Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights is an independent, non-governmental organization, established on October 10th, 2007, which aims to strengthen the exercise of basic rights and freedoms by all segments of society, especially marginalized groups, including working children, women, refugees, people with disabilities, and others, in accordance with national legislation and international covenants. Tamkeen specializes in working to enhance the protection of workers, whether Jordanians, migrants or refugees, as well as combating human trafficking and strengthening social protection and the rule of law.
Tamkeen works on building the capacities of governmental and non-governmental agencies, providing services and consultations to those in need, empowering them and informing them of their rights and duties, and providing specialized program in the field of human rights, women´s rights by raising public awareness about the rights and duties of all relevant parties. In addition, Tamkeen reports and studies on topics related to its specialization.
EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) in partnership with Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights, and Business Development Centre (BDC) are implementing in Jordan a second phase of program, titled “Towards stronger economic participation of women in Jordan” funded by the European Union (EU). The overall objective of the program is to promote women´s economic participation at the labour market. The project is implemented in nine areas: East Amman, Jerash, Ajloun, Irbid, Ramtha, Zarqa, Azraq City, Ain Al Basha and Karak.
Background
Business incubators and seed funds are essential components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jordan. They provide entrepreneurs with the necessary resources, support, and funding to launch and grow their businesses. In recent years, Jordan has witnessed a surge in the number of business incubators and seed funds, reflecting the growing interest and support for entrepreneurship in the country.
Business incubators in Jordan are organizations that offer a range of support services to entrepreneurs, including office space, access to networking opportunities, mentorship, training, and other resources. They aim to help entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of starting and growing a business, such as lack of capital, resources, and expertise. Examples of business incubators in Jordan include Oasis500, Endeavor Jordan, and ZINC.
Seed funds, on the other hand, are early-stage investment funds that provide capital to entrepreneurs to help them start and grow their businesses. These funds typically invest in startups in exchange for equity in the company. In Jordan, there are several seed funds, including Silicon Badia, Accelerator Technology Holdings, and Seedstars.
The Jordanian government has also played a significant role in promoting entrepreneurship and supporting business incubators and seed funds. In 2013, the government launched the Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF), which is a $98 million fund aimed at investing in innovative startups and SMEs in Jordan. The fund is managed by the Central Bank of Jordan and provides seed capital, equity funding, and debt financing to entrepreneurs.[1]
The growing interest in entrepreneurship and the support of the government and private sector have contributed to the success of business incubators and seed funds in Jordan. According to a report by MAGNiTT, a leading data platform for startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Jordan was the second-largest recipient of startup funding in the MENA region in 2020, with a total of $177 million invested in Jordanian startups.[2]
In conclusion, business incubators and seed funds have played a vital role in supporting entrepreneurship and economic development in Jordan. They provide entrepreneurs with the necessary resources, support, and funding to launch and grow their businesses, and the support of the government and private sector has contributed to their success.
Scope of Work
Tamkeen will select 30 joint ventures and HBBs (70% led by Jordanian women and 30% by Syrians) to benefit from seed funding. Maximum amount of each funding grant is 5,000 EUR. The assessment criteria to determine successful joint projects will include, but not limited to:
- Innovation and creativity
- Ability to provide employment to women
- Feasibility and sustainability of the project
- Relevance to the needs of women and their local communities
- Effectiveness and efficiency of the project
Women applicants will be connected to microfinance organizations and start-up funds operating in Jordan, particularly those specifically working with women. Tamkeen will help applicants to design a sustainability plan for each HBB based on their profile and needs, support them to develop market linkages, and provide continuous mentorship to ensure their sustainability and outreach.
Tamkeen will establish 6 business incubators to help women either establish or expand their home-based businesses and address challenges they face during the process. The incubators will cover the rent of 6 facilities for 6 months and the cost of capacity building workshops. Women will be offered technical support and guidance from highly experienced coaches/mentors, among other services. Such incubators would help entrepreneurs to build innovative business models and establish scalable start-ups. The 6 incubators will target the selected 30 joint ventures and HBBs for seed funds, existing women-led business, in addition to women from local communities planning to establish their own business.
The 6-month business incubators will provide support to women as follows:
- Strategic Support including the registration of the business, trademark or copyrights based on the product or service type. Strategy planning for the business in terms of objectives and goals, and management of team in case of scale-up will also be offered.
- Networking activities as women build their customer base. These activities would include meetings with potential partners within the same field, expanding the women’s contacts networks to other locations across Jordan, and linkage opportunities.
- Marketing assistance for the products either through platforms or markets. Tamkeen has an MoU signed with Sharek which has a platform (Souq.jo) where women will be linked to, as well as other platforms that could display their products or services.
- Accounting and administrative services, including bookkeeping services, tax and social security consulting, payroll administration, and reconciliation services.
- Development of a professional-looking pitch deck and acquired presentation skills to showcase the projects to potential donors or microfinance funds.
The mentorship program will target the joint ventures and HBBs to build their capacities and sustain their work. Mentors will be hired to outreach interested women with project ideas, help them develop their proposals, follow up with the development of the projects, the implementation, marketing and financing. The aim is to create sustainable projects where women will have needed skills and support for 6 months to strengthen their capacities and ensure supported projects have a stronger base to continue after the end of the program. The mentors will be responsible to provide capacity building workshops and one-to-one consultations and coaching.
Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights is seeking to identify and engage experienced and knowledgeable 10 mentors for 9 months to oversee the mentorship program and provision of seed funds to women-led startups, joint ventures and HBBs. The selected mentors will provide guidance, advice, and resources to women at different stages of project development and implementation.
Objectives of the mentorship program
The main objectives of the mentorship program are:
- To provide seed funding to 30 women-led joint ventures and HBBs based on competition basis.
- To establish 6 business incubators to facilitate the growth and development of the selected women-led business.
- To provide capacity building and support to the selected women-led business to ensure their success and sustainability.
Responsibilities of the Mentors
The selected mentors will be responsible for the following tasks:
- Develop the selection criteria for the selection of women-led business to receive seed funding.
- Provide support and guidance to women to develop their own projects.
- In collaboration with Tamkeen, select the 30 women-led joint ventures and HBBs to receive seed funding, making sure 70% Jordanian and 30% Syrians are reached.
- Assist the women-led business with the development of their business plans, marketing strategies, and financial projections.
- Develop a comprehensive mentorship plan for women-led business.
- Support the establishment of the 6 business incubators in collaboration with Tamkeen team including the selection of the spaces and equipping them with what is needed for the mentorship program.
- Provide guidance and support to the women-led business throughout the incubation period.
- Conducting 12 Capacity Building workshops including proposal writing trainings and Organizing networking opportunities for the women-led business.
- Develop a professional-looking pitch deck (which will show the evolution journey that the supported women-led business went through, starting with their status prior to the mentorship program, their development throughout the program and the plans for future expansion or finalization status) to present to the Consortium team by building women’s presentation skills to convincingly showcase their projects to potential donors or microfinance funds.
- Arrange small talks and discussions with women from the local communities on issues related to establishing and supporting their own businesses or works.
- Monitoring the progress of the targeted women-led business and provide regular reports to the Tamkeen’s team.
Deliverables
The mentors will be required to deliver the following:
- Final selection of the 30 women who will receive the SEED funding.
- A comprehensive mentorship plan for the selected joint ventures and HBBs, including work plan for developing the training/workshops, including strategy and proposed methodologies, as well as quality assurance plan for the incubator and mentoring process.
- Evaluation of mentor work, based on evaluation forms prepared by mentors and filled by participant women.
- Successful facilitation of the training/workshops and capacity building trainings.
- Technical advice and support to participants in the mentorship program.
- Provide monthly reports on the progress of the work of the joint ventures and HBBs.
- Develop a final report at the end of the incubation period, including an evaluation of the success of the trainings/workshops and mentorship program.
Management and Monitoring
The mentors shall have direct communication with Tamkeen’s project team (Program manager, accountant, and M&E staff) and will provide weekly updates on the progress of the work.
Timetable
The following timetable is tentative and will be finalized upon agreement with the mentors:
| Activity | Date |
| Assessing and identifying the incubator’s potential location and preparing training materials | Mid-May 2023 |
| Conduct Trainings on writing proposals for the potential women to receive the SEED funding | End of May 2023 |
| Provide assistance in writing proposals for the potential candidates to receive the SEED funding based on competition basis | June 2023 |
| Final selection of the 30 women who will receive the SEED funding | June 2023 |
| Preparation of tailored mentorship program for the 30 selected women and women from local communities | July 2023 |
| Conduct an introductory meeting with the 30 selected women | July 2023 |
| Provide the 12 capacity building trainings and local community discussions within the mentorship program | August 2023 – January 2024 |
| Submission of the final report and conducting final meeting attended by project partners and the mentors for women who received the SEED Funding and the Incubator service to present their pitch deck which will show the evolution journey that their business went through | February 2024 |
Competencies and qualifications of the mentors
The ideal candidate for this position should have the following qualifications:
- At least 5 years of experience in business incubation, mentorship, entrepreneurship, business development, or related fields.
- Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Good understanding of the startup ecosystem and market trends in Jordan.
- A strong understanding of entrepreneurship and small business development.
- Experience in developing and executing successful business strategies.
- Experience in developing business plans and financial projections.
- Professional competency and mastery of developing and conducting trainings/workshops.
- A strong knowledge of the registration process for joint ventures and HBBs.
- A proven track record of success in mentoring startups and small businesses, especially established/led by women.
- Proven experience in writing and preparing progress reports.
Evaluation Criteria of applications
The applications for the mentorship program will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Experience and qualifications of the mentors.
- The quality and feasibility of the mentorship plan.
- The proposed budget for the mentorship program.
Submission Guidelines:
Interested candidates are requested to submit an application with the following:
- Expression of interest (EoI) outlining how the mentor meets the selection criteria and their understanding of the ToR.
- Curriculum vitae (CV) outlining relevant qualifications and experience.
- A detailed description of the intended methodology to be used for the mentorship program as well as a tentative work plan including activities and time frames.
- Names and contacts of three recent professional referees (previous experience) for whom similar work has been conducted.
- A prove of track record of success in mentoring startups and small businesses and establishing business incubators.
- Itemized financial proposal.
These files should be sent by e-mail to: (jobs@tamkeen-jo.org), with the Subject titled:
“Mentorship Program – Managing business Incubators and Providing seed funds to 30 women-led joint ventures and HBBs”
The deadline for the application is no later than April 15th, 2023.
[1] Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF). (n.d.). https://www.issfjo.com/
[2] MAGNiTT. (2021). MENA Venture Investment Report 2020. https://magnitt.com/research/mena-venture-investment-report-2020-73547