Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and Access to Finance Expert, National Consultancy, NOC, BiH

The consultant will provide specialized technical support to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem and access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The role involves gender-responsive policy and market analysis, capacity development, stakeholder engagement, and development of practical recommendations and financing models to enhance women's economic empowerment.

Responsibilities

• Conduct desk review of entrepreneurship ecosystem and relevant policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Develop and apply gender-responsive assessment frameworks for policy and strategy documents.
• Prepare written recommendations and technical inputs for selected policy documents.
• Assess institutional roles, coordination arrangements, and gaps affecting support to women entrepreneurs.
• Facilitate stakeholder consultations involving public institutions, private sector, financial institutions, and development partners.
• Document consultation findings and prepare recommendations for strengthening institutional coordination and public-private cooperation.
• Design and deliver capacity-building sessions on gender-responsive entrepreneurship ecosystem development.
• Map financial instruments and support mechanisms available to women entrepreneurs.
• Assess barriers to access and effective use of financial instruments by women entrepreneurs.
• Consult relevant financial institutions, investors, business support organizations, and women entrepreneurs.
• Identify gaps and assess innovative financing approaches relevant to women entrepreneurs.
• Develop comprehensive assessment report on women's access to finance with recommendations.
• Design and deliver capacity-development programmes for women entrepreneurs covering investment readiness and financial resilience.
• Facilitate structured engagement activities with financial institutions and ecosystem actors.
• Develop diagnostic tools for assessing barriers and opportunities within financial institutions and private sector actors.
• Provide advisory support to selected companies to improve access to finance and business support for women entrepreneurs.
• Conduct diagnostic assessments and prepare tailored action notes for participating companies.
• Facilitate multi-stakeholder learning activities to share findings and practices.
• Prepare policy and practice recommendations based on lessons learned.
• Consolidate findings into a final institutional roadmap and synthesis report.

Requirements

• Master's degree in economics, business administration, social sciences, gender studies, or related field.
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in entrepreneurship ecosystem development, access to finance, gender equality, or related areas.
• Proven experience in conducting policy and market analysis, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building.
• Experience working with public institutions, financial sector actors, private sector, and civil society organizations.
• Strong knowledge of gender-responsive approaches and women's economic empowerment issues.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and facilitation skills.
• Ability to develop practical recommendations and capacity development tools.
• Experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina or similar contexts is desirable.
• Fluency in English and local languages is required.

Skills

• Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development
• Access to Finance
• Gender-Responsive Approaches
• Women's Economic Empowerment
• Policy Analysis
• Market Analysis
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Capacity Building
• Development of Practical Recommendations
• Capacity Development Tools
• Experience with Public Institutions
• Experience with Financial Sector Actors
• Experience with Private Sector
• Civil Society Experience
• Facilitation Skills
• Analytical Skills
• Communications Skills

Languages

English, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian