Terms of Reference

1.                  Introduction

The Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is the premier institution leading community-driven development in Pakistan. Established as a not-for-profit company in February 1997 under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 (now the Companies Act 2017), PPAF is dedicated to enhancing the lives of the impoverished and fostering a more equitable and prosperous nation. Operating across 150 districts in all four provinces and regions, PPAF supports communities by improving infrastructure, energy, health, education, livelihoods, and financial access, while also enhancing resilience to disasters. It focuses on the most vulnerable and marginalized rural households, offering a wide range of financial and non-financial services. PPAF is committed to embedding its core values of social inclusion, participation, accountability, transparency, and stewardship into all its processes and programs. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.ppaf.org.pk.

 2.                  About the programme

The programme aims to empower communities, particularly women, by organising them into livestock producer groups for collective production and the establishment of community-led livestock markets. It also seeks to support women and youth-led micro, small, and medium enterprises in developing value chains for sheep, goats, and poultry. The programme will be implemented across 120 union councils in six (6) flood-affected districts of Balochistan including Loralai, Pishin, Zhob, Lasbela, Khuzdar and Jaffarabad.

The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to post 2022 floods climate-resilient socioeconomic recovery in the most affected and poorest districts of Balochistan province. The specific objective is improved value chains and market linkages in agriculture and livestock sectors of Balochistan.

Expected Result/Output 1: Strengthened capacities of target groups in improving value addition and compliance to food safety and sustainability standards.

Expected Result/Output 2: Increased livestock assets of target women and men farmers/ entrepreneurs.

Expected Result/Output 3: Enhanced access of women and men farmers to finances for value addition of livestock and livestock products.

 3.                  Rationale for the hiring of the consultant

PPAF has recently entered into a grant agreement with the European Union (EU) for the implementation of the project titled “Post-Floods Resilient Recovery and Strengthening of the Livestock Sector in Balochistan.” Entrepreneurial capacity and digital skills are essential for the sustainability and growth of livestock-based microenterprises in rural Balochistan. To build this capacity, the project intends to develop comprehensive training manuals tailored to the needs of livestock farmers and producer groups, with particular attention to gender and local context.

These manuals will serve as core tools for Training of Trainers (ToT) and step-down training activities. By drawing upon existing resources developed under the EU-GRASP project and other national initiatives, this assignment will ensure that the training material is context-specific, relevant, and actionable for the targeted beneficiaries.

 4.                  Assignment Objectives

The primary objective of this assignment is to design two contextually relevant and practical training manuals: one focused on livestock entrepreneurship and the other on digital literacy skills. These manuals will serve as the foundation for capacity-building efforts under the project, targeting women and youth-led producer groups and microenterprises across six (06) flood-affected districts of Balochistan.

The livestock entrepreneurship manual will equip small-scale livestock producers, particularly women, with the knowledge and tools to manage their enterprises more effectively, improving productivity, value addition, financial decision-making, and access to markets. The digital literacy manual will enable these rural entrepreneurs to harness the power of digital tools for business operations, communication, access to market information, and financial services.

The manuals will support both Training of Trainers (ToT) and step-down training events for community-level beneficiaries. The goal is to foster inclusive economic empowerment and build resilience through knowledge transfer tailored to the unique socio-economic and cultural dynamics of rural Balochistan.

 5.                   Scope of Work

To achieve the objectives outlined above, the consultant or firm will undertake the following key tasks, structured in two thematic areas:

a)      Development of the Livestock Entrepreneurship Manual

The consultant will begin by conducting a comprehensive review of existing training materials and resources. This includes manuals developed under the EU-funded GRASP project, value chain assessments conducted on sheep, goats, and poultry, and training resources previously prepared by PPAF and other relevant development organisations.

Based on this review, the consultant will identify content gaps and opportunities to align with the needs of rural entrepreneurs, especially women and youth engaged in small livestock enterprises. In parallel, the consultant will engage key stakeholders such as existing livestock producer groups, the Livestock and Dairy Development Department of Balochistan, and value chain actors to gather localised insights. Using these inputs, the consultant will develop a modular training manual focused on:

• Business planning and enterprise development for livestock producers.
• Understanding input-output costing, pricing strategies, and profit margins.
• Opportunities for value addition (e.g., meat, milk, by-products).
• Marketing strategies, branding, and customer engagement.
• Access to microfinance, savings, and insurance options.
• Compliance with food safety, hygiene, and animal welfare standards.

The manual should be gender-sensitive, include practical tools (checklists, case studies, exercises), and provide separate training agendas for ToT and community-level sessions.

b)      Development of the Digital Literacy Manual

In parallel, a specialized consultant, either part of the same team or subcontracted will lead the development of a training module on digital literacy for rural livestock producers. The consultant will collaborate with national stakeholders such as Google, telecom operators (e.g., Jazz, Telenor, Ufone), and development partners to review existing digital literacy content and identify suitable practices. The manual should be designed for first-time or low-literacy digital users and will include:

• Basic use of smartphones and digital applications.
• Communication tools (e.g., WhatsApp, SMS, email) for business purposes.
• Accessing market prices and weather updates via mobile platforms.
• Introduction to e-commerce and online market access tools.
• Use of mobile financial services (e.g., EasyPaisa, JazzCash, mobile banking).
• Awareness of digital safety, privacy, and fraud prevention.

Like the entrepreneurship manual, this module must provide tailored agendas for both ToT and grassroots training, including visual aids, and be translatable into Urdu and/or local languages.

c)       Integration, Validation, and Finalization

Both manuals will be reviewed and validated in collaboration with PPAF and relevant stakeholders. The consultant will conduct at least one validation workshop with project teams and implement partner. Final outputs will include:

• Editable and print-ready versions of both manuals.
• Trainer’s guides, session plans, handouts, and monitoring templates.
• A summary slide deck and training toolkit for use in ToTs.
• Recommendations on rollout strategy, delivery methods, and training frequency

The consultant will ensure the content is culturally appropriate, field-tested where possible, and adaptable for diverse training audiences across the six project districts.

 6.              Key document to be shared by PPAF

PPAF will share the approved version of the project proposal, logframe, workplan, and other key documents with the consultant.

 7.                  Qualifications and Competencies Required

Candidate or team leader of the firm interested in this assignment should have the following qualifications and competencies: 

-          M.Phil/master’s degree in agricultural economics, business development, livestock sciences, development studies, or related fields.

-          Minimum 10 years of experience in developing training content/manuals on entrepreneurship and/or digital literacy.

-          Proven expertise in livestock value chains in Pakistan, especially Balochistan.

-          Experience working with community-based organisations and rural enterprises.

-          Strong facilitation and writing skills in English, Urdu, and preferably local languages.

-          Familiarity with training approaches for low-literacy populations.

 8.                  Supervision and Reporting

The consultant will report directly to the Project Director at PMU Quetta for this assignment. The consultant is responsible for keeping Head Programmes and Special Initiative and Project Director at PMU Quetta informed about progress and will seek necessary approvals for all key deliverables.

 9.              Duration of Consultancy

The assignment will last for 20 workdays, to be completed within two months.

10.              Selection Method

The individual consultant will be selected in accordance with PPAF’s procurement rules and guidelines.

 11.              Ethical Considerations:

The consultant is required to provide minutes from the key consultation meetings along with the final version of the training manuals. PPAF will retain ownership of all consultation data and information collected for this assignment. The consultant is not permitted to use or quote any data or information from the assignment without obtaining prior written permission from PPAF’s senior management.