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 it's 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 Children’s 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 ILO’s 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:
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.
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 mayor’s 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 potentially interested and eligible participants must have a clear idea of the process and requirements to maximize the potential impact of the project. To this end, at least one large ‘launch workshop’ should be held to spread information, followed by local-level launching to create a similar understanding among key stakeholders. Additionally, a marketing campaign involving flyers, posters, and social media posts shall be launched to spread the information. Based on the local context, local radio (FM’s) and media houses can be used to spread the information.
This first phase shall also see the organization of several brainstorming sessions with selected experts and representatives of institutions to brainstorm on possible market opportunities in the area. The objective of these brainstorming sessions is to inspire and accompany potential participants and help them find a business idea that is somewhat innovative and responds to a real demand and needs on the market. The underlying assumption here is that the target refugees settlements has already seen the emergence of small businesses that cover the immediate daily needs of clients including cafés, small kiosks, convenience stores, hairdressers and clothing stores. The BPC thus seeks to encourage the emergence of more innovative businesses to avoid overcrowding the immediate local market in the project target areas and attract capital inflows through the sales of services and goods outside the immediate settlement.
Along the same lines, this first phase will also make use of the ILO’s ‘Generate your business idea (GYB)’ training that takes participants through the process of assessing market demand for potentially offered goods and services.
Phase 3: Submission and evaluation of ‘project ideas’
Using the results of brainstorming sessions and GYB training, participants can submit their business ideas. A template form to be filled in will be provided to all interested participants. These initial business ideas will then be analyzed by a jury of experts, and 1500 project ideas will be selected. A minimum of 40% of selected ideas will need to involve at least one refugee as part of the business team, and a minimum of 30% of refugee, host community, or joint business each will need to be led by women.
Phase 4: Support for business plan development and financial management
Under this phase, the 900 project ideas selected will receive further support to develop solid and well-detailed business plans based on their business ideas. To this end, participants will benefit from ‘Start your Business (SYB) trainings during which they will be taken through the process of business plan development by expert trainers. Additionally, participants will benefit from the ILO Financial Education training, adapted to the needs of refugees and host communities in Ethiopia, to build their capacity and help them optimally manage household and small business finances.
Participants also have the option to participate in Gender and Entrepreneurship Together (GET Ahead) trainings that specifically focus on supporting women entrepreneurs to overcome gender-specific challenges. The provision of these training programs should be a strong supporting factor for financial services providers to reduce their perceived risks for the provision of financing solutions to these selected refugees and host communities. ILO start coop training package can also be rolled out, if cooperative and social and solidarity economy groups are selected to this stage.
Participants will receive individual counselling aimed at assessing their technical, entrepreneurial and financial capacities as well as their specific support needs, and will then be connected to technical training offered by TVET partners for upskilling and reskilling, to financial service providers to facilitate access to loans and financial services, as well as to other local partner institutions for advice and support based on specific needs.
To build participants’ capacity and confidence, this phase will also include ‘pitching’ and networking sessions in which participants get the chance to practice pitching their business idea to the expert jury and receive advice and coaching on how to improve and develop their business idea further. This will be the opportunity for the selected participants to have a secondary encounter with financial services providers to present their ideas, ask their finance-related questions, build trust and potentially connect to access financial support.
Training in different ILO tools, coaching, and business advisory services can be facilitated through ILO supported business development service providers network.
Phase 5: Submission of business plans
Building on the support received, the 900 participants can now submit their full-fledged business plans to the jury of experts. The jury of experts will select 450 winning business plans. The selection will be based on a range of criteria, including the number of jobs that can be created, the feasibility of the project idea, the degree of innovation of the project idea, and the quality of the business plan, the criteria can be adapted to fit the local context in consultation with the BPC steering committee. At least 40% of the 450 business plans selected shall include refugees, and at least 30% shall include women.
Phase 6: Announcement of winners and prizes
The winning business plans will now be announced and receive their prizes. All winners will be part of a continuous support programme that includes individual coaching and counselling sessions as well as ‘Improve your Business (IYB)’ training to strengthen business management skills, and further technical skills training to strengthen technical skills as needed.
Additionally, the winners will receive a financial contribution (to be determined in the co-creation phase of the project). All winners will be connected to financial services providers and receive support to facilitate access to adequate loan products, adapted to their socio-economic situation in terms of loan sizes, loan term, interest rate, collateral required, KYC documents, etc., to support them in financing the remainder of the required start-up capital. Selected partner is also expected to facilitate the formalization of the enterprises, and where possible, production and marketing places
Phase 6**:** Provide ongoing technical support and conduct M&E
The Implementing Partner will continue to facilitate access to needed business development and financial services, including through the provision of coaching and other forms of post-training support to the winners of the BPC. The Implementing Partner will also conduct monitoring and evaluation, collecting information on business growth and impact in terms of jobs created and/or improved as a result of the interventions and collect lessons learned and success stories, in close collaboration with the ILO.
The implementing partners is expected to support the preparation, organization, and implementation of the BPC as per the process outlined above. The following tasks are associated with this:
Evaluation criteria
1. Technical Evaluation (70%): Technical proposal will be evaluated as per the following criteria:
Application depth and quality of response to the TOR (10 points)
Technical compliance with the Terms of Reference (30 points)
The qualifications and experience of proposed key personnel (15 points)
The proposed implementation, management plan, and sustainability (15 points)
2. Financial evaluation (30%)
Financial Proposal of offers having passed the technical review will be considered (scoring 60). The financial offer will account for 30% of the final score. The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal will be allocated to the lowest priced proposal. All other price proposals receive pro-rated points according to the following formula: p = y (x/z), where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal x = price of the lowest priced proposal z = price of the proposal being evaluated. The proposal obtaining the overall highest score, after adding the score of the technical and the financial proposals, is the one that offers best value for money.
The financial proposal should detail each line of envisaged expenditure, in particular:
Please see the details for further information
https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice
How to apply
Interested applicants who meet the eligibility requirements should submit their details:
ILO Country Office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan
UNECA Compound- Addis Ababa
Kindly title your email subject as “Call for proposal – Implementing Partner to Organize a Business Plan Competition in Jigjiga, Assosa, and Dabat Refugee Operations in Ethiopia.”
Shortlisted/ Successful applicants will be interviewed. The successful organization will be expected to start the project in January 2026.
Deadline for application will be 21 November 2025, 02:00 pm (EAT).
Addis Ababa,Addis Ababa,Ethiopia
