Purpose and Objectives

The primary objective of this consultancy is to contribute to the overall goal of the ACT Project by providing specialized expertise in understanding the business development ecosystems in Kenya and Malawi that serve and have the potential to serve the childcare sector and developing targeted gender-transformative and inclusive capacity-strengthening solutions for BDS Providers (BDSPs). Specifically, the consultant will:

Map the BDS Ecosystem: Map the key BDSPs in Kenya and Malawi to understand their offerings within the paid childcare sector. The goal is to conduct a needs assessment to pinpoint the specific business, finance, and entrepreneurship skill gaps of women childcare providers, aligning with the ACT Project's objectives.

Review Existing BDS Approaches: Analyze current training materials and methodologies used by BDSPs, assessing their relevance and effectiveness for childcare businesses and their responsiveness to gender equality considerations, inclusive language, and persons with various disabilities, to inform the ACT Project's interventions.

Develop BDS Capacity Strengthening Approach: Design a practical and actionable capacity-strengthening framework for BDSPs, enabling them to effectively tailor their services for childcare entrepreneurs in a gender-responsive and context-relevant manner. Advise on specific capacity strengthening strategies and mechanisms through which the ACT project can engage with BDSPs.

Support Matching Grant Program Design: Provide technical support to WUSC staff in the design of a small inclusive granting program intended to directly support the growth and sustainability of childcare businesses, ensuring equitable access and benefit for women entrepreneurs under the ACT Project.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for undertaking the following tasks, primarily through a desk review, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs).

BDS Ecosystem Mapping (Kenya & Malawi)

Desk Review: Building upon existing information provided by the ACT team, conduct a thorough review of existing literature, reports, government policies, and data related to the paid childcare sector in Kenya and Malawi, explicitly looking for gender-disaggregated data and analyses where available, relevant to the ACT Project's scope.

Stakeholder Identification: Identify and categorize key actors in the childcare ecosystem, including government ministries (e.g., social services, education, health, legal), regulatory bodies, industry associations, NGOs/INGOs, financial institutions, existing BDSPs, and representative groups (both national and international, WROs, including those addressing disability, GBV,  psychosocial support services, and safeguarding issues) of childcare business owners, noting the gender composition of these groups and their influence. Also, identify the representation of diverse women's voices, particularly those from marginalized groups or individuals with various disabilities, youth, formal and informal, etc. Map key BDS ecosystem actors serving clients in the paid care sector in Kenya and Malawi.

Needs Assessment, Challenges and Opportunities Analysis: Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to identify business, finance, and entrepreneurship skill gaps and training needs among women paid childcare providers in both countries, building on existing findings. Document the key challenges faced by childcare businesses (e.g., funding access, licensing, infrastructure, qualified staff, market demand, training opportunities, communication, intersectional arrears such as structural inequalities, cultural and social norms that reinforce gender stereotypes, women's participation and agency such as leadership roles, decision-making opportunities, process, and representation of various groups, other skills such as communication, negotiation), and specifically identify those challenges that disproportionately affect women childcare providers. Simultaneously, identify opportunities for growth and innovation that can promote gender equality and inclusion.

Regulatory Framework Review: Summarize the key legal and regulatory requirements for establishing and operating childcare businesses in both countries, assessing their gender responsiveness and inclusivity.

Review of Existing BDS Training Materials and Approaches

Data Collection and Analysis: Gather and review existing training modules, curricula, and methodologies currently employed by BDSPs relevant to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya and Malawi. Identify and review, as much as possible, materials that have been explicitly created for childcare providers. Assess their inclusivity and responsiveness to gender equality (covering unconscious bias, disability inclusion, and intersectional approaches to BDS) and their use of gender-responsive approaches, including language to training and capacity strengthening.

Gap Analysis: Assess the extent to which these existing materials and approaches address the specific business development needs of childcare providers - whether training methods are accessible and inclusive for caregivers with varying literacy levels, educational backgrounds, or limited digital literacy, and childcare providers with disabilities. Assess crucially, how well the materials integrate gender-sensitive and inclusive content and methodologies – including whether they have strategies to measure changes in gender norms, attitudes, and behaviors within capacity-strengthening activities. Identify critical gaps and areas requiring adaptation or new content to promote gender equality for the ACT Project.

Good Practices Identification & Material Adaptation for Financial Literacy: Research and document international and regional good practices in BDS specifically tailored for the childcare sector or similar social enterprises, with a strong focus on those that effectively promote gender equality, inclusion, and women's economic empowerment. Adapt existing financial literacy materials to be culturally and contextually appropriate for women's groups operating within the paid childcare sector in Kenya and Malawi.

Development of Capacity Strengthening Approach for BDSPs

Capacity Strengthening Framework Development: Based on the ecosystem mapping and gap analysis, and in consultation with BDSPs, develop a comprehensive capacity-strengthening framework for BDSPs that is inherently gender-responsive. This should include:

Modules on the unique business aspects of childcare (e.g., legal compliance, health and safety, pedagogy basics, specialized marketing), framed through a gender and inclusion lens.

Guidance on financial models and funding access specific to childcare, with strategies to ensure equitable access for women entrepreneurs.

Concrete recommendations on the subject matter of training materials for integration into the broader paid childcare framework (as developed under related initiatives in 1120).

Strategies for BDSPs to effectively engage with, identify, and support childcare entrepreneurs, recognizing and addressing gender-specific barriers and opportunities.

Specific modules on gender equality and mainstreaming gender, equity, and inclusion into BDS service delivery.

Integration of an ECC lens, incorporating sensitization on potential environmental impacts of business operations, as well as corresponding mitigation strategies, and potential for integration of positive and culturally appropriate environmental activities in business models.

Training Methodology: Propose appropriate adult learning methodologies and tools for delivering the capacity building to BDSPs (e.g., workshops, mentorship, peer learning, digital resources), ensuring they are inclusive and conducive to learning for diverse groups, including women. Propose recommendations for enhancing the service offerings of BDS ecosystem actors to better serve women paid childcare providers.

Capacity Strengthening and Sensitization of BDS Actors: Sensitize BDS actors in Kenya and Malawi to tailor their existing training materials and delivery approaches to be gender-responsive, specifically addressing the unique contexts and needs of women childcare providers.

Pilot Plan: Suggest a phased approach for piloting and refining the developed capacity-strengthening modules, with indicators for assessing gender equality outcomes, under the guidance of the ACT Project. Co-design with ecosystem actors, the process focused on ensuring alignment between business models and incentives and the proposed grant activities.

Support for Small Matching Grant Program Design

Needs Assessment Input: Provide insights into the financial needs and services, and common investment areas for childcare businesses, specifically identifying how these needs might differ for women-led businesses - addressing intersectionality and inclusion of marginalized groups within the childcare sector, based on the ecosystem mapping.

Eligibility Criteria Input: Contribute to the development of a comprehensive, practical, impactful, and gender-equitable and inclusive eligibility criteria and a robust selection process for the small matching grant program/fund in Kenya, ensuring it proactively addresses potential barriers for women childcare providers – with clear provisions to support applications from marginalized groups of women caregivers, and promotes their access, as aligned with the ACT Project's goals. Tailor the matching grant criteria and process specifically for Malawi, leveraging findings from the BDS ecosystem mapping and needs assessment. Propose gender-responsive indicators to assess the impact of the grants on economic empowerment and the reduction of gender gaps.

Grant Utilization Guidance: Suggest potential areas where small matching grants could have the most significant impact on childcare business growth, with a focus on how these investments can contribute to women's economic empowerment and gender equality (e.g., facility upgrades that improve safety for children and staff, equipment, training, licensing fees, improved quality, and accountability systems). All recommendations should be supported by data disaggregated by gender and other relevant intersectional factors to ensure that impacts on diverse groups, especially women, youth, and marginalized populations, are clearly understood and addressed.

Fund Promotion and Awarding: In collaboration with the WUSC team, promote the matching grant fund to attract suitable applicants among BDSPs both in Kenya and in Malawi. Invite applications and conduct a rigorous evaluation process to select and award grants to successful BDSPs whose proposals align with the objective of developing and expanding innovative, gender-responsive business services and models for women paid childcare providers (2 in Kenya and 1 in Malawi).

Timeframe and level of effort

The period of the contract is expected to be from 25th September 2025 to 31st March 2026. The consultant/consultancy firm is expected to carry out all the preparation required to roll out the study as per the suggested time frame . Dates will be reviewed and finalized during the inception meeting.

 Deliverables

The consultant/consultancy firm will be expected to deliver the following:

Inception Report: Detailing the consultant's understanding of the ToR, proposed methodology, work plan, and timeline, with an explicit section on how gender equality and inclusion (with an intersectional analysis on how gender intersects with disability, age, socio-economic status, ethnicity, region, religion, and other factors, mapping the voice and influence of women-led childcare associations and informal groups) will be integrated into each phase, reflecting the ACT Project's commitment.

BDS Ecosystem Mapping Report: A comprehensive report outlining the findings from Task 3.1, including a dedicated section on gender-specific challenges, opportunities, and dynamics within the childcare sector, contributing to the ACT Project's knowledge base; and a section detailing BDS ecosystem mapping and needs assessment findings for women childcare providers in Kenya and Malawi.

BDS Training Materials and Approaches Review Report: A detailed analysis of the adapted BDS/ financial literacy materials and a gap analysis for women's groups in the paid childcare sector, as per Task 3.2, with clear recommendations for gender-responsive and inclusive training materials adaptations for the ACT Project (Kenya and Malawi versions).

BDS Capacity Strengthening Framework: A fully developed capacity strengthening framework for BDSPs, explicitly designed to be gender-responsive, including detailed module outlines, learning objectives, and proposed methodologies (adapted for in-person or virtual delivery) for the ACT Project. Prepare documentation of sensitization workshops conducted for BDS actors (including participant lists and workshop content/feedback) – as per Task 3.3.

Input and Recommendations for Small Matching Grant Program Design: Specific recommendations and contributions to the design document for the small matching grant program, ensuring a strong focus on gender-equitable access and impact, for the ACT Project. Co-develop with WUSC the matching grant criteria and selection process documentation (Kenya and Malawi versions), and develop the promotional materials for the matching grant fund (Task 3.4).

Final Consultancy Report: A consolidated report summarizing all activities undertaken, key findings (including but not limited to matching grant applications received and a list of awarded BDSPs), recommendations, and lessons learned, with a dedicated section reflecting on the integration of gender equality and inclusion throughout the consultancy.

Reporting and Communication

The consultant will report directly to the Project Director with technical assistance from the Market Systems Advisor for the ACT Project at WUSC. Regular communication will be maintained through weekly/biweekly virtual check-ins and ad-hoc meetings as required. All deliverables will be submitted in English, in both editable electronic formats (e.g., MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and PDF.

Consultant Qualifications

The ideal consultant/consultancy firm will possess the following qualifications:

Education: The lead consultant should possess at least a Master's degree in Business Administration, International Development, Social Sciences, Education, Public Policy, Gender Studies, or a related field. A Bachelor's degree with extensive relevant experience may be considered.

Experience:

Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in business development, SME support, capacity strengthening or related fields.

Demonstrated experience in working on projects related to the childcare sector, early childhood development, or social enterprises is highly desirable.

Proven experience in conducting ecosystem mapping, needs assessments, or program design, particularly in developing country contexts.

Demonstrated experience in gender analysis with competence in intersectional approaches and inclusive methodologies, gender mainstreaming, or developing gender-responsive programs and training materials.

Experience working in or with knowledge of the East African context, specifically Kenya and Malawi, is a significant advantage.

Experience in developing and adapting training curricula/frameworks, and delivering capacity-building programs.

Experience in designing, promoting, and managing grant funds or similar financial mechanisms.

Experience working with marginalized or vulnerable populations, equity-deserving groups is desirable.