Verfahrensangaben

Sierra Leone faces persistent poverty, high informality and limited job creation, disproportionately affecting women and youth. Agriculture is the largest employer, yet value chains are fragmented, processing is weak, and access to finance, quality infrastructure and certification is limited. The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system suffers from outdated curricula, insufficient equipment and low private sector engagement, constraining labour market relevance, especially for women and returnees.
The "Youth Employment Promotion through Socio Ecological and Economic Transformation of selected rural Value Chains" (EET project), commissioned by BMZ with EU co funding, supports inclusive, market oriented growth and better employment along selected value chains (cassava, coffee/cocoa, vegetables, poultry). It strengthens micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the enabling ecosystem, with a strong focus on Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) and youth integration.
The project applies a concise multi level approach: support MSMEs with training, coaching and finance to improve productivity and market access; strengthen ecosystem actors (finance, certification, cooperatives, processing centres) to enhance services and linkages; and upgrade TVET through demand driven Competence Based Education and Training (CBET) curricula, improved facilities at Government Technical Institutes (GTIs) in Kabala, Kailahun, Koidu and Mattru Jong, teacher capacity building and institutionalised private sector engagement for apprenticeships and certification via Industry Sector Advisory Committees.
WEE is embedded throughout. The project strengthens six representative bodies advancing women's economic rights (e.g. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment - GEWE - Act), introduces gender transformative modules (Gender makes Business Sense - GmBS; Gender Action Learning Systems - GALS; Gender Model Family - GMF) via public and private providers, and delivers mentoring and awareness campaigns to address norms and improve women"s access to resources, markets and decision making. Outcomes are tracked with recognised tools such as the (pro )Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro WEAI).
Key results targeted include:
- Improved competitiveness of MSMEs with measurable employment effects for women and youth.
- Upgraded GTIs and at least nine demand oriented, gender responsive curricula operational; teachers trained in learner centred CBET; trainees certified in line with National Council for Technical and Vocational Education (NCTVE) standards in the initial phase.
- Stronger institutional conditions for women's economic participation, including operational representative bodies, integrated gender transformative modules, and functioning mentoring and communication platforms.
- Enhanced market access through strengthened outgrower networks, cooperative services and business linkages, enabling more equitable participation of women and young producers.
The approach is rights based, conflict and context sensitive, and climate aware. It promotes green and circular economy elements in training and enterprise support, limits environmental footprints and applies Do No Harm principles. Implementation aligns with national policies (TVET Policy, Dual Apprenticeship Policy) under the coordination of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, with the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE) and NCTVE responsible for TVET standards and certification, and the Ministry of Gender and Children's Affairs and civil society partners advancing WEE. Continuous monitoring, learning and adaptive management ensure data driven steering and accountability to BMZ and the EU. EU visibility will follow EU visual identity guidelines; co branding with BMZ/GIZ will follow donor rules.?

The EMPOWR project will provide a range of advisory, facilitation and capacity-building to support women economic empowerment in selected provinces in Laos.

The project will focus on four key areas:

- Output 1: The project will strengthen reform processes and the enabling environment for women's economic empowerment by advising MoIC and sector ministries on gender-responsive policies, fostering public-private dialogue, improving use of gender data, and building women's leadership capacities.

- Output 2: The project will improve the availability and quality of gender-responsive and -transformative support services by capacitating BDS providers and intermediary organisations, co-developing new offers where gaps exist, and promoting digital and green skills for women.

- Output 3: The project will strengthen women's producer groups and value chains in high-participation sectors by enhancing product quality, collective business capacities, and market access, supported by peer learning and women champions.

- Output 4: The project will support increasing visibility of women's economic contributions through media, role models, and digital/physical platforms that showcase women's products and entrepreneurial success.

The contractor will provide advisory services in areas such as women economic empowerment, development of Business Development Service (BDS) provider markets and value chain development. The contractor will combine on-the-ground facilitation with advisory inputs and trainings.

For details, please see the terms of reference.

GIZ may optionally commission contract amendments and/or increases based on the criteria in the tender documents to the successful bidder of this tender. For details, please see the terms of reference.

According to Article 160, Section 3 of the German Act Against Restraint of Competition (GWB), application for review is not permissible insofar as
1. the applicant has identified the claimed infringement of the procurement rules before submitting the application for review and has not submitted a complaint to the contracting authority within a period of 10 calendar days; the expiry of the period pursuant to Article 134, Section 2 remains unaffected,
2. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that are evident in the tender notice are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for the application or by the deadline for the submission of bids, specified in the tender notice.
3. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that first become evident in the tender documents are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for application or by the deadline for the submission of bids,
4. more than 15 calendar days have expired since receipt of notification from the contracting authority that it is unwilling to redress the complaint.
Sentence 1 does not apply in the case of an application to determine the invalidity of the contract in accordance with Article 135, Section 1 (2). Article 134, Section 1, Sentence 2 remains unaffected.

All communication takes place in English via communication tool in the project area of the procurement portal.

Die GIZ fordert im gesetzlich vorgesehenen Rahmen den Bewerber oder Bieter auf, Unterlagen nachzureichen, zu vervollständigen oder zu korrigieren.

Die Ausführungsbedingungen ergeben sich aus der Auftragsbekanntmachung und den Vergabeunterlagen.