Summary: Consultancy opportunity: Evaluation of the SEGA Graduates Business Development Program in Morogoro region

Job Details

  • Location: Kenya

Job Description

Consultancy opportunity: Evaluation of the SEGA Graduates Business Development Program in Morogoro region

Secondary Education for Girls’ Advancement (SEGA)

P.O. Box 273, Mkundi-Nguvu kazi, Kihonda Ward, Morogoro.

Email

[email protected]

Terms of reference (TOR)

Evaluation of the SEGA Graduates Business Development Program in Morogoro region

Purpose: To obtain an external evaluator to assess and document the impact of the SEGA Graduate Business Development Program to inform future programming.

Background

Secondary Education for Girls’ Advancement (SEGA) is a Tanzanian NGO, based in Morogoro town, that was established in 2007 to provide an opportunity for Tanzanian girls to escape poverty and exploitation, receive a quality and holistic education, and gain the skills and credentials necessary to thrive in Tanzanian society.

With a particular focus on vulnerable girls, SEGA’s mission is to educate and equip bright Tanzanian girls with academic, leadership, and business skills to unleash their individual talents and reach their full potential.

SEGA achieves its mission through its four main programs, which include:

  • The Sega Girls Secondary School

A quality boarding school that serves over 250 girls from Forms I to IV annually. Sega School fosters the development of academic excellence, strong values, healthy self-esteem, and independent thinking skills among its students, with an emphasis on leadership, social responsibility, entrepreneurship, and environmental care.

II. Post Form IV Continuing Education Scholarship Program

Sega School graduates pursue A-Levels, certificates and diplomas, vocational training, and university education. The program provides scholarships covering tuition, housing, and living expenses.

In addition, graduates continue to be supported by the institution through ongoing staff follow-up, training, mentorship, internship placements and job search support.

III. Msichana wa Kisasa / Modern Girl (MK) Community Outreach Program

A yearlong education and empowerment program, which brings key elements of the SEGA Girls’ School’s successful Education for Life Program to girls and young women in communities in Morogoro, Iringa and Dodoma regions.

Lessons are delivered through girls’ clubs by trained mentors. The program serves over 2,500 girls annually.

IV. Graduates Business Fund Program

This program supports both Sega School and MK Program graduates in operating and growing their small businesses to improve their livelihoods.

The program provides small revolving loans, business coaching and training sessions that support the beneficiaries’ journey to financial independence.

The SEGA Graduates Business Development Program

The SEGA Graduates Business Development Program was started in March 2022 as a pilot, in partnership with SAWA Wanawake Tanzania, a local NGO that took the lead role in implementing the program, given their over 20 years of experience in managing women’s savings and lending groups and supporting business development for women.

All graduates have engaged in hands-on business learning throughout their secondary education program at Sega School, especially while they were in the Form III class. MK graduates have varying levels of formal education, but all receive entrepreneurship training throughout the one-year program.

Through knowledge gained from the two programs, some of the Sega School and MK graduates have successfully been able to open small businesses in their communities.

The Business Fund Program was designed to boost their efforts as they seek out sources of funding, not only to grow their businesses, but also to provide them with mentorship and coaching, to strengthen their capacity in managing and sustaining their businesses.

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries are Sega Girls Secondary School and Modern Girl (MK) program graduates who have not secured formal employment and wish to establish or grow a business or income-generating activity.

Selection of the beneficiaries follows the criteria in the Program Policy and Procedures, including active involvement in the business, minimum 20% own capital contribution, willingness to repay, and completion of required business training.

As of August 2026, the program has supported over 134 beneficiaries across 4 different cohorts, all coming from Morogoro Region, specifically in Morogoro town, Morogoro rural district (Mvuha) and Mvomero district (Turian).

Mission

The mission of the program is to provide SEGA graduates with microloans and guidance on entrepreneurship, business development, business planning, and monitoring and evaluation services.

Additionally, the program seeks.to ensure the profitability and self-sustainability of their various business enterprises.

Objective

Young women entrepreneurs develop and improve the profitability of their businesses or income generating activities/projects.

Specific objectives of the program

Enhance Sega School and MK graduates’ ability to meet standards that qualify them for financial support.

Increase participants’ ability to develop business plans and manage business enterprises.

Foster entrepreneurship skills and spirit among Sega School graduates and MK graduates.

Promote a sense of togetherness among Sega School /MK graduates to support each other when facing entrepreneurial challenges.

Help Sega School and MK graduates establish their own businesses or income-generating activities.

Theory of Change (ToC)

Problem statement

Girls from marginalized backgrounds in Tanzania graduating from schools or programs face limited formal employment opportunities, as the labor market is scarce.

They also, have inadequate practical business skills, limited professional networks, limited access to finance, and difficulty converting ideas into viable businesses.

These problems affect the economic and social empowerment of graduates contributing to unsustainable economic development.

Inputs

Funding from Donor, partners and financial institutions

Trainers and business experts for training, mentorship and coaching

Partnerships with financial institutions and private sectors

Training facilities/technology on business development and management tools

Networking with stakeholders and within graduates

Activities

Recruit graduates from Sega Girls Secondary School and Msichana wa Kisasa (MK) Program

Conduct training for recruited graduates on entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy, and business Management

Disburse revolving loans to qualified applicants

Conduct regular field/business visit for progress assessment

Provide mentorship and coaching

Conduct Monitoring and evaluation

Connect graduates to finance institution and markets

Organize networking events for participants to share challenges and success

Outputs

Graduates identified and recruited

Training conducted to graduates and business ideas developed

Business plans developed and completed

Revolving loans disbursed to qualified applicants for business establishment/continuity

Field/business visit conducted

Mentoring and coaching sessions delivered

Monitoring and evaluation conducted

Graduates connected to finance institutions and markets

Graduates connected with successful business for mentorship and guidance

Short-term outcomes

Graduates have increased business knowledge and entrepreneurial skills

Graduates have improved financial literacy, and digital skills

Graduates have ability to create and manage a business.

Graduates are Confident in running businesses and have entrepreneurial mindset

Graduates understand markets and customers.

Graduates have stronger professional networks and platforms.

Mid-term outcomes

Graduates strengthen their businesses and improve profitability

Graduates Businesses become more formal and financially viable

Graduates have increased access to finance and markets

Graduates have improved in business management practices

Increased employment/self-employment among graduates.

Graduates are participating in economic decision-making.

Long-term outcomes

Sustainable women-owned businesses.

Increased income and economic independence for SEGA graduates

Improved household economic resilience.

Creation of jobs for other young people, especially women

Increased participation of marginalized women in the formal and informal economy.

Stronger contribution of SEGA graduates to local economic development.

Impact

Economically empowered Tanzanian women from marginalized backgrounds who have greater opportunities to achieve sustainable livelihoods and contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic development.

Evaluation rationale

To assess and document the program impacts, SEGA is commissioning a comprehensive external evaluation of its Graduate Business Fund Program.

The main purpose of this evaluation is to determine to what extent the program has met its objectives. The evaluation will identify and document the impact of the program on the lives of participants, with the aim to improve the overall program efficiency, effectiveness, and potential to scale.

The evaluation results will be used by SEGA, Nurturing Minds, and implementing partners to design future programming, inform further growth trajectory of the program and attract donor funding to reach more communities.

Evaluation objective and questions

To document successes, gaps, and lessons learned, and make recommendations to improve the program.

Develop an analytical framework and detailed methodology for the assignment.

Reconstruct the program’s Theory of Change, where necessary, linking inputs and activities to business development and longer-term economic empowerment outcomes.

Apply Gender and Safeguarding Lens. The consultant should recognize that young women entrepreneurs are not a homogeneous group, and may experience constraints differently, including limited collateral and asset ownership, unpaid care responsibilities, gender norms, harassment, exploitation, limited mobility and restricted access to networks and markets. The review should therefore assess not only business performance but whether the program enables graduates to exercise greater agency, economic security, decision-making power and resilience.

Evaluation questions

Through this program evaluation, we would like to answer the following questions:

What changes in business revenue and profitability have Sega School graduates and MK graduates experienced, and what evidence links those changes to the program versus other factors

Did the businesses of SEGA graduates survive because of the program

What behavior changes in financial management practices have Sega School graduates and MK graduates demonstrate, and what evidence links those changes to the program versus other factors

What is the loan repayment rate? Does it allow the program to financially sustain itself in the future

Did the program improve participants’ income and standard of living

What other impacts have been observed beyond these stated goals, if any, for participants

Were there any unintended, unplanned, or negative impacts

Does the program have the potential to scale? What would it need to scale

Where records permit, the consultant should undertake cohort analysis to determine how business and repayment performance changes over time.

The evaluation-specific research questions will be developed from the questions above by the Evaluation Consultant.

Sources of information to answer evaluation questions

Interviews with SEGA Business Development Program graduates and current participants

Interviews with instructors, community members, other local business owners

SBDP Program monitoring data

SBDP Program documents, including financial/loan information

National data on business development loans

Proposed methodology

The evaluation should utilize a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods.

The tools to collect quantitative and qualitative data should include individual surveys, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with beneficiaries, their families, and

How to Apply

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