Tender Description

. Background and Context

BLOOM Africa is a 5-year, $20M, gender transformative initiative funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) operating in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Somaliland. This TOR is for Somaliland only. BLOOM seeks to improve the economic empowerment of marginalized adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15-24 enabling them to enjoy dignified, gender transformative work.

BLOOM’s Three Intermediate Outcomes:

1. Enhanced enabling environment for marginalized AGYW’s participation in and benefit from skills learning and employment opportunities.

2. Enhanced utilization of financial and business development services by marginalized AGYW 

3. Increased equitable access to TVET institutions and employment enablers (mentors, employment agencies, private sector businesses, businesses and trade associations) to access mentorship and employment opportunities by marginalized AGYW.

All the intermediate outcomes will be achieved by taking environmental safeguarding, gender equality, and disability into consideration

1. ASSESSMENT PURPOSE

The market assessment will guide BLOOM’s planned interventions by analyzing market needs – both supply and demand and the match between employers’ needs and TVET programming – through a gender inclusion lens. Findings will inform: 

• Gender-responsive TVET curriculum development and capacity strengthening 

• Private sector partnerships, internships, and apprenticeship opportunities 

• Financial product development with microfinance institutions (MFIs) 

• Career support services for marginalized AGYW entering the workforce

1. SCOPE OF WORK & KEY ACTIVITIES

BLOOM is recruiting a qualified consultant/consulting firm to conduct this market assessment in close collaboration with BLOOM Somaliland, WVC teams, the Program Manager, and a lead local technical specialist. The assessment will examine growth sectors, traditional and non-traditional occupations, and local short and long-term economic opportunities to identify entry-level employment and entrepreneurship pathways with low barriers for BLOOM’s target populations, particularly AGYW. It will provide gendered insights into current and future skills demand.

Critical note: Consultants must build on existing WV and non-WV assessments and focus research on filling data gaps rather than duplicating well-documented issues, generating actionable insights for BLOOM’s interventions.

Assessment Components

1. Sector Prioritization and Market Analysis. Identify 4-5 promising and realistic sectors/sub-sectors for AGYW employment/self-employment and other priority groups, with particular focus on green and digital economy opportunities. For priority sectors, fill data gaps including earnings, transition pathways from NEET status to training to employment/entrepreneurship, and map potential private sector partners. Apply selection criteria based on:

2. Relevance: Alignment with AGYW and other marginalized youth needs and preferences, accessibility for target populations

3. Opportunity: Growth and employment potential, market dynamics, skills training pathways

4. Feasibility: Employer incentives, program ability to intervene effectively in partnership with TVETs

5. And any other key criteria recommended by the consultant

6. Employer Perspective (Demand Side). Within priority sectors/sub-sectors, assess employer requirements and hiring dynamics. 

   • Current demand: roles being hired, technical and soft skills required, entry-level requirements

     • Hiring practices: recruitment methods (formal channels vs. networks), screening criteria, and barriers that exclude youth—particularly AGYW

   • Employment barriers: Why employers don't hire more youth; systemic constraints beyond "skills gaps" 

   • Attitudes toward marginalized groups: Employer biases, willingness to hire AGYW from marginalized populations (teenage mothers, GBV survivors, YWD, IDY, minority clans); what shifts attitudes toward "non-traditional" candidates 

   • Enablers: What would allow employers to absorb more entry-level workers (incentives, supports, partnership models, training investments) 

   • Workplace conditions: Wages, contract types, progression opportunities, job quality

     Job search assistance

   • Employer typology: Differentiate between formal sector employers, informal businesses, household enterprises, and master craftspeople taking apprentices

   • Experiential learning practices: Existing models or practices for providing apprenticeships, internships, or on-the-job training opportunities for youth

   • Willingness to engage: Employers’ interest and readiness to offer structured experiential learning opportunities for youth

7. Informal Skills Pathways. Assess the potential for community-based, hands-on training and apprenticeship models as alternatives or complements to formal TVET:

• Map existing apprenticeship models combining technical skills with soft skills and entrepreneurship training

• Identify master craftspeople (men and women) who could serve as mentors/trainers for youth unable to access formal TVET

• Explore scalability and inclusiveness of informal training pathways across urban and rural settings

• Assess how BLOOM can support, formalize, or strengthen these pathways

1. Youth Preferences and Access Barriers. Explore training and employment/entrepreneurship preferences of AGYW and other target populations, including:

• Preferred sectors, trade skills, experiential learning models

• Mentorship and role model needs

• Barriers to accessing skills training and employment (not already documented in existing reports)

• How youth preferences align with available training and market opportunities

1. TVET Assessment. Conduct a high-level scan of TVET program offerings to assess:

   • Match between employer requirements and TVET curriculum 

   • Gender-responsiveness of providers (staffing, programs, infrastructure, support services) 

   • Private sector linkages and work-based learning opportunities 

   • Capacity gaps for delivering safe, market-oriented, supported opportunities for AGYW

    

2. Financial Inclusion and Services Assessment Map availability, accessibility and gender-responsiveness of:

   • Financial products: MFI. Banks and MFI’s offerings tailored to the specific needs of AGYW and young men while addressing barriers hindering their full access and utilization non-financial services including but not limited to business development services, employment support services that BLOOM can leverage or collaborate with to strengthen support for youth and women-led enterprises.

• Business Development Services and Service Providers

1. Assess the availability, accessibility, quality, and gender-responsiveness of Business Development Services (BDS) 

2. Mapping BDS Providers: Identify formal and informal providers offering services such as business planning, startup registration, marketing, compliance, and advisory support tailored to early-stage entrepreneurs.

3. Youth and Gender Responsiveness: Assess the extent to which BDS offerings are adapted to the specific needs of AGYW, including flexible scheduling, safety, literacy-appropriate materials, mentorship, and female trainers or advisors.

4. Capacity Gaps: Identify capacity gaps among BDS providers, including staff training needs, and service delivery models, particularly in underserved rural and peri-urban areas.

5. Coordination and Referral Systems: Examine opportunities for BLOOM to strengthen coordination and referral mechanisms among TVET institutions, financial service providers, and BDS providers to enable a more supportive ecosystem for youth entrepreneurs.

Key Research Questions

The assessment should address the following key research questions:

Market Opportunities

• Which sectors offer the most promising and realistic short-term and long-term employment/entrepreneurship opportunities for AGYW and other marginalized youth? 

  • What green and digital economy opportunities exist or are emerging? Are target youth able to tap into ICT, communications, ecommerce, etc. and are there infrastructure constraints (internet, electricity) that affect access? How is market demand growing for green products and services?

  • What are key skills and requirements employers identify as crucial?

  • What traditional and non-traditional occupations offer low-barrier entry points for AGYW and other marginalized youth and how can these be leveraged for employment/entrepreneurship?

• To what extent can master craftspeople be engaged as community-based mentors/trainers for youth unable to access formal TVET programs? What models are relevant, scalable, and inclusive for youth?

• Are TVET providers equipped to deliver gender-responsive, market-relevant programming aligned with the priority sectors?

• What range of TVET programs align with market and employer needs, youth preferences, and growth areas?

• What gaps exist in youth-friendly, gender-responsive financial and non-financial products?

• What are the services for youth that support training, entrepreneurship, or employment?

• What existing products and services from MFI and other service providers can be adapted or co-designed with BLOOM to better support youth skills development and entrepreneurship?

Skills Development Pathways

Financial and Support Services

Note: Based on market assessment findings and sector prioritization, BLOOM will identify corresponding TVET training programs appropriate for curriculum review and strengthening

More Details to be provided in full ToR upon Expression of Interest.

We hereby invite Expression of Interest from registered, approved and reputable consultants to provide above-named services to World Vision Somalia

Skills Required

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