Consultancy to Refine the Measurement Framework for Indirect Service Delivery

About Inkomoko

Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in order to improve livelihoods, create jobs, and help communities thrive.

In 2026, Inkomoko was listed by the Financial Times as the 5th fastest-growing company in Africa, supporting entrepreneurs across East and Central Africa to grow thriving businesses and build inclusive, resilient economies.

Founded in 2012, Inkomoko has worked with more than 100,000 entrepreneurs, including thousands of refugee entrepreneurs. Inkomoko provides a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change. We are the largest investor to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa.

Inkomoko has 900+ staff in 50 offices across Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Through Inkomoko's 2030 strategic plan, we are adding 3 additional countries to serve more than 550,000 entrepreneurs and growing our $30M loan fund to impact 7M lives.

Inkomoko Values

All staff at Inkomoko are connected to a shared set of organizational values:

Purpose: be solutions-oriented and produce high-quality work and be a global leader Achievement: push yourself to reach beyond what you think is possible. Improvement: be humble and committed to continuous learning and growing through giving and receiving open and accurate feedback Bravery: willing to take risks, create a safe space for others, be compassionate, inclusive Turikumwe / Tuko Pamoja / Abren Nen / Kulana Sawa / We Are Together: appreciate your colleagues, celebrate success, and support each other in hard times

Inkomoko is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Refugees, women, and persons who reflect the diverse communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

Background to the Assignment

For 14 years, Inkomoko has built strong delivery and measurement systems for services it provides directly: client recruitment, training, business advisory, market linkages, and investment (loans). Reaching 1 million clients by 2030, and a far larger number thereafter, cannot be achieved through direct delivery alone. Inkomoko's new Impact Model (the Graduation Framework) therefore sets out two pathways to impact:

Direct (Inkomoko continues to serve entrepreneurs), that is, client recruitment, training, business advisory, market linkages, and investment (loans)

Indirect

Multiplied (Inkomoko strengthens and supports in financing local partners, such as refugee-led and community-based organisations, savings groups, SACCOs, and microfinance institutions, so that they deliver training, advisory, finance, and other support directly to many more entrepreneurs than Inkomoko could reach alone), and Catalytic (Inkomoko uses evidence, advocacy, and risk-sharing tools to shape markets such as first-loss capital to encourage banks and other financial institutions, mobile network operators, buyers, investors, and governments to change their own products, practices, and policies, so that they serve refugee and host-community entrepreneurs as regular customers, without ongoing support from Inkomoko)

The measurement framework should align with Inkomoko's Impact Model and its shared progression logic across the Local Social Sector, Inclusive Finance, and Markets, Policy and Advocacy pathways. This requires more than defining indicators for each pillar: the framework must establish how each pathway progresses through defined stages, the evidence required to verify progression, the conditions for graduation or transition, and how Inkomoko's support should adapt and ultimately reduce as partners and market actors become more independent.

The three pathways should be measured both for their distinct results and for their contribution to the core enterprise pathway and, ultimately, household self-reliance, resilience and wellbeing. The framework should distinguish pathway-specific institutional or systemic outcomes from downstream enterprise and household outcomes, and assess Inkomoko's contribution without assuming that observed changes are solely attributable to its interventions.

The framework should also assess whether gains persist beyond direct support, incorporating planned-exit considerations and proportionate follow-up to assess durability, including 12-24 months after support ends where feasible.

The three indirect pillars in scope are:

Indirect pillar: Local Social Sector (LSS)

What measurement must capture: The framework must distinguish between (a) organisational development and progression; (b) the quality, relevance and sustainability of services delivered; (c) the organisation's contribution to enterprise outcomes through complementary services, referrals, removal of barriers and ecosystem coordination; and (d) whether organisational capability and service delivery are sustained after Inkomoko's support ends. It should reflect the distinction between Track A organisations that complement Inkomoko's services and Track B organisations that may progressively assume delivery of core services. For organisational progression, the framework should consider the eight dimensions in Inkomoko's Impact Model: governance, strategy and theory of change, talent, financial management and resource mobilisation, programme quality, MEL, pathway integration and ecosystem engagement, and inclusion, safeguarding and accountability. It should operationalise the relevant stage gates, including mandatory governance, financial management and safeguarding requirements, rather than treating an aggregate score alone as sufficient evidence of graduation. Organisational graduation alone should not be treated as evidence of improved enterprise or household outcomes.

Indirect pillar: Inclusive Finance

What measurement must capture: The framework must distinguish between (a) progression and sustainability of financial institutions or other financial service providers; (b) access to, use of and suitability of financial services for target clients; and (c) the contribution of improved financial access to enterprise performance and household outcomes. Measures and progression criteria should be appropriate to the type and maturity of the provider, recognising that community savings groups, semi-formal providers and licensed financial institutions do not share identical operating models or regulatory requirements. The framework should assess whether growth in lending or client reach is commercially and operationally sustainable, including the extent to which it depends on Inkomoko's capital, guarantees, referrals or other support. It should also assess whether providers continue to serve refugee and host-community clients as Inkomoko's support reduces.

Institutional progression (FI Graduation Index: governance, regulatory status where applicable, portfolio quality such as PAR30, self-sufficiency, audits, portfolio growth and independent capital mobilisation), refugee/host client reach and use of finance, and client-level business and household outcomes.

Indirect pillar: Markets, Policy & Advocacy

What measurement must capture: The framework must move beyond measuring advocacy activities, stakeholder engagement, market readiness or policy milestones in isolation. It should measure changes in market actors' behaviour and incentives, the functioning of relevant market systems, implementation and enforcement of policy or regulatory changes, replication or crowding-in by actors beyond Inkomoko's direct engagement, and the persistence of these changes as Inkomoko reduces its involvement. The framework should distinguish influence on a policy process from formal policy change, implementation and demonstrable changes in market access or functioning.

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this consultancy is to refine the existing draft framework, indicators, and tools into an integrated, operational measurement framework for Inkomoko's indirect service-delivery pathways: Local Social Sector, Inclusive Finance, and Markets, Policy and Advocacy, aligned with the organisation's Impact Model. The framework will enable Inkomoko to measure activities, reach, and immediate results, as well as partner and market-system progression, verified independence, contributions to enterprise and household outcomes, and the sustainability of results as Inkomoko reduces or exits its support. Specifically, the consultant will:

Establish a common measurement architecture across the three pathways, including pathway-specific results chains, stage definitions, progression and graduation criteria, evidence requirements, contribution measures, and planned-exit and durability checks, while preserving the distinct characteristics of each pathway Refine results chains and pillar-level Theories of Change (TOC) for local social sector (LSS), Inclusive Finance (IF), and Markets, Policy & Advocacy, aligned with the Impact Model and showing how each pathway contributes to enterprise and household outcomes Refine indicators across relevant results levels, clearly distinguishing inputs and activities, outputs, partner or market-system outcomes, enterprise-level outcomes, and household-level outcomes. Define which indicators measure each pathway's direct results and which assess its contribution to wider enterprise and household outcomes Design data collection tools (quantitative and qualitative tools, assessment templates, partner reporting formats) and a data management plan suited to partner-delivered services Build the capacity of MERL and program staff to use, analyse, and adapt the framework and tools over time

Scope of Work and Key Tasks

Inception and review Review the Impact Model, Theory of Change (TOC), current KPIs and scorecards, the existing refugee led organization (RLO) assessment tool, client data systems, and relevant partner agreements Consult MERL, Program Design, Business Growth Services, Investment, the LSS function, Advocacy, and country teams to understand the planned indirect delivery models and decision needs Results chains, Theories of Change and indicator framework Map activities → outputs → outcomes → impact for each indirect pillar, with assumptions, risks and the pathway to household outcomes (poverty, food security, savings, assets, resilience) Refine indicators with Performance Indicator Reference Sheets (definition, unit, calculation, disaggregation by refugee/host, gender, youth, disability, country and market stage, frequency, data source, responsibility, and approach to baselines and targets) Operationalise the pillar graduation measures (Organisational Graduation Score, IF Graduation Index, Market Graduation Score), and test every indicator against four questions: which level it measures; whether it captures activity, performance or independence; what decision it supports; and whether improvement means less dependence on Inkomoko Contribution and counting methodology Refine a consistent approach to measuring Inkomoko's contribution to results achieved through indirect delivery pathways, including clear definitions and rules for counting reach, service access, partner-level results, enterprise outcomes, household outcomes and wider system-level change The approach must distinguish people or enterprises directly served from those potentially reached through partner services or wider market-system changes. Exposure to an intervention, the existence of a partnership, or a change in market conditions should not automatically be counted as a realised outcome or as an Inkomoko-attributable result Define the appropriate unit of analysis for each pathway: organisations and services for LSS; financial institutions, portfolios, financial products and clients for Inclusive Finance; and market actors, functions, policies and affected enterprises for Markets, Policy and Advocacy. Establish rules for unique counting, deduplication across direct and indirect services, overlap between pathways, and the treatment of estimated or modelled reach Specify a proportionate contribution-analysis approach that tests the plausibility of Inkomoko's contribution against the theory of change, available evidence, alternative explanations and external influences. The framework should distinguish demonstrated contribution from assumed or potential contribution and make the strength and limitations of evidence transparent Measurement tools and data management Measurement tools should be derived from the agreed results chains, indicators and progression criteria, rather than developed as standalone instruments. The consultancy should map each tool to the specific indicator, stage-gate decision or management question it supports The design should use data sources appropriate to each pathway, which may include organisational assessments and service-quality evidence for LSS; administrative, portfolio and client-level data for Inclusive Finance; and policy documentation, market-actor interviews, market-function analysis and evidence of behavioural change for Markets, Policy and Advocacy. Where enterprise or household outcomes are used to assess downstream contribution, the framework should identify how these will be measured and linked to the relevant pathway without assuming causality Specify a minimum common dataset and pathway-specific modules, common data standards, unique identifiers and deduplication rules, data-quality assurance and verification procedures, disaggregation requirements, data-protection and consent considerations, and responsibilities for data collection, analysis, review and use, and feasible arrangements for follow-up after Inkomoko's support ends. The design should balance evidentiary rigour with the operational burden placed on partners and country teams Piloting and refinement Pilot the framework in at least two countries or market contexts, with the selection designed to test relevant differences in pathway maturity, partner type and operating environment The pilot should assess whether the framework can reliably distinguish stages of progression; whether stage-gate and graduation decisions can be supported by credible evidence; whether data sources are available and feasible to collect; whether the framework can distinguish partner or system-level results from enterprise and household outcomes; and whether contribution and counting rules can be applied consistently The pilot should also test the usefulness of the resulting information for management decisions, including whether to continue, adapt, scale down or exit support. Document the limitations, inconsistencies, data burden and adaptations required before recommending wider implementation Capacity building and handover Deliver training and hands-on coaching for MERL and Program staff on the framework, indicators, tools, analysis and interpretation, so that the team understands how each output was developed, refined, and can adapt it over time Produce a user guide/manual and hold a final validation and handover workshop

Expected Deliverables, Timeline and Payment

The consultancy will run from 1 December 2026 to 30 June 2027. All written deliverables will be submitted in editable formats (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and become the property of Inkomoko. All deliverables must demonstrate alignment with Inkomoko's Impact Model and consistency across the three pathways. Deliverables will be reviewed for conceptual coherence, operational feasibility, clarity of measurement and decision rules, evidence requirements, and usefulness for programme adaptation and management. Submission of a document alone will not constitute acceptance where the required measurement logic or operational detail remains incomplete.

Deliverable 1:

Inception report: understanding of the assignment, methodology, stakeholder consultation plan, detailed work plan and level of effort Due date: 18 December 2026

Deliverable 2:

Integrated measurement architecture, including results chains and Theories of Change for the three indirect pillars, linking each pathway to enterprise progression and household outcomes Due date: 29 January 2027

Deliverable 3:

Results framework: indicator matrix and Performance Indicator Reference Sheets (units of analysis, evidence sources, frequency, responsibilities and decision use); operational stage-gate definitions, scoring and verification protocols, including mandatory criteria; and contribution, indirect-reach and deduplication rules Due date: 26 February 2027

Deliverable 4:

Data collection tools and data management plan, with tools ready for digital programming Due date: 26 March 2027

Deliverable 5:

Pilot report and revised tools Due date: 30 April 2027

Deliverable 6:

Capacity building package: training curriculum and materials, delivered sessions, and a user guide/manual Due date: 28 May 2027

Deliverable 7:

Final measurement framework package; prioritised learning agenda identifying key assumptions, evidence gaps and decisions the framework must inform; and validation and handover workshop Due date: 30 June 2027

Payment terms: Payment is tied to the timelines and deliverables above. Each instalment will be paid only after the related deliverables are submitted on time and approved by the MERL Director. Late or incomplete deliverables may delay payment, and any change to due dates must be agreed in writing in advance.

Management and Coordination

The consultant will report to the MERL Director, with a dotted reporting line to the Head of MEL, and will work closely with the Head of Research & Analytics, the Head of Local Social Sector, Director of Business Growth Services, Investment Lead, Program Design, Advocacy, and country teams. Inkomoko will provide relevant documents, data access under appropriate agreements, and introductions to partners. Travel and related costs should be included in the financial proposal. The consultant will sign a non-disclosure/data-sharing agreement.

Required Qualifications And Experience

A minimum of a Master's degree in Economics, Development Economics, Development Studies, Monitoring & Evaluation, Statistics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, or a related field. A PhD is an added advantage Demonstrated experience designing and operationalising integrated measurement frameworks for multi-pathway or systems-oriented programmes, including the development of results chains, stage-based progression or graduation criteria, contribution analysis and approaches to assessing the sustainability of outcomes. The consultant should demonstrate the ability to distinguish organisational capacity development, financial-sector progression and market-system change from downstream enterprise and household outcomes. Experience should include translating theories of change into feasible indicators, evidence requirements, management decisions and learning processes in complex or displacement-affected contexts Strong expertise in Market Systems Development (MSD) results measurement, the DCED Standard, systemic change measurement, and contribution analysis; DCED training or certification is an advantage Demonstrated experience measuring at least two of: local organisation capacity and localisation; financial inclusion and financial institution performance; and advocacy or policy influence Experience measuring enterprise and household welfare outcomes (eg PPI, consumption, food security, resilience) and linking them to programme results Experience in fragile and displacement-affected settings, preferably in East and Central Africa, and with leading development partners or funders Strong mixed-methods skills, including survey design for digital data collection (eg SurveyCTO, ODK, KoBoToolbox) A proven record of training and coaching teams, and handing over tools that organisations continue to use and adapt Excellent writing and communication skills in English; French is an added advantage given operations in Chad

Requirements

Who We Are Looking for

We are seeking a strategic and creative communications leader who has experience building a distinctive