Research Consultant: Opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the context of African Continental Free Trade Area

Location : Home-based with possible travel, KENYA
Application Deadline : 31-Aug-18 (Midnight New York, USA)
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level : International Consultant
Languages Required :English
Expected Duration of Assignment : 25 working days

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The signing of the African Continental Free Trade area (AfCFTA) at the 10th Extra Ordinary Summit of the African Union is a great milestone in pursuance of an integrated and inclusive economic growth in Africa. A truly integrated and inclusive economic growth in Africa is one that addresses inequalities in all its forms especially gender inequality. It is therefore important to engage, understand and establish, from the onset on what the AfCFTA means for women’s trade, their participation in public procurement and value chains and the potential it holds and the contributions that women can make in fostering the aim and objectives of the AfCFTA.

The contribution of women towards socio-economic growth in Africa has been well documented and widely acknowledged. It is almost impossible to implement effective programmes of any framework in Africa without the full participation of women. Women in Africa have a head start in tapping into the AfCFTA for their increased economic empowerment as they currently play an important role in cross border trade through informal and small-scale level activities. There is a danger, however, that the AU’s priorities through the AfCFTA will focus on the activities of large multinational firms and their subsidiaries leaving out the domain where women are traditionally important.

Trade and regional integration are topical issues on Africa’s development agenda and have been selected as the theme for the AEC 2018. Also, trade and regional integration are key pillars for structural transformation and industrialization and important for the realization of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030.

Against this backdrop UN Women, in collaboration with the AU and COMESA will undertake the study on “Opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the context of African Continental Free Trade Area.”

Exploring the opportunities for women in the AfCFTA will focus on three of UN Women’s areas of interest for women’s improved participation in trade. These include:

• Women informal cross border trade;
• Affirmative/preferential public procurement for women’s increased participation in trade;
• Gender and Value Chain Analysis.

The objectives of the study include:

• To explore cases of women who are breaking through and participating in export trade in the context of regional integration (for example, within COMESA) and document the gender dimension of trade and regional integration and their implications for women’s participation in the AfCFTA;
• To assess the opportunities and challenges for women businesses focusing on women who are doing business at the sub and regional level (women informal cross border traders) to address the issue of economic integration etc in the context of the AfCFTA;
• To explore ways of improving regional integration frameworks that promote women’s participation in cross border trade and how public procurement policies can be balanced to protect them while providing more opportunities at the same time;
• To assess the potential influence of RECs and RMC Government to support WICBT;
• To propose possible interventions that could have a negative effect on women’s productive participation in the value chain component and alternate solutions for this;
• To propose concrete guiding principles for the integration of gender concerns into selected value chain development projects and programmes;
• To explore the nexus between trade policy and the emerging affirmative procurement regimes in selected countries in Africa: Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda;
• To review case studies of unlocking public procurement for businesses owned by women by exploring the linkages between public procurement and trade.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will undertake a desk review combined with key informant interviews and a set of case studies to review good and bad practices to produce a research paper looking at opportunities for women entrepreneurs in a few countries in the East and Southern Africa region and their impact on gender inequality. The consultant will:

• Analyze the literature that exist in the region on gender, trade, affirmative procurement and value chains;
• Analyze and document the interlinkages between trade, public procurement, value chains and gender inequality;
• Based on the work done in the Region so far develop criteria for country selection for the study;
• Examine correlation between continental free trade area and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in selected countries while assessing the potentail for women cross-border traders;
• Establish a set of recommendations to inform policy discussions on gender and trade and specifically in the context of AfCFTA.

Research questions to be addressed include:

• What are the interlinkages between trade, public procurement, value chains and gender inequality?
• What are the main challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the context of AfCFTA?
• What are the potential ways of improving regional integration frameworks?
• What are the potential ways of integrating gender concerns into value chain development projects and programmes to assist women in maximizing their profitability?
• What are the emerging opportunities for businesses owned by women in the context of preferential procurement schemes adopted in few countries in ESA Region?

The study will be widely disseminated among various stakeholders including government officials, international and national NGOs, civil-society organization and gender specialists/activists.

Deliverables:

• Inception Report establishing the methodology for the research paper and annotated outline of the paper;
• Two drafts of the research paper (one for comment, the final incorporating comments);
• PowerPoint presentation of the paper;
• Presentation of the paper on relevant forums upon request.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to synthesize information into analytical report to inform strategic decision-making and partnerships;
• Strong knowledge of International/Regional Trade;
• Strong analytical skills;
• The ability to understand and present complex issues clearly and concisely.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, economics, supply chain, demography, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development, or a related field is required.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of demonstrable experience in development area including experience at the national, regional and/or international level with proven experience working on gender-related issues, gender and macroeconomics, gender and trade and/or similar;
• Detailed knowledge of international and regional trade issues including integration frameworks. Sound understanding of public procurement principles and policies;
• Detailed knowledge of Regional Economic Communities and other bodies in African context;
• Experience in working in a diversity team is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.