Result of Service

Through the deliverables, the Consultant’s work will contribute to:

Strengthened regional collaboration in digital trade and financing policies affecting W-SMEs
Improved alignment of national policies with AfCFTA digital trade objectives The consultancy will produce actionable policy measures to support women-owned SMEs’ participation in digital markets and regional value chains.

Work Location

North Africa

Expected duration

9 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities: ECA’s mission is to deliver ideas and actions for an empowered and transformed Africa, informed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union's Agenda 2063. The Commission supports member States in advancing economic diversification, regional integration, digital transformation, and inclusive development, with particular attention to gender equality and youth empowerment. The Subregional Office for North Africa (SRO-NA), based in Rabat, serves seven member States in North Africa and supports them in strengthening macroeconomic management, promoting employment creation, enhancing regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and advancing digital transformation policies. Within this mandate, SRO-NA is implementing the Development Account Tranche 18 (DA-18) project entitled “Enhancing the digital capacity of women-owned micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa.” The project aims to strengthen the digital and financial capabilities of women-owned SMEs (W-SMEs) and enhance policymakers’ capacity to design inclusive digital trade policies aligned with AfCFTA objectives. In this context, the Regional Consultant will provide national, cross-country, and regional technical support for the project's implementation, ensuring coherence, quality, and alignment across Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, and Tunisia. Background and rationale for support The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a significant opportunity to enhance intra-African trade, strengthen regional value chains, and promote economic diversification. The effective participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly women-owned SMEs (W-SMEs), is essential to ensuring that the benefits of the AfCFTA are inclusive and sustainable. In North Africa, W-SMEs continue to face structural barriers that limit their productivity and competitiveness. These include limited access to finance, low digital adoption, regulatory constraints affecting e-commerce and digital payments, and insufficient integration into regional markets. Persistent gender gaps in financial inclusion and digital access further restrict women entrepreneurs’ ability to leverage digital trade opportunities. While Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, and Tunisia have undertaken reforms to strengthen digital transformation and SME development, gaps remain in aligning national policy frameworks with the AfCFTA's inclusive digital trade objectives. Context-specific analysis and policy support are required to translate commitments into actionable reforms that address the needs of women entrepreneurs. In this context, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Subregional Office for North Africa, is implementing the Development Account Tranche 18 (DA-18) project on enhancing the digital capacity of women-owned SMEs. Engaging a Regional Consultant is critical to ensuring consistency in technical approaches, facilitating cross-country learning, supporting the development of regional knowledge tools, and strengthening alignment with AfCFTA digital trade objectives. Scope and tasks of work Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and the overall supervision of the Director of SRO-NA, the Regional Consultant will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the digital and financial inclusion gaps affecting women-owned SMEs in one of the project’s focus countries. The consultant will support the organization and delivery of the National Stakeholders Workshop in the selected focus country, which will serve as the official national-level launch of the project. For the same country, the consultant will develop a Country Module on the Institutional and Regulatory Ecosystem for Digital Trade and Digital Finance, accessible to W-SMEs with disabilities. The module will equip women-owned SMEs with the knowledge needed to understand and navigate the country’s institutional, regulatory, financial, and business support ecosystem related to digital trade, fintech solutions, and digital finance. Based on the assessment findings, the consultant will prepare a country-specific policy paper that includes actionable recommendations and an implementation plan to support policymakers in designing and implementing inclusive, gender-responsive digital trade policies. The regional consultant shall develop training materials on digital trade, fintech solutions, and digital financing instruments for women-owned SMEs for Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, and Tunisia. This includes adapting the materials for W-SMEs with disabilities. The consultant will deliver the capacity-building workshops and undertake a survey to assess the knowledge acquired. The consultant will also prepare a draft country-specific policy paper to support policymakers in designing and implementing inclusive, gender-responsive digital trade policies enabling women-owned SMEs to enhance their digital and financial capabilities and productivity. The regional consultant will carry on the work in collaboration with 3 national consultants. Anticipated deliverables and implementation schedule 1. National Diagnostic Report on digital and financial inclusion gaps and the digital trade policy environment in one of the countries of focus 2. Country Module on the Institutional and Regulatory Ecosystem for Digital Trade and Digital Finance (relative to the country of focus) 3. Training materials on digital trade, fintech, and digital finance for women-owned SMEs for the four countries 4. Four capacity-building workshops delivered, results of the pre-and post-training surveys and workshop reports submitted 5. Country-specific policy papers with gender-responsive digital trade recommendations and an implementation action plan. 6. National validation workshops conducted and validated policy papers submitted incorporating stakeholder feedback

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, trade, digital economy, business administration or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in a combination of additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the master's degree. A PhD in a relevant discipline would be an advantage A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in SME development, trade policy, or related fields is required Proven experience in facilitating stakeholder consultations and delivering capacity-building workshops is required Demonstrated expertise in policy analysis, digital trade, and fintech with knowledge of AfCFTA-related processes is desirable Experience working with government institutions, ministries, regulatory bodies, and/or international organizations is desirable. Demonstrated ability to integrate considerations of gender equality and women's economic empowerment into economic, trade, or policy analysis will be an advantage

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this consultancy, Fluency in French and Arabic are required. Working knowledge of English is an advantage

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

Enhancing Digital and Financial Capacity of Women-Owned SMEs (Regional Consultant)