Consultancy (Business Development Initiative)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies. The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to prevent and alleviate human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.

Humanitarian needs continue to grow at an alarming rate, outpacing the availability of traditional funding to respond. New financing models are emerging, and National Societies are compelled to explore innovative ways and underleveraged assets to unlock private capital, transfer risk and mobilize new sources of investment to carry out their humanitarian work.

As an element of improving financial sustainability, effective property management has been identified by the Afghan Red Crescent Society as an untapped area for potential income generation. The ARCS holds significant real estate assets across the country and is intent on leveraging these to extract tangible returns as a potential and significant income stream. Toward achieving this, ARCS intends to engage expertise to identify potential opportunities in the market utilizing these assets to yield tangible rewards.

The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) seeks to strengthen its financial sustainability and evidence-based planning by commissioning a consultancy to undertake a market survey and to develop a bankable business plan for a proposed ARCS income-generating enterprise. The assignment will assess market demand, identify viable product/service options, estimate costs and Consultancy for the development of Afghan Red Crescent Business Plan revenues, test business models, and produce a financing-ready business plan and implementation roadmap.

Market diagnostics

• Map the market environment, customer segments, competitor landscape, demand drivers, seasonality, pricing benchmarks, and relevant regulations.
• Estimate market size and near-term growth for identified product or service options using primary and secondary data.
• Identify target customer profiles and distribution channels.
• Product and business opportunity identification
• Screen and shortlist 3–5 commercially viable product/service options aligned with ARCS mandate.
• For each option produce value-chain and downstream linkage analysis, and assess benefits to local communities and ARCS social mission.

Primary market survey

• Design sampling and questionnaire; conduct field surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions with customers, suppliers, local authorities, landlords, and potential tenants/partners.
• Collate, clean and analyze primary data to validate demand and pricing assumptions.

Financial and economic analysis

• Develop detailed cost estimates (capital and operating), revenue models, and at least five-year cash flow projections for the preferred option(s).
• Prepare sensitivity and risk analysis with mitigation measures.
• Consultancy for the development of Afghan Red Crescent Business Plan
• Identify likely funding sources and financing structures (grants, loans, public-private partnership, lease models) and outline lender/investor requirements.
• Institutional & operational design
• Recommend institutional arrangements for ownership, governance, management, and operations.
• Propose a staffing and procurement plan, operational processes, maintenance plan, and tenant/partner selection criteria (if applicable).

Market entry and marketing plan

• Define go-to-market strategies, branding, pricing, sales and distribution channels, and promotion tactics tailored to target segments.
• Stakeholder engagement & social impact
• Conduct stakeholder mapping and consultations; document community feedback and social safeguards considerations.
• Assess potential social and environmental impacts and propose mitigation measures and compliance steps.

Deliverable packaging and capacity transfer

• Produce a concise, business plan, an executive summary for decision-makers, and a set of spreadsheets/models that ARCS can update.
• Provide a short capacity-building session for ARCS staff on how to use the financial model and implement the plan.

Outputs and Timeline

The assignment will be delivered over a maximum period of four (4) months from contract commencement. Key deliverables and target submission points:

1.Inception Report (within 10 working days)

• Workplan, methodology, survey instruments, stakeholder engagement plan, and mobilization schedule.

2.Interim Market Survey Report (within 6 weeks)

• Survey findings, market sizing, competitor analysis, shortlist of business options, preliminary financial estimates.

3.Draft Business Plan and Financial Model (within 10 weeks)

• Consultancy for the development of Afghan Red Crescent Business Plan
• Full business plan including executive summary; five-year financial projections; risk register; institutional and operational design.

4.Stakeholder Consultation Workshop and Consultation Report (within 11 weeks)

• One-day workshop to present draft findings and collect stakeholder inputs; summary of feedback and proposed amendments.

5.Final Business Plan, Financial Model, and Implementation Roadmap (within 12 weeks)

• Final documents incorporating stakeholder feedback; investor-ready executive summary (4 pages) and presentation deck (max 20 slides).

6.Capacity Transfer and Close-out Note (final week)

• One training session for ARCS staff on the financial model and implementation steps; final short report summarizing lessons, next steps, and recommendations.
• All deliverables must be submitted in English, both as editable electronic files and one signed hard copy if required by ARCS.

Team Leader / Market & Business Strategy Lead (Team Leader)

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Economics, Development Studies, or related field; minimum 8 years’ experience leading market assessments and business plan development for commercial or social enterprises.

Responsibilities:

overall coordination, quality assurance, primary client liaison, final report sign-off.

Market Research Specialist

• Degree in Economics, Statistics, Marketing or related; 5+ years conducting quantitative and qualitative market research in the country or region.
• Responsibilities: survey design, data collection supervision, analysis.

Financial Analyst / Economist

• Degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting or related; 5+ years financial modelling experience with commercial or donor-funded projects.

Responsibilities:

• prepare financial model, cash-flow forecasts, sensitivity analysis.
• Consultancy for the development of Afghan Red Crescent Business Plan

Institutional / Operations Specialist

• Experience designing governance and operational models for enterprises or blended finance structures.
• Responsibilities: institutional design, operational plans, tender/letting recommendations.

Social & Environmental Specialist

• Degree in Environmental Science, Social Studies or related; experience in social impact assessment and stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities:

• safeguard screening, community consultations, social impact reporting.

Proposals will be evaluated on a quality-and-cost basis with the following weightings:

• Technical proposal: 70%
• Company profile and relevant experience: 20%
• Proposed methodology and workplan: 30%

Team composition and CVs: 20%

Financial proposal: 30%

• Only bidders scoring 70% or more on the technical score will be considered for financial evaluation. ARCS reserves the right to interview or request clarification from short-listed firms.