Description

This contract focuses on the evaluation of a project designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in rural and handicraft sectors. These businesses face significant barriers to accessing capital, often due to weak financial management practices, exposure to natural disasters and crises, and low productivity and competitiveness. The evaluation aims to generate actionable insights to improve private sector development strategies, enhance SME resilience, and increase their contribution to job creation and local economic growth. JESCA Solutions applies a management consulting and market research lens to assess the effectiveness of the intervention, understand the broader enabling environment, and support evidence-based decision-making to strengthen business ecosystems in vulnerable regions.

Activities

• Conducted a comprehensive performance evaluation to measure project achievements against expected outcomes, accounting for contextual factors
• Assessed the coherence and operational logic of the program’s intervention model, including delivery mechanisms and stakeholder engagement
• Applied management consulting approaches to analyze SME capacity constraints, market barriers, and financing gaps
• Integrated market research techniques to evaluate business performance, productivity levels, and resilience to shocks
• Engaged local private sector actors, beneficiaries, and implementing partners to gather feedback and qualitative insights
• Identified lessons learned across all project components and provided strategic recommendations for future SME development programming
• Delivered an evaluation report highlighting opportunities to improve financial governance, market competitiveness, and inclusive economic growth through targeted support to rural and vulnerable enterprises