Request For Proposals: Consultancy For Capacity Building of Land Restoration Entrepreneurs in Various Landscapes in Africa at World Resources Institute (WRI)

Scope of Work

• The Objective of this assignment is to identify in each Landscape One or Two organizations that can deliver capacity trainings to hundreds of restoration entrepreneurs in different stages of growth and one Organization to deliver mentorship program. WRI Africa will offer different solutions to both early stage and growth stage restoration entrepreneurs in the three landscapes. The early-stage companies will receive incubation services while growth stage will receive acceleration services together with coaching and mentorship programs. We encourage applicants to bid for all the three services, the decision to select the number of organizations will depend on the strength of the applicants. This will be a six-month program with a possibility of extension.

The Partner will:

• Identify hundreds of restoration champions in their respective Landscapes encouraging them to apply to the Land Accelerator & Terra Fund opportunities. Connecting with local partners to familiarize the opportunities.
• Manage the program's daily activities, working closely with WRI Africa team, WRI training partners, Business development service providers, Restoration champions, Investors, Governments, and other partners.
• Provide critical feedback and recommendations to WRI Africa that will see the Land Accelerator X Landscape work improve over the years.

Specific Tasks:

• Carrying out outreach and mapping of restoration champions to apply to the Land Accelerator and Terra Fund
• Carrying out need assessment to identify capacity gaps of restoration entrepreneurs and together with the Land Accelerator team develop a strategy to address them.
• Work with WRI to address identified capacity gaps.
• Take part in developing annual plans and syllabus.
• Help identify and coordinate experts who will deliver specialized trainings and support e.g., Tree Nursery management, Certifications and standards, GIS monitoring, Finance etc.
• Offer trainings, coaching and mentorship on relevant topics.
• Help SMEs assess and refine their current business models for alignment with market trends and customer needs.
• Support the development of new, innovative business models that can enhance competitiveness and drive growth.
• Equip entrepreneurs with the tools to identify revenue streams, cost structures, and value propositions.
• Prepare SMEs for fund raising through preparation of pitch decks and/or simple business plans.
• Linking SMEs to investments and opportunities
• Plan and host learning events
• Document project results and prepare evidence-based communication materials
• Take part in the annual regional learning summit. The summit brings together Land Accelerator Landscapes partners.

Deliverables

• Inception report detailing the approach and expected outcome.
• Detailed report profiling restoration entrepreneurs in the Landscapes. Use of a specific tool is encouraged.
• Annual plans, syllabus and curriculum
• Detailed profiles of Business Development service providers
• Restoration entrepreneurs pitch decks, value proposition, branding and communication tools and strategy documents
• Profiles of investors and report on access to investments.
• Summary Report on the progress of capacity building for each of the targeted restoration champions.
• Final capacity building report detailing key challenges, opportunities and recommendations. The findings to be presented during the annual regional learning summit.

Duration of the Assignment

• These assignments are scheduled to take place between November 2023 –November 2024 for a duration of six months with possibility for extension based on performance and availability of funds.

Required Qualifications

• Extensive experience in running incubation, accelerator or mentorship programs.
• Extensive experience working with restoration, forestry, agri-food, extensive livestock and climate led enterprises.
• Over 5+ years of organizational experience
• Knowledge of Africa’s agri-food sector, food systems and how they are linked to restoration in Africa.
• Strong analytical skills (qualitative and quantitative) and ability to synthesize large amounts of data to produce desired outputs.
• In-depth understanding of respective landscapes’ forestry, agricultural sector and food value chains
• Experience in managing multi-stakeholder platforms including public and private sector.
• Proven track record of producing high-quality pitch decks and other branding and communication materials.
• Excellent English writing and oral communication skills
• Good work ethic

Selection Criteria:

• Demonstrated experience working with environmentally sustainable companies in the selected landscape area.
• Professionalism and clear communication exhibited in the application documents.
• Clearly explained conceptual and methodological approaches
• Value provided for investment.
• Understanding of the Landscapes