Recruitment of a specialized firm to identify, select, train and label a network of business support service providers

Support Project for the Development of Entrepreneurship in Mauritania, particularly for Women (PADEM) Recruitment of a specialized firm to identify, select, train and label a network of business support service providers Expressions of Interest No. 001/2026 1. This public call for expressions of interest follows the publication of the 2026 Procurement Plan on the websites www.marchespublics.gov.mr and www.beta.mr. 2. This Call for Expressions of Interest is addressed to: Consulting Firms and Consortium of Consulting Firms 3. In order to achieve inclusive development, the Government has made the employment sector a priority objective within its Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity Strategy (SCAPP 2017-2030). In line with the axes of the SCAPP, the ministry in charge of Employment has developed a national employment strategy (SNE) for the period 2019-2030, which was officially approved by the Government in March 2018. The SNE has defined the priority targets of the employment policy, namely women, young people (aged 15-24), and working-age individuals with only primary and secondary education. The quantitative objective set is to increase the annual number of young people placed in employment through employment programs from 20,000 in 2018 to 110,000 in 2030. Entrepreneurship is a central lever for creating jobs and supporting the employability of young people and vulnerable women. Entrepreneurship is therefore one of the solutions chosen to combat youth unemployment and contribute to the country's sustainable economic development, diversification of activities, and reduction of inequalities between territories and genders. To achieve this objective, support for the construction of a national, sustainable, and favorable ecosystem for the creation of activities, anchored in the territories, is necessary. Furthermore, the National Strategy for the Promotion of Micro and Small Enterprises for the period 2015-2019 highlighted the need to establish a specific technical support mechanism to enable MSEs to access different categories of technical resources and services and provided for direct support and beneficiary assistance operations. In this context, the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Employment, Sports, and Civic Service (MAJESSC) has made combating youth unemployment its priority. In terms of youth employment and entrepreneurship, AFD and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania have been co-financing the PADEM project – Support Project for the Development of Entrepreneurship in Mauritania – since 2022, with a focus on gender and female entrepreneurship (€9 million), by strengthening the capacities of the National Employment Agency "TECHGHIL", the Caisse des Dépôts et de Développement, and PROCAPEC. This support aims to contribute to the establishment of a national public system for supporting entrepreneurs. It should enable financial and technical support for 1,000 business creators (i.e., 3,000 jobs). As part of the PADEM's Annual Work and Budget Plan 2025, the establishment of a network of labeled service providers is planned to support project leaders, entrepreneurs, VSEs, and SMEs in the various regions of the country, particularly in priority areas during the 2025-2026 period. The objective is to structure a sustainable entrepreneurship support ecosystem, aligned with sectoral and regional priorities. 4. The purpose of this tender is to select the contractor who will be responsible for identifying, selecting, and awarding/renewing the label for the network of local service providers in Mauritania to support project leaders, entrepreneurs, income-generating activities (AGRs), VSEs, and SMEs within the framework of PADEM activities and the establishment of the entrepreneurship desk (TECHGHIL). The contractor will be responsible for building a core of at least 30 SAEs, distributed across the 15 regions of the country, by integrating:  Sector-specific SAEs, specializing in technical support for entrepreneurs according to the specifics of their business sectors;  Generalist / cross-cutting SAEs, whose role is to support entrepreneurs pre and post-financing on essential entrepreneurial skills, such as: o Structuring entrepreneurial projects; o Administrative and financial management; o Development of commercial and marketing capabilities; o Building business plans and financing plans; o Access to existing financing mechanisms; o Networking and integration into the entrepreneurial ecosystem. All SAEs, whether sectoral or generalist/cross-cutting, must be trained in approaches specific to vulnerable populations. This training will include: • Taking into account the specificities of vulnerable groups (women, youth, people with