizenship and livelihoods. We operate across 30 countries and have been implementing sustainable and impactful programs in Nigeria for over 70 years.
As part of our economic empowerment thematic portfolio, Sightsavers is implementing a 5-year ‘Digital Futures’ program funded by the Mastercard Foundation. The central aim is to improve access to employment for young people with disabilities by providing digital, IT and entrepreneurship skills within the broader digital ecosystem. Through the award-winning IT Bridge Academies and related support, the programme will empower economically disadvantaged young people with disabilities across four countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia. The programme aims to directly reach 3,500 young people with disabilities in Nigeria, with 1,800 expected to be enrolled in the digital entrepreneurship pathway.
To successfully deliver the Digital Entrepreneurship Pathway, Sightsavers Nigeria intends to engage qualified organizations, preferably Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), to support programme implementation. Key responsibilities will include delivering digital entrepreneurship training, providing business development support, mobilizing persons with disabilities, and contributing to the management and disbursement of seed funding for selected programme beneficiaries. The intervention will prioritize equitable participation, with at least 70% of direct participants expected to be women with disabilities.
The overall goal of the digital entrepreneurship pathway is designed to strengthen the digital, entrepreneurial, and business management capabilities of persons with disabilities, improve access to market opportunities, and support sustainable livelihood outcomes. It will also promote inclusive delivery approaches that address accessibility, reasonable accommodation, gender equality, safeguarding, and the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities throughout the project cycle.
2. Objective of the RFP
The purpose of this Request for Proposal Expression of Interest is to identify and contract competent organization with demonstrated capacity to deliver inclusive digital entrepreneurship training and business development support services for persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
3. Scope of Work
The selected organisation will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and delivering services that may include the following:
- Mobilise eligible persons with disabilities, ensuring representation across disability groups and prioritising women with disabilities.
- Conduct accessibility-informed needs assessment and participants profiling.
- In tandem with our curriculum, design relevant and locally adaptable training content on digital entrepreneurship, online business tools, digital marketing, green skills, financial literacy, record keeping, customer relations, and business planning.
- Deliver accessible training using disability-inclusive facilitation approaches, assistive technologies, and reasonable accommodation where required.
- Provide post-training business development support, coaching, mentoring, and referral services.
- Support participants to develop or strengthen viable business plans and digital market access strategies.
- Contribute to the selection of beneficiaries for the seed funding and support with the management of the seed grant.
- Facilitate linkages with relevant government, private sector, financial service, and enterprise development actors.
- Collect disability-, sex-, and age-disaggregated data and maintain accurate participant records in line with data protection and safeguarding requirements.
- Document lessons learned, success stories, challenges, and recommendations for scaling inclusive digital entrepreneurship support.
4. Expected Deliverables
- Program documentation including methodology, workplan, risk management approach, safeguarding plan, accessibility plan, and participant mobilisation strategy.
- Training materials, facilitation guides, and participant materials in accessible formats.
- Participant selection report showing disability, gender, location, and other relevant disaggregation.
- Evidence of digital entrepreneurship training sessions delivered in line with agreed quality and accessibility standards.
- Business development support sessions, coaching records, mentoring logs, and referral documentation.
- Business plans or enterprise improvement plans developed or updated by participants.
- Program reports submitted quarterly and annually, summarising outputs, outcomes, challenges, lessons learned, success stories, and recommendations.
- Quarterly and annual financial reports with supporting documents.
5. Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Be a legally registered organisation in Nigeria, preferably an Organisation of Persons with Disabilities.
- Demonstrate governance structures that include meaningful leadership or representation of women and persons with disabilities.
- Have proven experience working on disability inclusion, economic empowerment, digital skills, entrepreneurship, livelihoods, financial inclusion, or related programming.
- Show capacity to reach and support women with disabilities and other underrepresented disability groups.
- Have experience delivering accessible training or community-based capacity building.
- Demonstrate strong competences in digital accessibility
- Demonstrate sound financial management, reporting, safeguarding, and data protection practices.
- Have existing partnerships with disability-inclusive financial institutions to support participants with business account opening, financial access, and seed fund disbursement.
- Be willing to comply with Sightsavers’ safeguarding, anti-fraud, anti-bribery, conflict of interest, and inclusion requirements.
6. Proposal Requirements
Interested organisations should submit a technical proposal containing the following:
- Cover letter signed by an authorised representative.
- Organisational profile, CAC certificate, governance structure, and relevant policies.
- Evidence of OPD status, OPD leadership, or partnership with OPDs where applicable.
- Understanding of the assignment and proposed implementation approach.
- Proposed staffing structure, including CVs of key personnel with economic empowerment and disability inclusion expertise.
- Approach to gender equality, accessibility, reasonable accommodation, safeguarding, and participant protection.
- Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning approach.
7. Evaluation Criteria
Organisational experience in disability inclusion, entrepreneurship, digital skills, livelihoods, or related programming 20%
Demonstrated OPD leadership, participation, or partnership model 15%
Quality and feasibility of proposed methodology, workplan, and delivery model
20%
Approach to accessibility, reasonable accommodation, gender equality, safeguarding, and inclusion of women with disabilities 20%
Technical capacity and qualifications of proposed personnel 10%
Monitoring, reporting, learning, and risk management approach 5%
Availability of relevant governance documents, financial reports and organisational policies 10%
8. Accessibility, Safeguarding, and Inclusion Requirements
The selected organisation must ensure that all project activities are accessible and safe for participants. This includes accessible venues, accessible communication, sign language interpretation where required, materials in alternative formats, transport or mobility support where appropriate, and inclusive facilitation methods. The organisation must also uphold safeguarding standards, obtain informed consent for data and stories, maintain confidentiality, and establish safe feedback and complaints mechanisms.
9. Duration and Location
The program implementation is expected to kick off from January 2027 to December 2029, and project focal locations include Lagos, FCT, Rivers, and Kano state. Applicants should propose a realistic timeline and indicate the geographic coverage they have capacity to deliver, and accessibility considerations for each location.
10. Submission Instructions
Interested organisations should submit complete proposals by email to: ([email protected]). The email subject line should read: RFP– Digital Entrepreneurship in the Digital Futures Program.
Submission deadline: (25th September 2026 by 7pm WAT). Questions or requests for clarification should be sent to ([email protected]) no later than (16th September 2026). Late or incomplete submissions may not be considered.
11. Terms and Conditions
- Sightsavers Nigeria reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal, cancel the process, or amend the scope of work without obligation to award a contract.
- Submission of a proposal does not guarantee selection or contract award.
- All costs associated with preparing and submitting proposals shall be borne by the applicant.
- Selected organisations will be required to undergo due diligence, reference checks, safeguarding assessment, and financial capacity review prior to contract award.
- All materials, data, reports, and outputs produced under the assignment shall be subject to agreed ownership, confidentiality, and data protection requirements.
12. Indicative Application Checklist
- Signed cover letter
- Technical proposal
- Organisation registration documents
- Organisational profile
- Relevant policies, including safeguarding and financial management policies where available
- Evidence of similar assignments
- Registered and operational office address
- Staffing matrix including CVs of key personnel
How to apply
Interested organisations should submit complete proposals by email to: ([email protected]). The email subject line should read: RFP– Digital Entrepreneurship in the Digital Futures Program.
Submission deadline: (25th September 2026 by 7pm WAT). Questions or requests for clarification should be sent to ([email protected]) no later than (16th September 2026). Late or incomplete submissions may not be considered.
More Information
- Job City Nigeria
