Business Development Consultant - DREEM Project, Dzaleka

About the role

WUSC (World University Service of Canada) is calling for proposals for a consultancy to provide business development services under the DREEM project in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Malawi. The DREEM project is a five-year pan-African initiative with Mastercard Foundation and partners, supporting refugee and displaced youth through grants and technical assistance. The assignment runs for about 20 working days over 3 to 4 months, reports to the RLO Opportunity Fund Manager at WUSC Kenya and works with partner RLOs. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Key responsibilities

• Market systems analysis: identify legal and policy barriers, access to inputs, markets, finance and skills, and barriers for young women and youth with disabilities.
• Identify viable sectors and value chains, and map financial service providers (MFIs, SACCOs, VSLAs, mobile money, impact investors) with practical pathways to link youth enterprises to them.
• Review RLO entrepreneurship curricula and incubation models, recommend changes and draft revised materials.
• Train RLO staff to map and engage local market actors and to continue enterprise support after the assignment.
• Produce an inception report, market diagnosis, enterprise growth model, curriculum revisions, a ToT session for RLO staff and a final report with recommendations for sustainability.

Required profile

• Based in Malawi, with good knowledge of refugee and displacement issues, ideally in Dzaleka.
• Degree in economics, business, development studies or a related field, or equivalent.
• At least 3 years' experience in economic development or inclusion, preferably with refugees and displaced persons.
• Experience designing business development support and incubation models, and in market systems or value chain analysis.
• Experience linking micro-enterprises to financial services; fluency in English.

Preferred

• Refugee-led firms naming a lead consultant, with experience working with RLOs.
• Experience applying gender and disability inclusion in enterprise programming.
• Reasonable use of AI, with reference to where and how it was used.