Request for proposals for Implementing Partner to Organize a Business Plan Competition in Jigjiga, Assosa, and Dabat Refugee Operations in Ethiopia Integrated Business Plan Competition Closing Date: 21 Nov 2025 Type: Consultancy Themes: Camp Coordination and Camp Management/Mine Action/Protection and Human Rights Background Ethiopia continues to host a large refugee population, with over 1.1[1] million refugees and asylum seekers, primarily from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea. The country faces ongoing challenges in providing adequate humanitarian assistance and protection due to limited resources and complex crises. Recent UNHCR updates highlight increased influx from Sudan and South Sudan as refugees and asylum seekers are fleeing their home countries due to conflict and civil war. Ethiopia is hosting refugee and asylum seekers in the 26 refugee camps across the 5 regions. There are also more than 2.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and returnees across the country[2]. Refugees and host communities in Ethiopia, particularly in border areas, face limited services, few economic opportunities, and poor infrastructure, and are vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. The average refugee has been in Ethiopia for 15 years, with some areas hosting refugees for over 30 years. Women and children make up 80% of the refugee population. Ethiopia also pioneered in designing and implementing progressive refugee policy, and its worth acknowledging that durable solutions initiatives have also seen traction in the country. Cases in point include, inter alia, the ratification of Proclamation No. 1187/2020 (Kampala Convention), the launch of the National Durable Solutions Strategy in 2024, right to work directive 2024, and the most recent Mekatet (Inclusion) Roadmap of 2025, which envisions the domestication and implementation of the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) commitment entered into force in 2023. The Partnership for Improving Prospects for Forcibly Displaced Persons and Host Communities (PROSPECTS) brings together the Government of the Netherlands and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank (WB) and aims to foster economic inclusion, and improve access to education and protection of forcibly displaced populations and host communities. As part of this Partnership, the ILO aims to promote market-based approaches and provide support to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and entrepreneurs. In its second phase, the ILOs PROSPECTS Programme is planning to focus on improving the socio-economic conditions for refugees and host communities in Jigjiga, Assosa, and Gondar/Dabat refugee operations. Several interlinked intervention streams are planned under PROSPECTS Phase 2.0, notably to improve sustainable access of refugees and vulnerable host communities to high-quality skill development training and certifications, relevant business development services, financial services, and capacitating technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to facilitate the creation and development of small enterprises and income-generating activities in and around refugee settlements. ILO partnered with public and private actors and is working to stimulate the labour market, strengthen the network of Business Development Services (BDS), and build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the refugee hosting areas/regions where the project has been implemented. ILO implemented two rounds of BPC in the Jigjiga/Kebrebyah and Dabat refugee settlements and documented important lessons for similar implementation. The ILO also makes use of its Approach to Inclusive Market Systems (AIMS)and develops the dairy sector in the Somali region; supports the development of inclusive financial products that target refugees and host communities, and promotes cooperative and social and solidarity economy**.** In a more immediate instance, the ILO is planning to launch an integrated business plan competition for the benefit of refugees and hosting communities in Dabat, Jigjiga/Kebrebyah, and one of the selected refugee settlements under the Assosa refugee operation. This business plan competition will serve several objectives, and will: Provide refugees and vulnerable host communities with immediate and direct financial and non-financial support that is needed to start and develop income-generating activities that have the potential to create jobs in and around Jigjiga/Kebrebeyah, Dabat, and one of the selected Asossa refugee settlements/camps. Provide entrepreneurship, business management, financial literacy, and technical capacity building for a selection of refugees and host community members participating in the business plan competition through the provision of upskilling and reskilling training based on the needs assessment developed during the competition. Link refugees and host community members with financial services providers for better financial services, , raise awareness about the business potential that represents this new market segment, support reducing the perceived risk by financial services providers, and provide an outlet for refugees and host community to trust and be more confident towards the financial sector. Demonstrate the viability of successful business creation and development by refugees to BDS and financial services providers as well as private sector actors that might be reluctant to see refugee settlements as a viable market for service provision. Engage selected public and private partner organizations including BDS and financial service providers, TVET colleges/institutes, woreda agricultural office, woreda local economic and development and job creation bureau, and LED offices as private sector associations in the organization of the competition in a way that encourages networking and exchanges, as well as paving the way for further action to build capacities and improve coordination amongst public and private stakeholders. The ILO is seeking an implementation partner to support the preparation, organization, and implementation of such a business plan competition in and around Alemwatch/Dabat, Jigjiga/Kebrebyah, and one of the selected refugee settlements under the Assosa refugee operation. Objectives The Business Plan Competition (BPC) will aim to provide a selected number of refugees and host communities with technical, financial, and non-financial support to start and develop small businesses as well as income-generating activities with the potential to create job opportunities also for other refugees and hosts. The BPC is open to both communities, but quotas will ensure that a minimum number of refugee businesses will be selected. Collaborations and joint ventures between refugees and host communities, including in the form of cooperatives and joint ventures, are highly encouraged to promote social cohesion amongst both groups. The BPC will be organized in close collaboration with relevant local institutions to facilitate access of vulnerable groups to relevant financial and non-financial services in the long run, facilitate trust-building between institutions and refugee communities, and encourage networking between different institutions to set up a one-stop shop system in close collaboration with the regional/woreda bureau for jobs creation and skills development. To this end, a local committee consisting of relevant organizations shall be set up and shall be involved in the preparation and implementation of the BPC, including in the support programme for participating refugees and host communities. This local committee will include, but may not be limited to, representatives of the UNHCR, RRS, the woreda admin/ city mayors office, the woreda/city LED and job creation office, the woreda/city agricultural office, the TVET college/polytechnic institutes, the agricultural office, 2-3 key financial services providers, 2-3 key BDS providers and selected private sector associations. In parallel, a more restrained group of private sector experts will be created to act as a jury that will evaluate and select submitted business plans. This jury will consist of experts with the proven capacity to analyze and evaluate business project ideas and business plans based on criteria including the viability of the business idea, quality of the business plan, realism of technical implementation and continuation as well as ultimate market and job creation potential. To safeguard the objectivity of such a jury tasked with the evaluation of business ideas, it will be essential to include in the jury several experts from each regional office and/or zonal office without direct ties or involvement in the local support programme. The jury will thus include a restraint and a selected number of experts from financial service providers, BDS providers, and the private sector. The BPC will be organized in different phases with different types of support and technical assistance being provided at different stages, as follows: Phase 1: Co-design the concept for a BPC with the ILO and key partners The implementing partner will work closely with the ILO and partners or/and steering committee to consolidate a concept and work plan for the BPC and ensure that it is context specific. The ILO has initial drafts of a concept and work plan, and the implementing partner will review this draft, propose changes if need, and use the work plan as a joint working document throughout the implementation of the BPC. In the design of the BPC, the implementing partner should ensure that the focus remains on both refugees and host communities. Phase 2: Launch, sensitization, and support to business idea development This initial phase will focus on the official launch and spreading of information regarding the business plan competition. All potent Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4184834/call-proposal-integrated-business-plan-competition
