Enhancing Lead Firm Structure for Youth Employment in Uganda

Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) is partnering with Mastercard Foundation to anchor the Young Africa Works strategy in Uganda. Under the Young Africa Works strategy by Mastercard Foundation, PSFU has designed and will implement the Lead Firm Structure for Youth Employment in Uganda.

CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES

Background: The Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Uganda’s apex body for the private sector in Uganda, is collaborating with Mastercard Foundation to co-implement the Young Africa Works Uganda – Enhancing the Lead Firm Structure for Youth Employment Project.

Objective: The intervention’s ultimate goal is to create dignified and fulfilling work for young women and men in Uganda. The intervention focuses on creating, maintaining and sustaining growth in job markets through strengthening the capacity of value chain actors to efficiently produce and sell their goods and services in expanded markets, developing new diversified financing mechanisms as well as growing the capacity of business leaders and their support service providers to manage and expand their enterprises.

Lead Firm Structure Approach: The Lead Firm Structure approach is anchored on organizing many value chain actors around a final buyer for their output; the Lead Firm. The LFS Approach aims to enhance linkages within the productive sectors by ensuring market focused production which is based on the requirements of a Lead Firm.

*A Lead Firm can either be an organization driven by private interests such as profit or one whose purpose is furthering shared prosperity through the promotion of private enterprise/business. 

Beneficiaries: Lead Firms that will implement projects that create work opportunities for young people in Uganda aged 18-35years; especially young women. 

Investment Size: Successful Lead Firms will be eligible to obtain cumulative co-investments of up to the value of USD 100,000 and participating MSMEs will be eligible for cumulative co-investments of up to the value of USD 4,500 within the life span of the project. Participating Households will be eligible to a cumulative contribution of up to $46 per person (maximum 2 young people).

All grants will be disbursed in local currency.

*Lead Firms and MSMEs will contribute their own resources to match PSFU’s contribution to their intervention/project. 

Targeted Sectors: The Lead Firm Structure approach will be implemented in selected high growth sectors which include;

• Agriculture (Focus will be on the following value chains but not limited to: Coffee, Cocoa Horticulture, Poultry, Cereals, Livestock, Fisheries, Apiculture and other annual crops.
• Manufacturing
• Trade and Allied Services
• Tourism
•  Construction 

Eligibility for interested Lead Firms and MSMEs:

• Be direct or indirect members of PSFU that own or control leading products and/or enjoy significant market share and growth with demonstrated need to expand operations.
• Be able to contribute their own resources (cash and/or in kind) to match PSFU’s investment to their intervention/project by at least 50% of the total investment or value of the project.
• Be duly registered and operating under the laws of Uganda.
• Be operational for a minimum of two (2) years from the time of registration.
• Be privately owned and not partially owned or controlled by Government.
• Must be operating in one of the 5 selected sectors; Agriculture, Tourism, Manufacturing, Construction, Trade and Allied Services.
• Be able to prioritize available opportunities up to a minimum of 70% for young women. 

Requirements; Applicants must submit the following:

• A well-developed detailed concept note to be submitted through the link highlighted below under the concept submission section
• Proof of annual turn-over of at least UGX100 million shillings over the past two years.
• Proof of business registration.
• Details of physical business address/location.
• Demonstration of your leadership position in your value chain. 

Application and Selection Process:

Stage 1: Submission of a detailed concept note for the project idea proposed for investment and an accompanying budget, indicating both the PSFU as well as the applicant’s contribution. Detailed concept notes will be assessed based on eligibility and overall fit for the Young Africa Works- Enhancing Lead Firm Structure for Youth Employment Project in Uganda.

Stage 2: Lead Firms whose concept notes are shortlisted will be invited to submit more details, which may include additional information, a final budget, an activity plan, an implementation plan, and a results framework.

Stage 3: PSFU Co-creation of proposals with Lead Firms.

Stage 4: Award and contracting.

Stage 5: Implementation.

*Please Note:

• Detailed Concepts Notes should be submitted together with all required documents to support the evaluation process prior to invitation to submit a proposal for the program. Lead Firms with successful and unsuccessful submissions will be duly informed within a period not exceeding three months from the deadline for submission date indicated below.
• Proposals submitted by invitation will be reviewed and developed with PSFU within a time limit not exceeding 30 days.
• Applicants may be requested to submit additional information within an agreed upon period of time during the proposal evaluation process and applicants may be disqualified if the requested additional information is not submitted within that time.
• The Lead Firm’s or MSMEs project proposal will be assessed for suitability and match with the project’s overall objective goal. Lead Firms with successful and unsuccessful submissions will be duly informed.
• Proposal approval or rejection is at the discretion of the project committee.
• Successful and unsuccessful Lead Firms will be notified accordingly about the status of their applications.

Terms and Conditions:

• Funds will be disbursed subject to the project guidelines. Lead Firms and MSMEs must be Ugandan firms, operating in the private sector.
• Concept notes submitted should be written in English.
• Any error or major discrepancy or any major inconsistency in the proposal (e.g., the amounts mentioned in the budget are inconsistent with those mentioned in the proposal) or lack of full disclosure may lead to the disqualification of the application. 

Further information and notification of award

• All requests for clarification should be sent via e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 23^rd December, 2020
• Replies to all questions will be emailed no later than 2100hrs on 30^th December, 2020.
• All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the assessment no later than 1 month from the date of acknowledgement of receipt of their applications. 

Concept Note Submission:

The deadline for the submission of Concept notes is 12^th January 2021 at 9:00am East African Time (EAT). Please indicate the sector for which you are submitting the detailed concept note for e.g. Lead Firm Structure-Manufacturing or MSME-manufacturing

In order to submit your application, please follow the link below https://webportalapp.com/sp/workflow/lead_firms_msmes_apps

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax, email or by hard copy/paper version) will be rejected.

The Intervention’s ultimate goal is to create dignified and fulfilling work for young women and men in Uganda.

The intervention focuses on creating, maintaining and sustaining growth in job markets through strengthening the capacity of value chain actors to efficiently produce and sell their goods and services in expanded markets, developing new diversified financing mechanisms as well as growing the capacity of business leaders and their support service providers to manage and expand their enterprises.

The Lead Firm Structure approach is anchored on organizing many value chain actors around a final buyer of their output; the Lead Firm. A Lead Firm can either be an organisation driven by private interests such as profit or whose purpose is furthering shared prosperity through promotion of private enterprise/business.

• Agriculture
• Manufacturing
• Trade and Allied Services
• Tourism
• Construction

• Improve the technical and enterprise capacity of households under guidance of the Lead Firm.
• Increase capacity of MSMEs and Lead Firms to improve production and efficiency.
• Increase capacity of Lead Firms to access additional markets for the increased production.
• Increase management and technical capacity of MSME and business leaders.
• Address ecosystem policy challenges to ensure an investment-friendly environment.

• Optimise linkages for mutual benefit of value chain actors.
• Policy Advocacy and Engagement.
• Expansion of Lead Firm supply chain.
• Capacity Building.
• Contributing to growth of incomes of households for effective demand

*Lead Firms and MSMEs will contribute at least up to 50% of their own resources to match the intervention’s contribution. Lead Firms will be PSFU members that own or control leading products and or enjoy significant market share and growth with demonstrated need to expand operations.

Applications will follow “a call for concept note submission” through a national print media publication. Eligible Lead Firms and MSMEs will be invited by PSFU executive management to submit project proposals. Applicants will be qualified or disqualified upon evaluation of proposals by PSFU executive management and board members.

For Project Inquiries:                    For Project Inquiries:                     For Project Media Inquiries:

Francis Kisirinya                               Apollo Mbazzira Muyanja                   Brenda Miriam Naledi   

Deputy Executive Director                PSFU                                               PSFU

PSFU                                               Project Director                                 Communication and PR Specialist

+256 772 438 539                        +256312263850                               +256312263850

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.       This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.     This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For more information please visit our website https://www.psfuganda.org/LeadFirmStructure

The Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper.  The Foundation’s work is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion for people living in poverty. It is one of the largest foundations in the world, and works almost exclusively in Africa.  The Mastercard Foundation was created in 2006 by Mastercard International and operates independently under the governance of its own Board of Directors.  The Foundation has hubs in Toronto, Kigali, Nairobi, and Accra. For more information and to sign up for the Foundation’s newsletter, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org. Follow the Foundation at @MastercardFdn on Twitter

Young Africa Works is the Mastercard Foundation’s strategy to enable 30 million young people, particularly young women, across Africa to access dignified and fulfilling work. Africa will be home to the world’s largest workforce, with 375 million young people entering the job market by 2030. With the right skills, these young people will contribute to Africa's global competitiveness and improve their lives and those of their communities.   

 The Mastercard Foundation will implement Young Africa Works in 10 African countries in collaboration with governments, private sector, entrepreneurs, educators, and young people.