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Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi Donor Trust

Fund (YEI MDTF)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

I. About YEI MDTF

The Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF) is a key grant-

making vehicle of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB). The YEI MDTF’s objectives

align to the AfDB Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022) to promote inclusive economic growth

including through accelerated investment in Africa’s youth. YEI MDTF is a financial instrument

of the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy (JfYA 2016–2025). JfYA has three strategic

intervention areas: Integration, Innovation, and Investment. Its goal is to create 25 million jobs and

equip 50 million youth with employable skills by 2025.

Thus, to advance JfYA strategy implementation, YEI MDTF seeks to:

• Broaden economic opportunities for youth;

• Develop skills for job creation and strengthening of human capital;

• Increase inclusive employment and entrepreneurship; and

• Create durable labor markets in Africa.

Recognizing that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are important levers for

economic transformation and job creation for youth in Africa, the YEI MDTF supports the African

entrepreneurship ecosystem through three operational focus areas:

1) Business Development Services (BDS) for youth-led start-ups and MSMEs;

2) Research Studies on the entrepreneurship ecosystem; and

3) Government Policy and Regulatory Reform to create an enabling environment for youth-led

MSMEs and start-ups to grow.

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II. Purpose of call for proposals

This call for proposals relates to the Business Development Services (BDS) operational focus area

of the YEI MDTF. In this regard, the YEI MDTF is seeking project proposals from eligible grant

recipients (see Section IV) (hereafter referred to as Enterprise Support Organizations (ESOs)) to

provide business development services to youth-led MSMEs and start-ups on the African

continent.

III. Grant amount and funding envelope

The total funding envelope available for this call for proposals is USD 5 million. YEI MDTF is

seeking project proposals for activities and programs with a minimum total budget of USD

500,000.

IV. Eligible Grant Recipients

Eligible grant recipients (ESOs) are those organizations or entities that align with the following

criteria:

• Registered in an African country as a business development services provider, financial

intermediary, philanthropic foundation, non-governmental organization (NGO), African

government institution, or research or academic institution.

• Minimum 3-year track record of providing business development services to youth-led

MSMEs and start-ups on the African continent, including through training, coaching and

mentoring services that reduce the risk of investing in them.

• Minimum previous 3-years of audited organizational financial statements.

• Demonstrably strong monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems in place.

• Fiscal accountability and transparency in operations; having a Board of Directors, a full

time finance manager and experience managing donor funded projects/programs.

• Immediate access to large number of youth-led MSMEs and start-ups with at least 50% of

these being led by women and at least 30% domiciled in countries of fragility and/or

considered economic migration hotspot countries of origin (as per the list in appendix 1).

V. Eligible Grant Beneficiaries

ESOs shall be eligible to apply to YEI MDTF grant resources in support of youth-led MSMEs and

start-ups accessible in their network. Targeted youth-led MSMEs and start-ups are defined as:

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• At least 51% owned by individuals aged between 15 and 35, in line with the JfYA Strategy

and the African Youth Charter, or entire leadership of the business within the

abovementioned age range.

• Start-ups at ideation stage with proof of concept or minimum viable product (MVP) and

business model that is promising in terms of social impact, inclusive job creation and

national, social and economic development and transformation.

• Lacking sufficient capacity and/or requisite collateral for accessing debt or equity financing

from traditional commercial financial institutions.

VI. Eligible Project Proposals

Applicants to this call for proposal may submit project proposals in accordance with the following:

Types of activities: (a) Business training; (b) Mentorship services; (c) Investment and Business

Plan Development; (d) Legal Advisory Services; (e) Financial structuring; (f) Product

Development; (g) Environmental and Social Impact Assessments; (h) Technical Support Services

(e.g. standardisation, testing of goods, certification of products, quality management systems,

environmental management systems, or information technology development), and (h) Access to

Finance (i.e. including the onward provision of technical assistance grants to the end

beneficiary(ies)).

Duration: Eligible projects or proposals must launch within 3 months of grant award signature

and be fully implemented within 12 months thereafter.

Location: Eligible projects or proposals must be implemented in more than one (1) country over

the implementation period and preferably cover at least two (2) regions in Africa.

VII. Project Proposal Selection Guiding Principles

Compliance: ESOs and project proposals shall be considered only if found in alignment with YEI

MDTF purpose and guidelines as well as the guidance provided within this call for proposals,

including ESO eligibility and proper completion of the application form template and submission

of required attachments.

Evidence-based: ESOs and project proposals shall be considered based on submitted impact

reports and demonstrable record of accomplishment of implementation of similar services in

the past. The ESO proposal should leverage on the past experience and expertise to scale-up

existing, large and impactful BDS programs for greater outreach to youth-led start-ups and

MSMEs. New programs without a strong track record of success will not be considered at this

time.

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Gender: Particular attention will be paid to gender issues, especially ensuring women’s equal

access to resources and capacity building to enhance their participation in entrepreneurial

activities.

Fragile Country: Particular prioritization will be on projects and programs focused on eligible

beneficiaries in countries in situations of fragility and/or considered economic migration

hotspots, given the YEI MDTF objective to create inclusive growth through job creation.

Sustainability: Preference will be given to grant recipients with the capacity to provide yearly

updates about program results with beneficiaries of BDS activities and long-term results (5

years) from the monitoring of beneficiaries.

Co-financing: Counterpart financing of at least 50% is strongly encouraged to demonstrate

project ownership and financial sustainability by ESO and the capacity to attract financial support

from several strategic partners.

VIII. Evaluation of Project Proposals

YEI MDTF reserves the right to reject applications that are found “non-eligible”.

Criterion Maximum

Score

Alignment with YEI MDTF (including JfYA strategy) 10

Technical and Methodological Approach of Project Proposal for Providing

Business Development Services (including description, implementation plan,

expected results and outcomes in terms of business growth, job creation, etc.)

30

Previous Track Record of Impact (including years of operation, quality, #of MSMEs

reached, #of countries covered, #of languages, impact on gender, #of SMEs still

operating/growth)

20

Experience and qualification of the ESO (including CVs/human resources, facilities,

technology/ICT, financial management and accounting tools, monitoring and evaluation

tools, etc.)

20

Co-financing & Non-Financial Partnerships 10

Quality of the Submission (including presentation and BDS innovation and creativity) 10

Total 100

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IX. Application Procedures

Interested applicants are invited to submit a project proposal to YEI MDTF using the template in

Appendix 2 of this document. Questions for clarifications may be sent via email at yei@afdb.org

with subject “ESO BDS Call for Proposals Questions”. Applications should also be submitted

electronically in PDF format to yei@afdb.org with subject “ESO BDS APPLICATION”. Project

proposals can be submitted in either French or English, no later than Friday, 25 October 2019 at

11:59pm.

Date Action

25 September 2019 Launch of call for proposals

25 October 2019 Deadline for project proposal submission

1 November 2019 Initial screening of project proposals completed by the YEI

MDTF secretariat

15 November 2019

Screening of project proposals completed by the AfDB

Technical Review Committee and/or YEI MDTF Oversight

Committee completed

By 31st of

December 2019

Notification of final decision sent to applicants

(conditionally approved or rejected)

Q1 2020 AfDB ESO due diligence mission conducted as condition

precedent to disbursement of the YEI MDTF grant

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Appendix 1: List of countries in fragility and considered hotpots of economic

migration

Fragile countries in transition

(categorization by AfDB 2017)

Economic Migration Hotspot

Countries of Origin

(categorization by AfDB 2018)

1 Burundi Benin

2 Central African Republic Burkina Faso

3 Chad Cameroon

4 Comoros Côte d’Ivoire

5 Congo Democratic Rep. Eritrea

6 Gambia Gambia

7 Guinea Ghana

8 Guinea Bissau Lesotho

9 Liberia Liberia

10 Madagascar Mozambique

11 Malawi Niger

12 Mali Nigeria

13 Niger Senegal

14 Sierra Leone

15 Somalia

16 South Sudan

17 Sudan

18 Togo

19 Zimbabwe

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Appendix 2: Project Proposal Application Form

Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi Donor

Trust Fund (YEI MDTF)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Project Proposal Application Form

Please note that this project proposal is to be completed by the Originating Entity or proposed

Grant Recipient (Enterprise Support Organization). All sections of the below project proposal

template must be filled in. Incomplete submissions will not be considered. Proponents are required

to limit the length of the completed template to a maximum of 6 pages and file size to 1MB.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Organization Name:

Legal Nature:

Type of Organization/Primary Activity:

Vision Statement/Goal of Organization:

Address:

Name of Contact Person 1: Position:

Telephone: Email:

Name of Contact Person 2: Position:

Telephone: Email:

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SECTION INSTRUCTIONS

Project Title

Provide the name of the proposed BDS activity.

Project Summary

Provide a brief, but descriptive summary of the proposed project.

Rationale and

objectives

Provide a brief needs assessment statement in support of your proposed

project and summarize the overall goals and ambitions of the activity.

Technical

Approach and

Methodology

Describe in detail the specific business development service to be delivered

in the context of the proposed project. Explain how your organisation’s

BDS model in the target country/countries will be executed to support

youth-led start-ups and MSMEs to grow into sustainable businesses.

Include the type of businesses your organization focuses on, how they are

identified and selected, and how the envisaged BDS (chose from the options

outlined in Section VI of the call for proposals) addresses the challenges

facing young entrepreneurs in this specific context. Briefly describe how

the project is innovative, transformational, and/or impactful in achieving

the desired objectives of the YEI MDTF.

Objectives and

anticipated results

Summarize the key and specific objectives of the proposed project’s

activities, indicators to measure progress and the expected benefits to the

grant beneficiaries (e.g. youth-led start ups and MSMEs). Please use the

logical framework template in Appendix 3 and add it as an Annex to the

application.

Implementation

approach

Briefly describe program implementation approach: How will it be

implemented? Who shall be responsible for implementation?

Organizational

Capacity

Briefly comment on administrative and organizational strength, that is,

your institution’s human resource capacity and management

responsibilities in the context of delivering the BDS; accounting, fiduciary

and financial management systems; supervision of start-ups and MSME

communication, monitoring and evaluation systems; information

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technology and proprietary software and any other elements which shall

assist in proper execution of the proposal project.

Clearly highlight any existing capacity for implementation of the proposed

project (e.g. past involvement in similar activities, etc.) and describe your

organization’s technical expertise and fiduciary capacity to manage and

implement the proposed project including financial resources; and

financial management, procurement and reporting procedures/standards).

Attach any impact reporting or impact assessments on previous execution

of similar projects to your application.

Implementation

Schedule

Indicate the expected activity duration, as well as major milestones. Please

use the template in appendix 4 and add it as an Annex to the application.

Project duration shall not exceed 12 months.

Budget

Provide a project budget by expense type showing the grant amount

required from YEI MDTF as well as counterpart funding from your

organization or if applicable, any other co-financing from strategic

partners.

Expenditure categories may include: Consultant/expert time; Workshops,

seminars, trainings; International/local travel (please specify purpose,

frequency and location); Communications and marketing; Supervision,

M&E activities; Administrative costs (please specify); Other (please

specify).

Provide a summary budget here and a detailed budget using the template in

appendix 5, to add as an annex to the application.

Sustainability

Describe your organization’s sustainability strategy and how BDS delivery

to grow youth-led start-ups and/or MSMEs will be ensured beyond the

duration of the YEI MDTF funding.

Supporting

Documentation

Consider attaching the following to your application:

• Impact Assessments or Impact Reports on past activities

• 2017 and 2018 financial statements

• Testimonials from beneficiaries of previous BDS projects

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Appendix 3: Logical Framework for the Assignment

Description Indicators Baseline

Target

Data

source FQY

Responsible Assumptions/Risk/Mitigation

measures

Outcome 1:

Increased access to

finance and business

survival of youth-led

MSMEs who received

BDS through the YEI

MDTF

% of youth-led start-

ups/MSMEs who

received financing as a

result of the BDS

initiative

N/A xx %

ESO Yearly Fill out

Fill out

Rate of discontinuation

of youth MSME which

benefited from business

development services

N/A xx%

Outcome 2: Direct

jobs created by youth-

led MSMEs supported

through activities of

the YEI MDTF

Number of direct jobs

created by youth-led

MSMEs receiving BDS

(financial access and

incubation support)

0 Xx direct

jobs

Fill out

Output 1.1: Capacity

building of youth-led

MSMEs through

business development

services)

a.1 Number of youth-

owned start-ups/MSMEs

benefiting from business

incubation and other

business development

services provided

through the YEI MDTF

0

xx youth-

led MSMEs

(including

at least

30% in

fragile

states and

migration

hot spot of

origin) of

whom 50%

ESO

Quarterly Fill out

Fill out

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are female-

led

a.2 Share of youth-

owned start-ups/

MSMEs benefiting from

business incubation and

other business

development services in

sectors of priority

(agriculture, ICT,

industrialization)

0

xx MSMEs

At least

60%

MSMEs of

whom 50%

are female-

led

Fill out

Activity 1.1.1 [...........................] (activity which together with activities 1.1.2 - 1.1.x leads to output 1.1)

Activity 1.1.2 [...........................]

Activity 1.1.x [...........................]

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Appendix 4: Work Plan for the Assignment

Outputs Core activities Timeline

(per activity)

Organisation

responsible

for the

execution

Procurement, if

relevant :description

(Type: works, supplies,

services, …), approx.

amount

Y1

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Output 1 : Capacity building of youth-led MSMEs through business development services

Monitoring & Result Measurement, Project Management & Reporting

Total

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Appendix 5: Total Budget, Detailed By Cost Category

Cost category

Description

(USD)

Quantity Unit Cost

(USD)

YEI MDTF

budget request

(USD)

Co-funder

1

(USD)

Co-funder

2

(USD)

Total costs

(USD)

Links to activities

(identify activities

directly concerned by

the expenses) Number Unit

Training costs

Selection /screening/mapping

Training

Mentoring/coaching

Online platform / content

development

Other …..

Logistic

Events/training/workshops

(room rental, material, etc.)

Traveling, food, lodging for

trainees

Traveling, food, lodging for

trainers

Other….

People cost

Staff 1

Consultant 1

…

Marketing/ Communications

costs

M&E costs

Project Management costs

Other costs

TOTAL