Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) seeks a consultancy team to conduct the final evaluation of the Entrepreneurship and Business Growth (EBG) Project in Ethiopia.
DOT is a leading international organization that is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and was established in 2002. Through its programs, DOT enables economically marginalized individuals to access and apply information and communication technologies (ICT) to create educational, economic and entrepreneurial opportunities for themselves. The organization’s vision is to make pathways to these opportunities available particularly to young people and women, as a strategy to eradicate poverty, vulnerability and gender inequality.
The Entrepreneurship and Business Growth in Ethiopia Project aims to increase the number and strength of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Ethiopia, particularly those owned by youth and women. DOT has sought to achieve this goal through a unique, youth-led model to entrepreneurship development, enabled by digital technology.
Evaluation Purpose
Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) is undertaking a final evaluation for the Entrepreneurship and Business Growth (EBG) project in Ethiopia, funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
The final evaluation should assess whether targeted beneficiaries received services as expected; assess whether the program met its stated goals and objectives; review the results frameworks; and document lessons learned. Finally, the evaluation should also identify and discuss necessary modifications that may be necessary if DOT wishes to effectively and efficiently deliver similar projects in the region in the future.
Given the above, the objectives of this assignment are to:
- Assess and and deconstruct the pathways to the long-term impacts program participants experienced (change analysis), in particular as they relate to the project’s intermediate outcomes: 1) Increased business creation, particularly among women; 2) Strengthened economic performance of youth-run and women-run small businesses; and 3) Increased quality, relevance and gender-responsiveness of entrepreneurship services provided by local partner organizations;
- Assess the long-term impacts program participants experienced, in particular as they relate to the project’s immediate outcomes: 1) Increased capacity of youth to lead gender responsive business startup and growth programs; 2)Strengthened entrepreneurial skills and confidence among beneficiaries; 3) Increased capacity of youth (m/f) and women entrepreneurs to grow and scale their businesses; 4) Increased access to more relevant and targeted supports and services for female growth oriented enterprises; 5) Improved capacity of partner organizations to deliver relevant and gender-responsive entrepreneurship services to youth and women; and 6) Increased willingness of partner organizations to design and offer entrepreneurship programs for youth and women;
- Identify factors that posed barriers to success, including but not limited to gender-related barriers, and inequitable access to digital technologies and services among vulnerable youth;
- Assess the potential scale and sustainability of outcomes and specifically examine the outcomes of the project as they relate to the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance and coherence of the project overall;
- Assess, where possible, contribution to the program’s ultimate outcomes and / or identify drivers of possible future impact in these areas: Increased micro and small businesses particularly those owned by youth and women in selected communities in Ethiopia;
- Articulate lessons learned and possible adaptations in cases where anticipated outcomes were not achieved.
The consultants will be expected to refine and develop, in collaboration with DOT staff, broad evaluation questions that will help deepen knowledge of the program outcomes and supplant gaps in quantitative inquiry. The consultants will also be expected to review existing data collection instruments and develop new data collections tools suited to the objectives of the evaluation. Further, the consultants will develop appropriate analysis frameworks for the quantitative and qualitative data collected and develop a final report.
While DOT expects most data collection to occur in person (adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols) alternative data collection methods/analysis approaches should be proposed for the Mekelle site due to ongoing conflict. For this reason, travel to Ethiopia or working with a strong team of local data collectors is required. Please note, DOT’s MERL team in Ottawa will supervise this assignment while DOT’s local team members will assist with project information gathering, beneficiary and respondent contact information provision, and logistical arrangements for data collection training and implementation.