Job Detail

Overall objective of the market assessment:

The overall objective of the market assessment will be to investigate the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) services markets to identify the needs, demands and market capacity for SME activities in Injill and Zindajan districts of Herat province and Lal Wa Sare Jingal district of Ghor province. Subsequently the results will be used to inform specific, relevant, updated, detailed and reliable advice as to which areas of business the MHIP beneficiaries should serve.

Specific objectives of the market assessment:

1. Evaluate the SME landscape within the area of coverage and profile SME activity. 
2. Investigate the availability of trade unions and the level of participation of SMEs. 
3. Define the SME financing market size in the project area. Research the economically feasible sectors and sub-sectors within the Project area e.g. manufacturing, agriculture and agricultural processing, wholesale and retail trade, and service industries etc. Identify those sectors and sub-sectors with higher growth potential and with a clear definition of level of SME participation. Map out the current geographic and sectoral distribution of SMEs within the project area. 
4. Determine the level of access to financial services for SMEs in the Project area. Assess the standard procedures financial institutions apply to identify SME clients, profile and classify these clients, identify risks in these enterprises and develop tools and strategies to address SME needs and financing risks.
5. Evaluate the business development services environment for SMEs within the Project area.  Profile business development services tailored for SMEs, their location, coverage, structure, service offering, processes, capacity and charges.  
6. Identify any business networking events for SMEs within the Project area such as trade fairs, exhibitions, workshops etc. This includes describing the target sectors, event frequency, event coverage, participation requirements etc.

Stakeholders relevant to the market assessment:

• People with psychosocial disability.
• Families of people with psychosocial disability.
• Shura and community leaders.
• Services providers and NGOs.
• Department of labor and social affairs.
• Shura structures and other key community leaders. 
• Small business enterpriser, whole sealers, and traders.

Methodology:

IAM anticipate that the detailed methodology to be developed by the consultant at the startup of the work. At this stage the methodology includes but not limited to:

• Literature review
• Field visit to the project locations (discussion with field staff, FGD and or individual interview with Shura, beneficiaries, services providers and other relevant actors).
• Preliminary finding sharing with IAM team
• Feedback from IAM team
• Share final report after completion of deliverables as stated in this contract.