Call for Proposals: Empowering Skilled Persons with Disabilities through Self-Employment in Ethiopia
📍 Kebrebeyah & Koloji, Somali Region
📅 Deadline: 31 August 2025
💼 This grant is a funding opportunity provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is asking qualified organizations to submit proposals for a 12-month project that will help skilled individuals with disabilities in Kebrebeyah and Koloji, Somali Region, Ethiopia, start their own businesses.
About the Call for Proposals: Empowering Skilled Persons
This project aims to help people with disabilities who have been displaced, refugees, and those in local communities by assisting them in moving from skills training to stable jobs through self-employment and better access to financial services.
🎯 Project Objectives:
- Support 178 previously trained individuals with disabilities in launching or expanding micro-enterprises in trades such as tailoring, metalwork, furniture making, and beauty services.
- Deliver refresher training, on-the-job mentoring, business development services, and startup facilitation—including access to workspace, startup capital, and ongoing coaching.
- Strengthen partnerships with financial institutions to design inclusive, sustainable financing models—blending grants and loans—to improve economic access for PWDs.
- Conduct Disability Inclusion Scorecard assessments and deliver capacity-building training to 150 PROSPECTS partners and government stakeholders across the Addis Ababa, Amhara, and Somali regions.
- Promote decent work by disseminating a practical handbook on partnering with PWDs in displacement and host community contexts.
🤝 Implementation Approach:
The selected partner will work closely with:
- Regional and local government institutions
- Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs)
- Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
- Jigjiga Polytechnic College
- Community-Based Trainers (CBTs)
- Financial service providers
Activities will be results-driven, with phased payments tied to the achievement of clear deliverables, including training completion, startup launches, financial linkages, and monitoring of employment outcomes.
✅ Eligibility Criteria:
We invite proposals from registered non-profit organizations or civil society organizations that meet the following criteria:
- Demonstrated expertise in disability inclusion and rights-based programming
- Proven experience in livelihoods development, vocational training, and enterprise support
- Strong track record in project coordination and implementation in the Somali Region
- Commitment to inclusive, participatory approaches involving OPDs
📄 Proposal Requirements:
Applications must include:
- Technical proposal outlining methodology and work plan
- Detailed budget and financial proposal
- Organizational profile and proof of registration
- At least two relevant project references
- Supporting documents (e.g., audit reports, past performance)
🌍 Building on Success:
This initiative expands on previous ILO efforts in the region, where over 178 persons with disabilities successfully completed skills training. Now, the focus shifts to turning skills into sustainable income.
📩 For full details and application guidelines, visit the ILO website.
🔗 Apply here.
Let’s create inclusive economies where every person—regardless of ability—can work, thrive, and lead.
Join the movement for decent work and disability inclusion.
