Consultancy on curriculum design of the regional women’s leadership institute and regional STEM skills accelerator institute. reference no. zm-COMESA -544687-cs-qcbs.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) received a grant from the World Bank towards the implementation of the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) program and intends to apply part of the proceeds towards the provision of consultancy services on curriculum design of the regional women’s leadership institute and regional STEM skills accelerator institute. ASCENT COMESA Project Implementation Unit (PIU) captures among the Project key actions the capacity building of women’s leadership skills and increased participation of females in the energy sector. The realisation of this result is earmarked to be attained through implementation of regional STEM Skills Accelerator Institute and regional Women’s leadership Institute, as critical pathways through which the gender gaps in leadership and increased visibility in STEM related fields will be ably secured. The Leadership capacity building and STEM related participation will be implemented by creating pivotal partnerships with robust and impactful institutions at regional level, institutions with pre-existing curricula and programmes with similar areas of focus of the Institutes’ objective. The partnership will equally entail possible expansion of current scope of the capacity building initiatives conducted and modalities for STEM participation by identified partner institutions, to enable the evidence-based findings of the planned Consultancy to be incorporated in the curricula and programmes designed. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMEN The objective of the consultancy is to develop a foundational curriculum for the regional STEM Skills Accelerator Institute and the regional Women’s Leadership Institute for females in the energy sector in the Eastern and Southern Africa. The goal is to support specialised and technical skills development of women leadership in the sector, as well as females with STEM backgrounds who face challenges transitioning from graduation to entering the AFE energy sector. The core focus being to close the STEM skills gap females encounter in the energy sector. The consultant will also support other areas of capacity building as deemed necessary by the PIU. While the institute will be outsourced, it is important that the curriculum aligns with the objectives of the ASCENT Project to ensure full participation of females in the AFE energy sector. Consultancy will entail undertaking the tasks outlined below: Conduct a Regional Assessment of Skill Gaps Develop the Blueprint for the Design of the Institutes: Establish a Programme Framework Collaborate with Stakeholders Develop a Pilot Programme for Bridging Skills Gaps Map potential regional professional training centres and academic institutions to partner for the Leadership Institute and STEM Skills Accelerator Institute Resource Allocation Planning Full detailed TORs may be downloaded in English from the following link:https://www.comesa.int/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ASCENT-Leadership-and-STEM-Skills-Capacity-Building-TORs.docx Or can be obtained from the COMESA Secretariat on request using the email provided below: Attn: Mr. Silver Mwesigwa Head of Procurement Email:procurement@comesa.int Click on the links below for more details. EXPRESSION OF INTEREST – STEM SKILLS CAPACITY BUILDING ASCENT Leadership and STEM Skills Capacity Building TORs