Consultant to Support Strategic Plan Development for the Garissa Chamber of Commerce

Background

The KNCCI Garissa Chapter

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KNCCI) is a non-profit, autonomous, private sector institution and member-based organization. It was established in 1965 from the amalgamation of the then three existing Chambers of Commerce: the Asian, African and European Chambers of Commerce to protect and develop the interests of the business community in Kenya. KNCCI is the umbrella lobbying body for the business community in Kenya. It advises both the government and business community on the trend of local and international trade. KNCCI has branches in all 47 counties working towards better business environment for private sector development.

KNCCI is a multi-sectoral organisation whose membership is open to all parties involved in income generating activities. Its services include providing market information to importers and exporters, training traders and organising trade events. The type of information provided includes: foreign trade statistics, available trade opportunities, national and regional trade regulations, list of exporters and importers in a particular sector and trade events such as trade fairs.

The KNCCI Garissa Chapter, or the Garissa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has the objectives of promoting, coordinating, and protecting commercial and industrial interests in Garissa. Its mission is to play a central and catalytic role in facilitating the growth of Garissa County economy through entrepreneurial development, in an enabling and conducive environment for business, geared to result in creation of wealth and employment.

PROSPECTS

The International Labour Organisation is supporting decent job creation in Garissa County under the framework of the Partnership for Improving Prospects for Forcibly Displaced Persons and Host Communities (PROSPECTS). PROSPECTS is a multi-year programme, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, that brings together five agencies, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the ILO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Bank to devise collaborative and innovative approaches supporting livelihoods in forced displacement settings. The programme encompasses three pillars, namely Education, Jobs, and Protection 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.

The ILO recognizes the role of Business Support Institutions (BSIs) like the chamber, and the potential of such institutions to play an active role in supporting growth of local economies and addressing decent work deficits. PROSPECTS also acknowledges the Chamber’s affiliation to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) who in 2019 signed a commitment at the Global Refugees Forum (GRF) to extend their services and membership to refugee business to promote economic inclusion and social justice. Further to this the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an MoU with UNHCR further affirming the commitment to extend membership and services to refugee businesses in Kenya. ILO PROSPECTS Programme has been working in partnership with the KNNCI- Garissa Chapter since 2021 to strengthen the capacities of SMES in Garissa County, and advocate for better business environment in the County.

The GCCI has requested for ILO support to develop its five-year strategic plan under the framework of the PROSPECTS Programme. This includes a review and updating process of the five-year strategic plan informed by stakeholder consultations, a final validation workshop, and support to initiate implementation.

Objectives of the assignment

The ILO is looking for a consultant, to lead the development of a Garissa Chamber Strategic Plan (GCSP 5-year plan) and develop a roadmap for its implementation.

Scope of the work

The consultant(s) are expected to undertake the following:

1. Review relevant background documents: The consultant(s) will conduct an initial review of the existing GCSP 2014-2016, other relevant reports from the GCCI, and reports related to private sector and SME development in Garissa produced by the ILO and other relevant partners to gather an understanding of the role of the GCSP, the business environment (including for MSMEs and cooperatives) and context in Garissa County, including in the Dadaab Refugee Camp. **

2. Deliver a market and institutional assessment report: Based on the initial document review, the consultants will deliver a maximum 10-page summary report describing the businesses in Garissa and the environment in which they operate. The report should identify the main challenges and opportunities for inclusive private sector development in Garissa County. The report should also highlight specific challenges and opportunities available for refugees and for women owned businesses in refugee and hosting communities. The report should also include an institutional assessment showing the strengths and weaknesses of the Garissa Chamber of Commerce.**

3. Design a strategy and business plan for GCCI The consultant will consultatively design a strategy to develop the private sector actors in Garissa based on the strengths and addressing weaknesses of GCCI, maximizing identified opportunities while mitigating the challenges for private sector development in Garissa County. The strategy should follow a market-based logic that envisions both push and pull dynamics. In this sense, push interventions are those that focus on building the necessary capacities of entrepreneurs, SMEs (including cooperatives) and larger enterprises to access market opportunities and include things like business management competencies, technical skills and soft skills such as communication, risk management and negotiation. Pull interventions are those that focus on establishing business linkages and creating inclusive growth in economic sectors of importance in Garissa County. **

The strategy and business plan is expected to deliver a clear plan on what will be delivered by who, when and the expected results, including a complete list of stakeholders to be consulted for the development of the strategy, the ways in which stakeholder dialogues and consultations will take place, a revised timeline for the development of the GCSP and any other additional methodological considerations, including key knowledge gaps. The methodological note should outline the steps that consultants will take to ensure inclusion and representation of SMEs, women and members of refugee communities in consultation processes.

In order to ensure the ownership of the GCSP remains with the GCCI and reflects the interests of the private sector of Garissa County, the consultant will engage key stakeholders including sector representatives in the KNNC-Garissa in a series of dialogues throughout the drafting process. During these dialogues, consultants will capture key messages and priorities to be included in the strategy. **

1. Deliver a draft GCSP: Consultant will deliver a draft GCSP to be reviewed by the ILO and relevant stakeholders, including the GCCI. The draft GCSDP should not exceed 30 pages and should include clear strategic points for the development of SMEs and Cooperatives, including those led by women and men in refugee and host communities. The draft GCSP should be clearly informed by the document review and stakeholder dialogues and consultations. It should also align to the National Chamber’s strategy, and Kenya’s economic blueprint as described in the Vision 2030.

The draft GCSP should propose both push and pull strategies to support private sector development in Garissa, where push strategies aim to build the capacities of enterprises, and pull strategies aim to attractive investment and create inclusive economic growth.

Validate the GCSP and prioritize key interventions: Once the consultant has integrated key inputs into the draft GCSP, they will facilitate a validation workshop with the GCCI and key stakeholders to present and validate the GCSP and to start discussing a concrete roadmap for its implementation.

5. Deliver final GCSP: Following the validation workshop, the consultant(s) will integrate final inputs received during the validation workshop and deliver a final GCSP.

6. Deliver roadmap for implementation of the GCSP: Based on the inputs received during the validation workshop and additional consultations as needed, the consultant(s) will propose a concrete roadmap for the implementation of the GCSP over a five-year period, with clear activities outlined for years 1 and 2 of implementation.

) Required competencies

• Consultant should have a masters level degree and demonstrated experience in private sector development.

• Very good knowledge of the role of the Chamber of Commerce, and membership business support institutions.,

• Demonstrated capacity to liaise and communicate efficiently

• Experience in strategy development

• Understanding of Garissa County context, and role of the refugee population in the Garissa business ecosystem will be an added advantage.