Entrepreneurship Support Programme for Low-Income Communities

1. Background and context:

We are seeking an experienced consultant or a team of consultants to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment of our Entrepreneurship Support Programme, which empowers entrepreneurs from low-income, low-status communities. The assessment will evaluate the programme’s effectiveness and long-term impact on participants and their communities.

Context

Micro-entrepreneurs across Europe are facing compounding crises, including the ongoing energy crisis, cost-of-living pressures, and lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges are particularly acute for early-stage entrepreneurs (first 3-5 years of operation) working in sectors, who face rising costs, falling demand, planning uncertainty, and sometimes mental health strain.

In this context of recurrent uncertainty, the programme’s purpose is to build the capacity of project partners in the delivery of non-financial services that prepares micro-entrepreneurs in dealing with crisis. This is conducted through good practice exchange, capacity building and grants that will support the piloting of tailored services for microentrepreneurs in crisis. Knowledge generated throughout the project will be captured in a toolkit that will be available to all organisations interested in enhancing micro-entrepreneurs’ resilience to crisis.

Programme Objectives

This programme aims to enhance micro-entrepreneurs’ financial health and resilience by strengthening the capacity of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and entrepreneurship support organisations (ESOs) to deliver innovative support services to prepare entrepreneurs to be better prepared for dealing with challenging situations and crises.

Direct beneficiaries: 6 MFIs/ESOs (project partners) across two countries

Indirect beneficiaries: Micro-entrepreneurs served by these organizations

2. Scope of work:

The selected consultant will be responsible for:

Using a robust evaluation assessment methodology, such as the OECD’s framework covering relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, coherence/complementarity, innovation, equity/inclusion, scalability/replicability of the programme:

• Evaluating programme outcomes against stated objectives;
• Assessing the short- and long-term impacts on participating entrepreneurs;
• Analysing the effectiveness of the mentoring and coaching components;
• Identifying best practices and areas for improvement;
• Providing evidence-based recommendations for programme enhancement;
• Delivering a comprehensive final report with actionable insights.

3. Mandatory qualifications and experience

The consultant must demonstrate:

• Academic and research credentials
• Relevant publications in peer-reviewed journals or recognised industry publications on topics related to:
  • Mentoring and coaching methodologies
  • Entrepreneurship development
  • Economic empowerment in underserved communities.

Practical experience:

• A proven track record of conducting impact assessments and evaluations for entrepreneurship or economic development programmes.
• Direct experience of working with and assessing programmes targeting low-income or marginalised communities
• Demonstrated understanding of the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds

Technical skills:

• Expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Experience with impact measurement frameworks and tools.
• Strong analytical and report-writing capabilities.

4. Desirable qualifications:

• An advanced degree (PhD) in relevant fields such as development economics, the social sciences, business or evaluation studies.
• Experience with participatory evaluation methods
• Knowledge of gender and diversity considerations in impact assessment
• Ability to conduct qualitative research in Spanish, French, and English.

5. Deliverables:

• An inception report detailing the methodology and work plan.
• Interim progress reports
• A final, comprehensive impact assessment report.
• An executive summary and a presentation of the findings.
• Raw and analysed data sets (anonymised).

6. Submission requirements:

Interested consultants should submit:

a. Technical proposal, including:

• Understanding of the assignment.
• Proposed methodology and approach.
• Work plan and timeline.
• Team composition (if applicable).

b. Evidence of qualifications:

• CVs of key personnel
• A list of relevant publications, with links to or copies of the three to five most relevant works.
• Case studies or examples of similar impact assessments conducted
• References from at least three previous clients for comparable assignments

c. Financial proposal:

• Detailed budget breakdown
• Fee structure
• Payment terms
• The maximum available budget amounts to 25.000€

7. Evaluation criteria:

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following:

• Technical quality (40%): – Methodology, approach and understanding of the assignment
• Qualifications and experience (35%): Relevant publications, track record and expertise.
• Cost (15%): Value for money and budget reasonableness
• Timeline and feasibility (10%): Realistic work plan and availability

8. Timeline:

• Proposal submission deadline: 30.08.2026
• Evaluation period: 31.08.2026 – 04.09.2026
• Consultant selection: 09.09.2026
• Contract start date: 14.09.2026
• Expected completion: 11.12.2026

9. Submission instructions

Please submit all documents electronically to: projects@european-microfinance.org

Subject line: Evaluation Assessment Consultant – European Microfinance Network.

10. Questions and clarifications

All queries regarding this procurement must be submitted in writing to j.schoolmann@european-microfinance.org by 14.08.2026. Responses will be shared with all potential bidders.

11. Terms and Conditions

• This RFP does not constitute an offer or commitment to contract.
• We reserve the right to accept or reject any or all proposals.
• All costs incurred in preparing proposals are the responsibility of the bidder.
• Confidentiality and data protection protocols must be strictly observed.

For further information, please contact: projects@european-microfinance.org