Enterprise Innovation Challenge for Jobs Creation for Refugees and Host Communities in Kenya
Background
The ILO works to support and promote enterprise development because sustainable enterprises are key to ensuring jobs and wealth creation, and inclusive economies and societies. The ILO collaborates with its tripartite constituency of governments, employersâ and workersâ organizations to advance enterprise development in a manner that aligns enterprise growth with sustainable development objectives and the creation of productive employment and decent work. In Kenya, the ILO works with its tripartite partners to implement the Kenya Decent Work Programme which focuses on human capital development, sustainable economic growth, and social dialogue and tripartism to promote decent work and social justice.
Operational context of the assignment
The ILO is part of a Partnership on Inclusive Jobs and Education for Host Communities, Refugees and other Forcibly Displaced Persons, known as PROSPECTS. The Partnership is a multi-year programme, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, that brings together five agencies (ILO, World Bank, IFC, UNICEF, UNHCR) to devise collaborative and innovative approaches for inclusive job creation and education in contexts characterized by forced displacement. The programme encompasses four pillars, namely Education, Jobs, Protection and Infrastructure and operates in eight countries across East Africa, Horn of Africa and the Middle East employing an area-based approach, in which the partner agencies jointly focus their activities on selected regions in each country.
In Kenya, the programme is implemented in the refugee hosting counties of Turkana and Garissa, and nationally for policy interventions. Under the partnership, the ILO, together with IFC and World Bank, lead interventions to improve livelihoods and create jobs for host communities and refugees. PROSPECTS envisages that the economic inclusion pillar will trigger expansion of economic opportunities for refugees and host communities, and address barriers to access to labour markets resulting in increased jobs and promoting enhanced quality of work.
As of August 2025, Kenya is host to 860, 297 registered refugees and asylum seekers, with the Dadaab camps and Kakuma camps/Kalobeyei Settlement hosting 433, 761 and 309, 169, respectively. Refugees and host communities continue to face a challenging socio-economic landscape exuberated by hosting large numbers of refugees in an already strained environment. The refugee camps face diverse shocks ranging from degraded environment, frequent droughts, restricted refugee movement which hinders access to wage employment and trade activities, thin markets that are often distorted due to dominance of humanitarian aid, food price shocks, among others. The recent decline in humanitarian funding has worsened the already strained livelihood systems for both refugees and their host communities, further increasing the urgency for sustainable livelihood options to build resilience.
Despite the challenges, the Kenya Government has progressively sought to enhance refugee and host community social economic inclusion as supported by the Refugee Act of 2021. The Government also recently developed the Shirika plan, a multi-year initiative, aiming to promote the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees in Kenya by transforming camps into integrated settlements, integrating a community-wide development plan for both refugees and host communities. Among the Shirika plan pillars is sustainable economic development for both groups targeting to foster growth and shared prosperity.
With the limited opportunities for employment in the camps, refugees engage mostly in trade activities as a means of livelihoods, and many operate in the informal economy. This is not unique to refugees as host community members also operate in an economically constrained environment with limited productive resources and infrastructure to support large scale economic activities. However, there is a need for economic diversification into more productive sectors, including value addition to primary produce. Most of the businesses operating in the refugee hosting areas are either micro or small businesses and are often facing barriers to growth due to lack of access to business development services, access to finance and co-investments that are required to support their growth. To expand the economic opportunities and diversity into other sectors than trade, and in order catalyse employment creation in the refugee hosting counties, the ILO plans to implement an Enterprise Innovation Challenge (EIC) to facilitate growth of emerging and established enterprises who hold potential to grow the local economy and create employment opportunities. Through the Enterprise Innovation Challenge, the ILO envisages a challenge that can unlock enterprise innovation and employment creation through: -
- Supporting enterprises to grow, become environmentally sustainable create employment
- Enhancing access to financial services for enterprises in refugees and host communities
- Strengthening local market systems and improve their efficiency, such as backwards and forward linkages between enterprise run by refugees with local enterprises in the host community
- Strengthening of social solidarity economy (SSE) organisations / social enterprises that can apply enterprising principles for social and environmental impact
- Promoting access to social protection services for refugees and host communities as an embedded component of the facilitating of informal economic units to the formal economy and in the process address decent work deficits
- Improving working conditions and occupational health and safety (OSHs) practices.
Overall Goal of the Enterprise Innovation Challenge (EIC)
The overall goal of the challenge is to support the development of sustainable growth-oriented micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and to enable them to accelerate productivity and growth to create decent jobs in refugees and host communities in Turkana and Garissa.
Objective of the Enterprise Innovation Challenge
The primary objective of the EIC is to provide a selected number of refugees and host community businesses with technical, financial and non-financial support to start or grow innovative and sustainable business ideas with potential to create decent jobs for refugees and host communities. This will be achieved through the provision of business development services, linkage to investment opportunities, and strategic business coaching, among others. Besides this, the EIC will also serve to: -
- 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 the refugee hosting counties of Turkana and Garissa.
- Provide entrepreneurship, business management, financial literacy and technical capacity building for a selection of refugees and host community members participating in the EIC 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 and raise awareness about the business potential presented by the market segment, contributing to 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 investing in sustainable enterprises by refugees and host communities 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 investment and service provision.
- Enhance the decent work agenda by addressing decent work deficits through improving working conditions, access to social protection, and other fundamental principles.
u Technical application: -
Through the technical application, the potential implementing partner must demonstrate capacity to cocreate the enterprise challenge, and experience in implementing similar interventions. The technical application is expected to demonstrate technical capacity, innovation and potential for scale, in addition but not limited to the following elements: -
- Description on how the partner will implement and manage the enterprise innovation challenge. This should include clear field support structures demonstrating regular contact with enterprises.
- Suggested business categories for the enterprise challenge, and their sizes.
- Proposal on how to ensure inclusion of refugees, host communities, women, pwds, youth and any other vulnerable categories.
- How to roll out and manage an online application process, supporting digitally challenged communities to ensure equal opportunity.
- Description of how the partner will promote the innovation challenge in the communities, including refugees and host communities.
- Known existing opportunities for leveraging to enrich the innovation challenge and deepen intervention. These could be government programmes, or even private sector.
- Description of some of the nonfinancial prizes that the implementing partner would propose to offer to the challenge winners.
- What steering structure would the partner propose, to ensure inclusivity and transparency.
- Post challenge support to enterprises who get selected for the challenge.
u Stage 2: Financial Proposal
Awards and Support for Winners
The exact distribution of grants will be determined at a later stage by the ILO in consultation with the implementing partner. The implementing partner will be responsible for providing the grants to the winners of the Innovation Challenge.
Task Description
Objective of the Assignment
The objective of the assignment is for the selected implementing partner to work with the ILO in (i) finalizing the design of the enterprise innovation challenge (based on the terms of reference description), (ii) lead in implementing and managing the Enterprise Innovation Challenge and (iii) providing technical support to winners of the Enterprise Innovation Challenge (iv) Document the Innovation Challenge process, learning and outcomes.
Scope of the Assignment
This assignment includes but is not limited to the following tasks:
- Inception: Finalisation of the Enterprise Innovation Challenge Concept and detailed workplan (Timeline: Approximately 2 weeks after signing of the contract)
This task implies:
- Clarifying with the ILO expectations on the Enterprise Innovation Challenge
- Work closely with the ILO to revise and finalize the concept note on the Enterprise Innovation Challenge based on the indications shared in Section 2 and the applicantsâ proposal
- Developing a detailed workplan for the implementation of the IC and follow-up support to winners
- Implementation of the Innovation Challenge
- The implementation of the IC will depend on the finalized concept and workplan. It will entail the following tasks:
(a) Conducting pre-launch preparatory activities
- Establish partnerships with key actors: The implementing partner will work with the ILO to establish partnerships and collaboration with key actors, including development partners, financial and business development implementing partners, strategic investors, private sector, key sectoral associations, and government representatives. While the ILO has a list of potential partners, it is expected that the implementing partner is also able to mobilize partner networks effectively.
- Develop a communication strategy and communication materials: This will include presentation, fliers, social media material)
- Develop and adapt relevant application materials: examples from previous ILO enterprise innovation challenges will be made available to the implementing partner by the ILO. Materials to be finalized include:
- Participant guidelines: the call for applications which is a public document, building on the finalised concept of the Innovation Challenge, describing in detail the terms and conditions under which enterprises can apply.
- Application form (to be hosted online)
- Development of scoring and evaluation criteria (incl. description) and scoring sheets (to be used by panel of experts in evaluation of proposals).The selection criteria should prioritize but not limited to demonstration of jobs creation, work quality improvements, productivity enhancement, linkages within the market system, innovative solutions, and sustainability.
(b) Advertisement
- In close collaboration with the ILO, the implementing partner will launch the challenge and circulate the call for application widely within its networks.
- The application process should be simple and accessible to refugees and members of host communities. Applicants should be able to enter their submissions through a variety of channels that may include applying in-person, by phone, through an email account set up by the project.
- The implementing partner will avail channels through which applicants can ask questions and receive clarification on the application process.
- The implementing partner will track applications and follow-up with partners to remind their networks of the application deadline.
Screening, evaluation and selection
- Conduct an initial screen of received applications based on formal application criteria (due diligence)
- The implementing partner may conduct a first-round technical screening (depending on number of applications received) to narrow down the pool of applications
- Constitute Confirm the composition of the evaluation panel in close collaboration with ILO
- Coordinate the scoring and selection process, including scheduling and organising interviews with finalists
- The ILO, in consultation with the implementing partner, will determine the mechanism through which final decisions on the winners will be made.
- Announcement of winners and event
- Develop a programme for a 1-day face to face event to announce winners and showcase the selected solutions and organisations
- Develop communication products related to the award ceremony
- Support the delivery of the event
The ILO will lead the invitation process of partners to the event and will take cater for costs related to the venue and to transportation of participants â if any â from outside the event location.
- Innovation Challenge Support Services (10 months)
The implementing partner will be responsible for the technical support to selected participants to achieve their enterprise specific objectives aimed at growing their enterprises and creating decent jobs. The role will also include supporting accountable utilization of the financial awards provided.
Tasks of the implementing partner include:
- Administering the grants for winning organizations of the Enterprise Innovation Challenge:
- The implementing partner will be responsible for disbursing the grants to the winners of the Enterprise Innovation Challenge.
- They will award grants to 10 to 20 impact creating enterprises across selected sectors to be determined at the call for applications. The exact distribution of grants will be determined at a later stage by the ILO in consultation with the implementing partner.
- Before transferring the grant to the winners, the implementing partner will conduct a due diligence process and develop a grant agreement contract between the implementing partner and the grantees.
Services to be offered during implementation will include but not limited to: -
- Capacity Building and Training: offer capacity building and training programs to enhance the winners' technical skills. This may include workshops, webinars, and mentorship programs focused on areas such as project management, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, and digital marketing. Capacity building will also focus on increasing productivity and supporting growth of the selected businesses. Use of ILO Business Development Tools will be required.
- Access to Expertise and Mentors: connect the winning organizations with subject matter experts and experienced mentors from their sector. These experts will provide guidance, share insights, and offer advice on the strategic direction, business development, and operational challenges faced by the enterprises.
- Networking and Partnerships: facilitate networking opportunities among the selected enterprises, allowing them to share experiences, learn from each other, and collaborate on projects.
- Financial Management Support: the implementing partner will provide guidance on financial management, including budgeting, financial reporting, and financial sustainability planning. This support will help the winning organizations to effectively manage their financial resources and ensure the long-term sustainability of their interventions.
- Market linkages and Visibility: help the selected enterprises develop and implement marketing strategies that effectively communicate the value of their initiatives to potential users, partners, and other stakeholders. This may include support in branding, public relations, and social media management.
Through targeted post EIC support, selected enterprises will be empowered to effectively scale their initiatives, ultimately contributing to growth of the local economies in Turkana and Garissa, and the creation of decent job opportunities in refugee and host communities.
IV Post Challenge Support
The implementing partner will structure post challenge support services based on the needs of the grantees of the Enterprise Innovation Challenge. This will be done in close collaboration with ILO.
V Document results and lessons learned:
This will include conducting monitoring and evaluation, collecting information on enterprise growth and impact in terms of jobs created and/or improved because of the interventions and collect lessons learned and success stories, in close collaboration with the ILO. The implementing partner will be expected to digitally share learning and communication materials throughout the implementation.
Budget and Reporting Terms
The total awards available for at least 20 enterprises will amount to USD250,000. Applicants are expected to present budget proposals in the spending currency- i.e. Kenya Shillings. The total project duration period will be 15 months.
Note: The cost of operationizing the Innovation Challenge should not exceed the awards amounts.
-
Payments will only be done for deliverables that are successfully completed to the satisfaction of the ILO.
-
The payments will be made according to the following draft schedule:
-
The first payment will be made upon signing of the contract. With this first tranche, the implementing should be able to deliver;
-
The revised final concept notes of the enterprise innovation challenge (deliverable 1)
-
Launch the enterprise innovation challenge (deliverable 2)
-
Receive innovation challenge applications (deliverable 3)
-
The second payment will be made upon receipt of deliverables 1, 2 and 3 to the satisfaction of the ILO and presentation of the invoice. With this second tranche, the implementing should be able to;
-
Evaluate, select and announce the winners (deliverable 4)
-
The third payment of the contract volume will be made upon receipt of deliverable 4 to the satisfaction of the ILO and presentation of the invoice. With this third tranche, the implementing should be able to;
-
Transfer awards to the innovation challenge winners (deliverable 5). Note, this amount includes the grants awards to the winners.
-
Offer first part of the post innovation challenge (deliverable 6)
-
The fourth payment of the contract volume will be made upon receipt of deliverables 5 and 6 to the satisfaction of the ILO and presentation of the invoice. With this fourth tranche, the implementing should be able to deliver;
-
The second part of the post innovation challenge (deliverable 7)
-
The fifth and final payment of the contract volume will be made upon receipt of deliverable 7 and presentation of the final report to the satisfaction of the ILO and presentation of the invoice.
-
When submitting invoices for payments the implementing partners will also submit to the ILO:
-
A technical progress report (to be continuously updated)
-
A financial report detailing the expenditures of the implementing partner in the reporting period.
NOTE: A detailed payment schedule will be agreed with the selected partner at contracting.
Roles and Reporting
-
ILO will require from time to time based on agreed timelines comprehensive reports to highlighting work done. Reports will be reviewed to ensure conformance with ILO operations before acceptance.
-
The implementing partner will operate under the overall supervision of The ILO Chief Technical Advisor. The ILO Kenya PROSPECTS team will offer technical support and will coordinate closely with the relevant Specialists from the ILO Regional and HQ offices to ensure adherence to ILO sustainable business support models.
Specific Clauses
Throughout the course of this assignment, the implementing partner will report on a weekly basis to the ILO for coordination and followâup. All communication to other relevant stakeholders should be coordinated with the ILO. If it appears necessary to modify the tasks of work or exceed the time allocated, the implementing partner must discuss the circumstances with the ILO and obtain prior written approval. ILO may disclose the draft or final documents and/or any related information to any person and for any purpose the ILO may deem appropriate.
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)
- Does the application pack included all required documentation (supporting documents including, technical and financial proposals, curriculum vitae of key personnel, expression of interest and contact details)
- Understanding and detailed response to the objectives
- Are the major outputs for the project stipulated in the TOR included in the proposal as well as strategies to attain them.
- Does the applicant demonstrate an understanding of the target group (Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs) and host communities) issues
- Technical compliance with the Terms of Reference (30 points)
- Quality of the application including coherence, logical framework, linkages with current government and development partners intervention, M&E and sustainability
- Does the applicant propose a clear and feasible project management framework including selection of beneficiaries (FDPs and hosts), geographies (Turkana and Garissa refugee and host communities), and delivery of interventions including financial and non-financial BDS.
- Does the proposal provide a clear and feasible strategy for address all components of the TOR (selection of target SMEs, formation of steering committee and partnerships, capacity building of local actors, designating of challenge events, linkages with other component of the ILO interventions, marketing the ideas of the EIC, communication strategy to ensure maximum visibility of the project).
- Demonstration of physical presence in the target areas/ regular enterprise engagement strategy
- Does the applicant specify opportunities for leverage to scale up or deepen the intervention.
- Does the service proposed provide a realistic and sustainable exit strategy.
- The qualifications and experience of proposed key personnel (15 points)
- Does the institution and/or the team members have experience working with vulnerable groups including FDPs and undertaking similar services/assignments including BDS provision, training on entrepreneurship, financial education and business management including familiarity with ILO tools?
- Does the organization have knowledge, skills and experience in organizing similar activities through the government and private/humanitarian system?
- Does the applicant demonstrate having capacity and experience working in the refugee hosting areas, and relevant local networks to reach SMEs?
- The proposed implementation, management plan and sustainability (15 points)
- Is the proposed implementation and management plan feasible and within the identified timeline?
- Does the proposed human and operational resource + structure cover the project target areas?
- Does the organization provide innovative project intervention models that can better support the implementation and sustainability of the planned activities/interventions
2. Financial evaluation (30%)
-
The financial proposal should detail each line of envisaged expenditure, in particular but not limited to:
-
Project set up costs
-
Award fees for each category
-
Travel costs for local missions
-
Costs related with SMEs capacity building and trainings
-
Follow up support after the training and awards including BDS services
-
Costs related with communication, support to the applicants, evaluation so the applications, interviews for the shortlisted applicants, steering committee meetings
-
Administrative costs
The Excel template format below should be applied.
Exclude from this Budget: VAT ILO is VAT Exempt
Date of Submission
Period of Implementation
Outcome I Output I Activities I Unit I No of Units I Cost per Unit I Total Cost I Budget Notes
Outcome
Output
Activities
Unit
No. Of Units
Cost Per Unit
Total Cost
Budget Notes
Outcome 1,2 ,3 etc
Output 1.1
Activity 1.1.1
Output 1.2
Activity 1.1.2
Output 1.3
Activity 1.1.3
Output 1.4
Activity 1.1.4
Cross Cutting Cost / Project Management Cost
Output 4.1
Activity 4.1.1
Output 4.2
Activity 4.1.2
Output 4.3
Activity 4.1.3
Output 4.4
Activity 4.1.4
Total Budget / Cost
Implementing partner qualifications
The ILO is seeking an implementation partner to support the preparation, organization, and implementation of such the EIC in the refugee hosting counties of Turkana and Garissa.
- The target partner for the EIC includes business development implementing partners and training institutions that aim to support enterprise growth, for instance â but not limited to - organizations such as innovation hubs, business incubators, and NGOs focused on training for economic empowerment, among others.
- Eligible applicants must demonstrate their commitment and track record in supporting enterprise growth for refugees and host communities in Kenya and have a focus on business incubation and job creation.
- Applicants should be legally recognized non-profit organization with contractual and registered capacity that has been in existence for at least three calendar years prior to the call deadline and that is registered in Kenya. This may include government agencies, social enterprises, education and training and business support institutions (incl. incubators), NGOs and civil society organizations and other research and educational institutions.
- Demonstration of experience and capacity to use ILO BDS tools (Generate Your Business, Start Improve Your Business, Financial Education) will be an added advantage.