Consultancy for iAccelerator Exit Strategy

Purpose of consultancy:

The UNFPA Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (ESARO) has committed to fostering innovation and creativity and encouraging the adoption of innovative approaches. Recognizing the latent potential for innovation within the organization and the key role that investing in youth and cultivating new partnerships plays in innovation, ESARO with funds from DFID recently developed a programme called "Preventing Maternal Death in East and Southern Africa” (“PreMDESA”). The PreMDESA programme includes in its objectives:
• brokerage, development and support of strategic results-oriented partnerships that contribute towards achieving an increase in the availability of robust evidence and proven innovation relating to SRH and the improved awareness of, access to and uptake of family planning and SRH services across the ESA region, with a focus on women and adolescent girls.
• generation and increased availability of up to date, robust evidence and innovation in the ESA region to inform design, planning, scale up and delivery of quality SRH, MNH and FP services or women and youth.
As part of PreMDESA, ESARO launched an initiative called Innovation Accelerator (“iAccelerator”): a mentorship-driven accelerator program supporting young entrepreneurs with seed funding, training and skills development to generate innovative, business-oriented solutions in response to challenges related to Sexual and Reproductive Health services, sexuality education, family planning, maternal health and other population development issues in line with UNFPA's mandate.
With 5 accelerator cycles in 4 countries expected to be completed by September 2017 and the first phase of the initiative coming to an end in October 2017, the initiative is now at a crossroads. To ensure continued support, UNFPA needs to capitalize on the lessons learnt from implementation as well as draw on the experience of other successful innovation entities and draft a strategy that allows it to create impactful returns for potential future donors to the program. The purpose of the consultancy is therefore to develop an Exit Strategy for the iAccelerator that will lay the groundwork for UNFPA to sustain the Innovation Accelerator funding and operations beyond October 2017, when existing funding ends.

Scope of work

The objective of the consultancy is to develop a strategy document providing actionable recommendations in response to the following questions:
1. How and in what ways can UNFPA (at country, regional, and HQ level) access resources to conduct more iAccelerator cycles in more countries in East and Southern Africa?
2. Which stakeholders should UNFPA engage in partnerships in order to most effectively scale up the Innovation Accelerator and with what specific stakeholder engagement framework?
The consultant will conduct a review of what other accelerators have pursued to achieve sustainability, then recommend a best option for UNFPA followed-on by the list of optimal partners and funders to engage. The consultant will then set out an approach to engaging, soliciting and concluding the selected exit strategy (including a draft of potential partnership agreement).

Activities
Specific activities will include:
1. Interviews with UNFPA stakeholders involved in the initiative, including iAccelerator teams in UNFPA ESARO, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, local implementing partners and accelerated startups;
2. Interviews with external stakeholders involved in the initiative (list and contacts to be provided by UNFPA);
3. Review of project documentation including lessons learnt and project reports;
4. Mapping of initiatives similar to the iAccelerator, optimal partners and potential funders - scope is global, with main focus on entities operating in East and Southern Africa;
5. Writing of the Exit Strategy report;
6. As an annex to the Exit Strategy, set out an approach to engaging, soliciting and concluding the selected exit strategy (including a draft of potential partnership agreement);
7. Presentation of the report to UNFPA stakeholders, 2 rounds of feedback with integration of feedback into final report.
Further assistance may be required by UNFPA in terms of making introductions with potential donors and partners.

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

Education:   Master’s degree in economics, business studies, social or political science, or related discipline is required.

Experience / Expertise:

• 14 years of professional experience in business development is required, preferably in managing business incubators/accelerators;
• Recent involvement in an entity operating in the area of social innovation in the ESA region would be a strong asset;
• Experience and knowledge of social development and/or health fields in the ESA region would be an asset;
• Work experience for a UN or international organization would be an asset;
• Experience in Public Health would be an asset;

Skills

• Fluency in English; Strong writing, analytical and synthesizing skills.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the applicant’s qualifications and financial proposal.

How to Apply:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply by 20 August 2017 by sending an email to Davide Piga (piga@unfpa.org) with Subject “Application for iAccelerator Exit Strategy consultancy”. The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and including detailed availability over the working period (maximum 2 pages);
• Recent CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees;

The consultancy will be home based. Fees will be based on qualifications and the level of experience.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.