Background
UNDP Somalia, in alignment with the National Development Plan and based on the Country Programme Document, focuses on political inclusion, rule of law, climate change and resilience, and Economic Recovery and Institutional Development.
The National Development Plan set the bar high – aiming to realize an ambitious set of development objectives in a five-year period. Major challenges continue to bedevil the economic and development front. For example, high youth unemployment, weak development of business in the agriculture sectors (fisheries, farming, livestock), unsustainable forest and water management, very large numbers of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) coming to the urban centers, and limited public service provision.
The traditional ways of working will not be sufficient to realize the NDP objectives nor to achieve the Agenda 2030 principle of “leaving no one behind.” Innovative approaches are needed to turn these challenges into serious social and economic ventures that can make a positive impact that ripples across the country, including for those most marginalized and at risk, like low-income women, youth, and IDPs.
UNDP Somalia in collaboration with the Federal Government of Somalia, Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, launched the “Innovate for Somalia” project in July 2017. The Digital Transformation project builds upon the “Innovate for Somalia” project, whereby the social innovation “ecosystem” was surveyed; partners identified, and partnerships formed; and social innovation activities were tested and tried. The experience demonstrated the interest in, and demand for, social innovation among a variety of sectors (public, private, civil society, academia) and an environment that welcomes the implementation of innovative approaches to tackle the development challenges in Somalia. It also demonstrated the immediate benefits, as well as potential impact, that taking an innovative approach to engaging citizens, particularly youth, can have in terms of generating potential solutions to Somalia’s development challenges. Through the ‘Innovation for Somalia’ project several approaches and activities were tested and piloted, leading to initial proof of concept in three areas of Digital Transformation. These three areas will be taken forward and need to be brought to scaled-up implementation, namely: (a) Technical, Vocational Education and Business Development in the Digital Economy (‘Future Ready’), (b) Crowdfunding (developing the complete crowdfunding ecosystem) and (c) Citizen Engagement through a digital platform.
Scope of Work
The global digitalization of the social, public, private sectors and economies is sometimes characterized as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. There is not a single element in society that is not influenced by the digitalization. Risks associated with missing the boat are high, opportunity to introduce services and products that would have been impossible in the ‘traditional’ economy are equally high.
Somalia is no exception and the diversification of its economy linked to digitalized globe is top national development priority. The Digital Economy, however, is a piece of this puzzle and it is expected that sound skill and competency development in this arena, diverse business development and linking Somalia into the global digital world will have a positive impact.
UNDP has started Future Ready initiative in Somalia working closely with local partners. The future ready is not a traditional one-off training program for coding but has transformed into a holistic long-term capacity support approach, taking young participants on a journey from ideation to implementation of the solutions they designed establishing their enterprise. Future Ready integrates design thinking tools for developing socially impactful solutions through the facilitation of social innovation camps, technical training and integrating soft skills and entrepreneurship skills development, and finally there is an incubation period (3 -6 Months) via local partners.
The learning from the past year or so of implementation has provided sufficient insight in the value the approach is creating and the interest that is available in society. It is time to go to scale.
The general objective of the assignment is to review and provide solid description of ‘proof of concept’ of the approach followed-looking back to move forward with a vision for scaling-up.
Duties and Responsibilities
Document Lessons Learned from Future Ready project concerning TVET / Business development approach and provide solid description of ‘proof of concept’ of the approach followed; -Review the digital economy situation analysis and ecosystem developing approach applied in the Future Ready and other Innovation project activities documenting lessons learned and provide solid description of ‘proof of concept’ of the approaches followed. (10 Working Days)
Assess the potential for business development marketing the Digital Economy with a Social Entrepreneurship lens, with a focus on Mobile Apps, Artificial Intelligence, FIS/Remote Sensing, Internet of things and Network Management, develop likely scenarios for future development and translate this back into present-day required action to be ready for the future. (10 Working Days)
Taking into consideration the above, develop a strategic approach for the Future Ready approach with the overall intention to develop a longer-term project proposal, ready for donor financing. (5 Working Days)
Develop Trainer for Training (TOT) development process manual for Mobile App business development, focusing on the local Innovation Hubs (Irise Hub, Bilan Codes,Harhub, Hanaqaad, Somali Innovation hub) to ultimately empower the hubs to take over the training / workshop sequence for business development for Mobile Applications. (10 Working Days)
Conduct the Training/Workshops for business development in the Digital Economy in the field of Mobile Application (2 training/workshop sequences) and GIS/Remote sensing (1 sequence) training local Innovation Hubs (Irise Hub, Bilan Codes,Harhub, Hanaqaad, Somali Innovation hub) 10 Workings Days
Digital Economy Project scale-up-Finalize the project document. Draft project document was developed in 2019, the Consultant is expected to work on the write, incorporating the situational analysis, strategic approach identified in the previous deliverables. (5 Working Days)
Competencies
Core Competencies:
Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
- Treats all people fairly without favouritism
Functional Competencies:
- Promotes innovation and knowledge management in the project and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example
- In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues
- Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
- Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of the project
Client Orientation and Communication:
- Ability to advocate and articulate clear messages. Attention to detail is crucial;
- Excellent technical capacity to ensure smooth and high-quality production (including availability of professional video production equipment and software);
- Ability to work in a high-pressure working environment with frequent urgent deadlines
- High level logical and methodological organizational skills and the ability to multi-task;
- Flexibility to attend events during weekends;
- Excellent interpersonal and networking skills and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relations;
- Supports and encourages open communication and responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view;
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in either economics, social or international development, finance, business administration, public policy.
Experience:
- Minimum 8 years of professional experience in digital economy, market analysis, finance, social entrepreneurship, banking, microfinance.
- Extensive experience in business development processes, managing & senior advisory clients and partners—from early stage companies to mature organizations.
- Strong network with different stakeholders including private sector, government, regulators and development partners in fragile countries.
- Proven ability to accomplish projects on time.
- Experience in the area of development with international organizations is an asset.
- Experience working in Somalia or in post-conflict society/ fragile countries is an asset.
Language Requirements:
- Proficiency in written and spoken English;
Recommended Presentation of Offer
Personal CV indicating all experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to) as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer
Shortlisted Candidates will be invited to submit a technical and financial proposal.
Evaluation
All shortlisted Applicants will be evaluated based on the combined scoring method using the 70%-30% distribution whereby the technical proposal will be weighted at a maximum of 70% and combined with a price offer which will be weighted at 30%.
A two-stage procedure will be used to evaluate offers whereby the technical evaluation will be completed prior to price comparison.
Technical Qualification Evaluation Criteria: (70% of total evaluation; Maximum 70 points)
Bachelor’s degree in either economics, social or international development, finance, business administration - 10 points maximum
Assessment of the technical proposal – methodology and approach to complete the assignment
Quality of writing and of the presentation = 5 points maximum
Methodology (evaluation of the brief methodology on how the candidate would approach and conduct the work (shall be uploaded by the applicant during online application) = 10 points maximum
Experience, knowledge and understanding of the assignment:
Minimum 8 years of professional experience in digital economy, market analysis, finance, social entrepreneurship, banking, microfinance= 15 points maximum
Extensive experience in business development processes, managing & senior advisory clients and partners—from early stage companies to mature organizations = 15 points maximum
Strong network with different stakeholders including private sector, government, regulators and development partners in fragile countries = 10 points maximum
Experience in the area of development with international organizations in post-conflict society/ fragile countries is an asset = 5 points maximum.
Financial Evaluation Criteria: (30% of total evaluation; Maximum 30 points)
The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other proposals receive points in inverse proportion. The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:
p = y (µ/z), where
p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated
Final Score
The final score will be the sum of the two scores obtained for the technical and financial proposal;
Contract Award
The award of the contract shall be made to the proposer whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
- Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
- Having received the highest combined score out of the pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Due to the large number of applications we receive, only short-listed applicants shall be notified of the outcome.