Germany - Development consultancy services - Support to the socio-economic empowerment of women in Burkina Faso

The project "Strengthening the socio-economic participation of women in Burkina Faso" (ProFemmes) aims to improve the socio-economic participation of women in selected regions of Burkina Faso. The project targets individual businesswomen and those whose livelihoods are directly or indirectly linked to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives that are important for women's employment and income. The project also targets women in vulnerable situations, including those who are internally displaced. This objective is pursued through three closely connected areas of action. First, ProFemmes strengthens the entrepreneurial capacities of women-led MSMEs, cooperatives and individual businesswomen, especially in agricultural and forest value chains, by improving their business, management and digital skills and supporting their market presence and competitiveness. Second, the project enhances women's technical and financial capacities to engage in new or more viable income-generating activities, for example in water and sanitation in the region Djôrô or in crafts, services and trade in Fada N'Gourma, often in close coordination with existing programmes such as PEA and ProSPS. Third, ProFemmes improves the socio-economic conditions for women's financial co-decision at household level by building basic financial skills among couples and promoting shared decision-making on household income, savings and investments, using gender-transformative tools such as Ecole de Maris and GALS. Geographically, the project focuses on the region of Djôrô (formerly Sud-Ouest) and the commune of Fada N'Gourma in the Goulmou region (formerly Est). ProFemmes follows a "Next Level" approach, working mainly with women who already run economic activities or are embedded in relevant economic structures, and helping them move from informal, short-term activities to more sustainable, market-oriented livelihoods. Implementation is carried out by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in close coordination with national and local partners and with other German development projects, in order to generate structural, gender-transformative effects beyond short-term income gains. This call for tenders aims to select a contractor to support the implementation of the project "Strengthening the socio-economic participation of women in Burkina Faso" (ProFemmes). The project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in a politically fragile context marked by internal displacement and the structural marginalization of women. This call for tenders aims to select a specialised service provider to implement key service packages for the project. Potential bidders are organisations experienced in private sector development, value chain promotion, gender-transformative approaches, financial inclusion and multi-actor coordination in fragile contexts, with strong operational capacity in Burkina Faso. The contractor will act as an operational implementation unit for ProFemmes in the region of Djôrô and, indirectly, in Fada N'Gourma. The tendered services focus mainly on Output 1 (entrepreneurial empowerment) and Output 3 (financial co-decision making at household level). Under Output 1, bidders are expected to: - Analyse relevant agricultural and forest value chains and identify market opportunities for women-led cooperatives and individual entrepreneurs. - Conduct diagnostics of target enterprises and segment beneficiaries into appropriate support pathways (e.g. intensive SME/GTA-Loop coaching with MEBF versus lighter, adapted support). - Design and implement integrated support packages (training, coaching, mentoring, technical assistance) that strengthen operational performance, market presence, competitiveness and digital skills, in close coordination with MEBF Under Output 3, bidders are expected to: - Develop and implement measures that build basic financial literacy among couples (budgeting, saving, responsible borrowing) and introduce simple household financial tools, potentially in digital form. - Facilitate gender-transformative dialogue and reflection formats (using approaches such as GALS, GTA-Loop, Ecole de Maris) to promote joint financial decision-making and reduce conflict risks linked to changing gender roles. - Achieve quantitative targets for men open to shared budgeting and households reporting improved financial competences, working primarily with households where women are already economically supported under Outputs 1 and 2 ("Next Level" approach). Across all service packages, the contractor must maintain continuous technical coordination with GIZ and with related projects (PEA, ProSPS and others); strictly align all measures with the project's indicator framework and targets; strengthen ownership and participation of local partner institutions and actors. This includes annual operational planning, regular reporting, contribution to results monitoring, risk management and adaptive management of activities based on evolving context and findings. In sum, the tender seeks a competent, gender- and market-oriented implementation partner able to translate ProFemmes' strategic objectives into concrete, high-quality services for women, enterprises and households, within a complex, multi-project landscape in Burkina Faso.