TOR: FOR CONDUCTING A TRAINING FOR VILLAGE SAVING AND LOANS ASSOCIATION GROUPS (VSLA) – Rwanda

1. Background of the Accelerating Impact(AIM) for Adolescent Girls and Young Women

Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women in Partnership with BRAC – or AIM – is a multi-faceted, seven-country program designed to equip 1.2 million adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Africa with age-appropriate entrepreneurship, employability, and life-skills training, along with the tools to start and scale their own businesses. AIM applies a “best-of-BRAC” approach, achieving social and economic development for AGYW by drawing from several programmatic models already shown through rigorous research to achieve positive impact. The goals of AIM are to foster the agency and voice of AGYW to act on their aspirations to enable AGYW to engage in sustainable livelihoods, create an enabling environment for AGYW, including support for their engagement in advocacy.

2. VSLA Training Objectives

The objective of the consultancy is to build the capacity of 54 participants (staff and mentors) as selected ToTs for exploring and adaptation of VSLA approaches through guidance on VSLA operations procedures, formation and sharing of successful models for economic development, sustainability, and self-reliance. The training will expose participants to the range of methodologies and techniques that can help them also to deliver the VSLA training in a participatory manner with high-impact and memorable learning experience.

  Major objectives:

• To deliver comprehensive VSLA training to Field Program Staff.
• To coordinate and oversee the implementation of VSLA modules in VSLA groups and among participants.
• To conduct regular monitoring visits to assess progress and report to the Country Office.

Specific objectives

• To build capacity of project team on the concept of VSLAs to increase economic and financial resilience through changes in the financial capabilities of households, especially changes in income and assets.
• To orient the project team and ToTs on community mobilization to raise awareness on culture of savings, the establishment of VSLAs, management of VSLA, record keeping of VSLA and external partnership of VSLA.
• To map-out of available micro financial institution streams within targeted communities
• To orient the trained ToTs on specific business plans development by VSLA.
• Develop VSLA performance indicators leading to the graduation and linked to microfinance institutions.

3. Scope of work

This consultancy involves training of 54 participants including mentors   and project benefici by focusing on the following key areas:

• How to improve communities’ behaviour and attitude towards savings, loans and income generation activities for improved wellbeing and coping to economic crises and disaster
• The concept of establishing communities’ groups and introduction of VSLA
• VSLA Management structures and gender composition.
• Recording keeping for better management of the VSLA.
• Entrepreneurship, Loan application and recovery processes.
• External liaison, partnership and tapping available funding streams.

4. Methodology

The consultant is expected to develop a detailed training methodology based on their understanding of the terms of reference. The final training methodology and training methodology shall be agreed upon between the consultant and the Stichting Brac International Rwanda, the methodology should be focusing on designing training module and pictorial document to facilitate the delivery in VSLAs including field organizational activities.

5. Consultancy assignment deliverables

Following are the expected key tasks for this consultancy assignment.

• Develop training module outline and contents of the Training of Trainers
• Develop pictorial document to guide the trained staff and mentor while delivering the sessions to the VSLA members.
• Printing, binding and deliver the training modules to the trained staff and mentors
• Prepare necessary handouts for the participants and for reproduction and distribution to participants.
• Prepare a training delivery schedule.
• Submit the final training documents (manual and power point slides, group work exercise) and for reproduction and distribution to participants.
• Prepare and submit the training reports with photographs of the participants.
• Conduct regular monitoring session and submit the reports to assess the VSLA performance indicators
• Provide refresher courses or sessions to staff, mentors and VSLA members
• Organize exhibition sessions of the products or services being run by VSLAs

6. Contract and Logistics

• The consultant will sign a contract including terms and conditions of the consultancy and payment modalities.
• The travel costs (to and from locations) as well as accommodation will be covered by the consultant
• Stichting Brac International will organize training logistics for successful training.

7. Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, business management, rural development, community development and other related disciple including, Agro-economics, agriculture, development studies, social work, development studies. Having a Master’s degree in the up mentioned field of studies will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of 5 years of proven working experience in field of livelihoods and rural development including ToT for conducting community or staff trainings with strong focus on micro-finances, entrepreneurship, small business management and empowering women and youth.
• Demonstrated extensive experience in facilitation of VSLA trainings of ToTs and building capacity of VSLAs and use of participatory and adult learning techniques.
• Proof of having the conducted the similar assignment.
• Good knowledge and understanding of gender equality issues and promoting women’s empowerment.
• Demonstrated excellent presentation and communication skills; good report writing skills.
• Fluent in English and Kinyarwanda is an asset. 

8. Documents Required

All interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit the following documents

1. Summarized technical and financial proposal, not longer than 7 pages. The technical proposal that includes training calendar, a budget outlining the financial requirements for the assignment, including fees, travel, and accommodation, should be submitted as part of the proposal, methodology to be used.
2. Proof of having done the similar assignment
3. Academic qualification in relation with the field of studies as mentioned in this ToR.
4. Registered company or local development organization should submit RDB certificate, RRA document testifying the payment of taxes
5. The email subject line should indicate “BID FOR VSLA TOT CONSULTANCY” addressed to anaise.nahayo@brac.net and copy jeanbaptiste.nkurunziza@brac.net
6. Letter of interest explaining why they are the most suitable candidates for the assignment.
7. Copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV).

Note: The deadline to submit the proposal and other related documents is on 4^th January 2024 at 05:00 pm.