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Consultant - Landscape & Opportunity Analysis of Micro-Entrepreneurship

  • Company

    Development Alternatives

  • Location

    Uttar Pradesh

  • Employment Type

    Full-Time

  • Functional Category

    Research & Knowledge Management

  • Experience

    6 - 9 years

  • Date Posted

    11-Oct-2025

About Development Alternatives

The mission of the Development Alternatives Group is to promote inclusive, equitable and resilient national development, through the creation of sustainable livelihoods on a large scale. Through clean technology packages, micro-enterprise solutions and collaborative institutional ecosystems, we bridge practice and policy, and work with partners to mobilize widespread action to eradicate poverty and regenerate the environment. DA's work addresses the three poly-crises of our times - Jobs, Resources and Climate - through impact in three areas: Livelihood Security & Inclusive Entrepreneurship, Resource Efficiency & Circular Economy and Climate Change & Ecosystem Restoration. The organization has built up a strong capacity to identify priority issues confronting the nation and devise effective ways to solve them. It brings together over 120 professionals with a wide range of skills and backgrounds but a common, spirited commitment to excellence and teamwork.

Overview of the Role

The White Paper on Micro- Entrepreneurship in Uttar Pradesh will focus on: Current landscape of micro-enterprises, especially nano-enterprises. Classification and scope of enterprises using MORD, MSME and MSDE definitions. Role of finance, digitalisation, technology, and infrastructure. Identification of barriers and opportunities, with focus on social economic implication, related to women and young entrepreneurs. Identification of policy and institutional mechanisms related to women and gender mainstreaming in the entrepreneurial ecosystems and gaps thereof. State-specific opportunities to accelerate entrepreneurship and scalable models. Recommendations for enabling policies and programmatic action at the national and state levels.

Job Description

The Scope of Work for the Consultant includes the following:
1. Review and Analysis
• Map the current landscape of micro-entrepreneurship in Uttar Pradesh such as sectors, scale, enterprise size, employment generated, and profitability, and micro and nano entrepreneurs disaggregated by gender, age, and social
groups.
• Examine barriers and factors driving their growth, and identify any patterns that emerge with respect to regions, gender, age group, and aspirations, sectors, skillsets, ecosystem shifts, etc.
• Explore with evidence the opportunities and scope for growth in nanoentrepreneurship and its role in rural transformation, including a focus on women and youth
• Analyse national and state-level policies, schemes, and definitions (MoRD, MSME and MSDE) relevant to micro and nano enterprises.
• Examine trends in informal enterprises and transition pathways from subsistence-based income generation units towards opportunity-driven and high productivity and employment, and moving towards gradual formalisation and higher scale of operations.
• Map local, national and global best practices, enablers, tools and innovations that drive micro entrepreneurship.

2.White Paper Development
• Draft a White Paper (approx. 40–50 pages) covering:
• Scope and Opportunity - data and ground stories National and state-level perspectives Role of key programmes, schemes, and policies
• Enabling ecosystem needs: finance, markets, skilling, infrastructure, digital access, technology adoption, including digitisation and AI.
• Gender, inclusion, climate resilience, and the future of work dimensions.
• Policy and programmatic recommendations for growth and scaling.

3. Discussion Note
• Prepare a Discussion Note (10–12 pages) summarising scope, gaps, and recommendations for nano enterprises to support stakeholder engagement and discussions.

4. Stakeholder Engagement
• Consultations (virtual/in-person) with key state departments and officials, CSOs, financial institutions, academic and training institutions, and experts.
• Consultations with MORD, MSME, and MSDE to incorporate their knowledge and suggestions for Uttar Pradesh.
Incorporate feedback into final outputs.

5. Finalisation and Dissemination
• Deliver final versions of the White Paper, Discussion Note, and a short Executive Summary (5 pages).
• Support content preparation for dissemination materials like a factsheet, social media posts, and articles. Provide a completion report.

Required & Preferred Qualifications

Skill

• Strong analytical and research skills; working knowledge of data visualisation is an added advantage.
• Drafting skills suitable for policy briefs, working documents, discussion notes that demonstrate understanding of rural livelihood and
entrepreneurship policies and programmes at the state and national level.
• Excellent communication and networking abilities.
• Good working knowledge of MS Office (Knowledge of Excel, Word,
• PowerPoint) and online tools for collaboration.
• Working proficiency in English and Hindi language.

Education

"Advanced degree in Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, Rural Development, or related field"

Experience

• Minimum 7 years (with Master's degree) or 6-9 years (with a Bachelor’s degree) of progressive relevant experience in policy integration and liaising with Central/State Government on enterprise development, rural livelihoods, and green economy interventions. • Demonstrated experience of reviewing relevant national and state-level policies, schemes, and datasets to analyse thrust areas, trends, and state of the sector. • Experience in working with Government (MoRD, MSDE, NRLM, SRLMs), financial institutions, and private sector stakeholders. • Strong research, analysis, and writing skills (policy briefs, white papers, discussion notes). • Experience in facilitating stakeholder consultations at national and state levels. • Familiarity with issues related to entrepreneurship, livelihoods, gender, inclusion, climate resilience, and digital transformation.