Tenders are invited for PROSPECTS Kenya: Innovation Challenge and Youth Leadership Lab Closing Date: 21 Jan 2026 Type: Consultancy Country: Kenya (with Garissa and Turkana as priority counties) Duration of assignment: 17 months Level of effort: The International Labour Organization (ILO) is seeking to recruit an experienced implementing partner to support the roll-out of an Innovation Challenge integrating a Youth Leadership Lab in Kenya under the framework of the ILOs PROSPECTS programme. Eligibility: Applications from the following organisations will be accepted: (i) a constituent of the ILO and/or an affiliated member of such a constituent, including governmental, employers and workers organizations and/or (ii) an organization carrying out non-profit oriented work, including: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foundations, research institutions, statistical institutions, educational institutions. 1.Context 1.1 Technical context Kenyas youth continue to face mounting socio-economic challenges as employment opportunities fall short of the demand created by population growth. As of 2024, the youth unemployment rate stood at 39%, with 20.2% classified as neither employed, in education, nor in training (NEET). This issue disproportionately affects young women, with NEET rates almost twice as high (26.1%) compared to young men (14.3%).[1] As at May 2025, Kenya hosted approximately 853,074 refugees and asylum seekers, with the majority living in Dadaab (50.7%) and Kakuma camps (35.9%), and the rest in urban areas, including Nairobi, with most coming from Somalia (56.8%), South Sudan (23.4%), and Congo (7.6%).[2] Beyond constraints on labour demand and skills supply, young people, especially young women and other marginalised groups, encounter structural barriers to participation in labour market decision-making, limited representation in local governance, and weak accountability mechanisms in service delivery. Achieving decent work requires not only training and enterprise support, but also meaningful youth engagement (MYE) that elevates youth voice, strengthens youth leadership, and enables youth-led organisations (YLOs) to act as trusted intermediaries between communities, service providers and employers. This intervention is anchored in the ILOs broader commitment to MYE and youth leadership across the Decent Work Agenda, including promotion of rights at work, social dialogue and inclusive labour market institutions. It operationalises continental commitments set out in the AUILO Youth Employment Strategy for Africa (YES-Africa), which calls for stronger youth participation in policy dialogue, co-creation of programmes, and accountability for results, particularly in the context of green and digital transitions and the promotion of quality jobs. By investing directly in the capabilities, legitimacy and sustainability of YLOs, the Challenge translates these policy commitments into county-level practice and strengthens the ecosystems that enable youth agency in the world of work. Strengthening the organisational capacities, governance and leadership of YLOs in Garissa and Turkana will improve the quality and uptake of employment and enterprise services, reinforce adherence to labour standards and gender equality, and enhance accountability to affected populations through context-appropriate, conflict-sensitive engagement. Accordingly, this Youth Leadership Lab & Innovation Challenge prioritises youth leadership and organisational strengthening as the primary pathway to impact. It will identify YLOs advancing decent work through green transitions, labour rights and youth voice, and digital innovation, and equip them, via a Youth Leadership Lab, commencing with an intensive five-day Bootcamp, with the institutional, technical and leadership capacities required to design, deliver and scale solutions. The approach embeds social dialogue, gender responsiveness and inclusion, complements existing ILO initiatives (including work on digital jobs) while avoiding duplication, and lays the groundwork for sustained support beyond the project through collaboration with workers organisations and public training institutions, thereby making youth leadership a durable feature of county labour market systems. 1.2 Operational context of the assignment In response to the challenges facing both host communities and refugees, a new partnership initiative titled: PROSPECTS - Partnership for improving Prospects for host communities and forcibly displaced persons , has been launched by the Government of the Netherlands that brings together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. The overall outcome of the PROSPECTS project in Kenya is improved sustainable living conditions for refugees and host communities in Kenya. This is to be achieved through increased number of refugees and host community with enhanced livelihoods and/or employment in safe/decent work. The employment pillar will trigger the availability of employment services to support transition to work, as well as the labour market demand that is needed to support refugees and host communities transition to various forms of employment, and finally, mechanisms to promote enhanced quality of work. Barriers to business start-ups and scale-ups will be identified and addressed to unlock the entrepreneurial potential that exists in the targeted areas. Young refugees and host communities will be supported in accessing employment opportunities in the digital economy through enhancing and digitising local employment services, provision of vocational and career guidance in schools, capacity development of employment service providers as well as offering youth to youth coaching services. Through PROSPECTS the ILO collaborates closely with local and national governments, education and training institutions serving youth in Turkana and Garissa, as well as employers and other key stakeholders to better understand and promote decent work opportunities for young refugees in the digital economy. This partnership aims to enhance skills training, facilitate access to job opportunities, and foster inclusive policies that support the integration of young refugees into the workforce. In this regard, ILO has supported a number of initiatives in these counties including market-driven digital skills initiatives, focused on curriculum development, training and recognition of prior learning (RPL), digital job intermediation services focusing on human skills development, one-to-one mentorship and job placement, as well as digital job search clubs and peer-learning job placement services. 2.Concept of the Youth Leadership Lab & Innovation Challenge The ILO has conducted various types of Innovation Challenges (IC) to promote decent jobs for young people, including with a focus on business development services, skills development and the digital economy. ICs were conducted recently for instance in Kenya, South Africa and Rwanda. For this IC existing ILO materials and toolkits will be used only minor adaptations are expected from the implementing partner regarding the IC concept as well as all required supporting documentation. 1. Overall Goal of the Innovation Challenge The overall goal of the Innovation Challenge is to strengthen youth-led organizations in Turkana and counties with a view to support innovative initiatives that promote the transition of young people to decent jobs opportunities among refugees and host communities. 2. Objective of the Innovation Challenge The primary objective of the Innovation Challenge is to identify and strengthen youth-led organizations in Turkana and Garissa counties that are developing or scaling innovative, inclusive, and sustainable solutions to promote decent work for young people in refugee and host communities. The Innovation Challenge seeks to enhance the institutional, technical, and operational capacities of these organizations to deepen their impact, improve service delivery, and strengthen their role in local development ecosystems 3. Target Audience The target audience for the Innovation Challenge are youth-led non-profit organisations as well as social enterprises working to advance decent job opportunities for young people in refugee and host communities in Kenya in Turkana and Garissa counties. This may include, but is not limited to, organisations engaged in enterprise development, skills training, digital innovation, labour rights, and green economy initiatives, such as youth hubs, business incubators, NGOs, cooperatives, and community-based organisations. Eligible applicants must demonstrate a clear commitment to promoting youth employment and a track record of impact in Garissa and/or Turkana counties, particularly among marginalised groups including refugees and young women. Applicants must be legally recognised non-profit organisations with contractual and registered capacity, that have been in existence for at least three calendar years prior to the call deadline and are registered in Kenya. This may include youth-led NGOs, civil society organisations, government agencies, employers and workers organisations, cooperatives, education and training providers, and research or development institutions. Important: The innovation challenge is NOT targeting the application of individuals but of established organizations. 4. Types of Ideas and Examples of Solutions The Innovation Challenge will prioritise support to youth-led organisations proposing innovative solutions in one of the following three thematic tracks (tentative, tracks to be confirmed between ILO and implementing partner during the inception phase): Green transitions and climate-resilient livelihoods: initiatives that promote youth employment in sustainable sector Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4190988/prospects-kenya-innovation-challenge-and-youth-leadership-lab
