SHONA
Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Expert
Who is SHONA?
We Identify, Guide, Back and Connect entrepreneurs, helping them build Good Businesses.
We identify high-potential ambitious entrepreneurs and give them the knowledge, tools, capital and
networks they need to build skills and the capacity to grow well-run businesses that are good for customers,
employees, owners, value chain partners, the environment and the local communities where they are based.
These are Good Businesses.
We believe Good Businesses create good jobs, and high-quality products & services that improve quality of
life, generate wealth, build industries, protect and regenerate the environment and invest in their local
communities, building prosperity.
By growing a diverse range of Good Businesses spread across East Africa and all sectors, we are contributing
to an East Africa in which everyone has the opportunity to thrive by fulfilling their unique potential and
playing their part in strengthening East Africa.
Our goal is to have 35 million people positively benefiting from 1,000 Good Businesses by 2030.
Background
With the support of Partnerships for Forests, SHONA is embedding tree-based enterprise development into
two of our initiatives – The Neycha Accelerator & Fund and Rootical Business Builder, by supporting the
growth of 14 tree-based and forest-friendly Agroecological Enterprises (AEEs), operating in the coffee,
cocoa, avocado, macadamia, bamboo, and apiary commodity value chains in Uganda and Kenya.
The Neycha Accelerator and Fund supports growth-oriented AEEs to achieve economic success through
increased availability of suitable capacity-building, investment, and networks. Rootical Business Builder is a
startup studio that equips talented entrepreneurs with the tools, skills, networks, and capital to build food
system-shaping regenerative agriculture businesses in Uganda.
We plan to support the growth of 10 existing growth-oriented tree-based AEEs in Uganda and Kenya through
The Neycha Accelerator & Fund and develop 4 new tree-based Agroecological Enterprises in Uganda through
Rootical Business Builder. By supporting the growth of these enterprises, we expect them to deliver
outcomes across environmental, financial, and socio-economic dimensions, including:
● Approximately 54,000 hectares of land under sustainable, tree-based production and restoration,
contributing to improved land use practices and reduced deforestation pressure
● An estimated 160,000 tCO2e sequestered or avoided over a five-year period, based on established
methodologies
● Engagement of approximately 54,000 smallholder households through sourcing arrangements,
agroforestry adoption, and restoration-linked activities, resulting in improved livelihood outcomes;
● Creation of approximately 300 direct jobs across supported enterprises, with a commitment that at
least 30% of the portfolio will comprise women-led businesses, supported by targeted gender
inclusion strategies.
Purpose of the Assignment
We are looking for an Impact Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Expert to strengthen our monitoring and
evaluation capacity by supporting us to: 1) Develop and implement the right methodology and tools to
measure the environmental, financial, and socio-economic outcomes we plan to achieve; and 2) Generate
long-term learning and evidence to replicate and scale tree-based enterprise development in our work.
We expect the methodology and tools developed to:
● Enable us to track, measure, and report on performance and impact across all result areas (land,
carbon, finance mobilised, livelihoods, biodiversity, jobs, enterprise performance, and gender and
social inclusion).
● Align with SHONA’s and Partnerships for Forests’ Theory of Change, results frameworks and reporting
requirements.
● Be designed to be implemented by the SHONA Impact and Learning team, independent of the expert
after initial design
Given the different enterprise maturity stages – Rootical (pre-revenue ventures) and Neycha (growth-stage
AEEs with existing revenue), the Impact Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning system must be flexible enough
to accommodate fundamentally different data profiles, risk levels, and impact pathways within a single
coherent framework.
Scope of Work
The assignment is structured in two phases, corresponding to Evidence, Learning and Replication. Technical
proposals shall clearly indicate which phase(s) are being offered and how.
Phase 1: Impact Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Framework design, tool development and
baseline establishment
Workstream 1 – Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework and Indicator Design
Review SHONA’s existing Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning practices, Partnerships for Forests’
Theory of Change and Results Framework, the project’s key documents, and global benchmarks for
tree-based enterprise impact measurement.
● Co-create with the SHONA team a project-level Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
framework
● Define indicators across the key result areas i.e land, carbon, finance mobilised, livelihoods,
biodiversity, jobs and enterprise performance
● Document indicator definitions, calculation methods, data sources, frequency, responsible roles and
quality assurance
WorkStream 2 – Data Collection Frameworks and Tools
● Design a coherent data architecture covering enterprise, farmer, landscape, and programme-level
flows.
● Ensure data collection tools are designed to capture gender-aggregated data
● Construct digital, accessible tools for establishing baselines, progressive monitoring, mid-term
evaluations and end-line evaluations.
● Document the data flow (Entry – Quality Assurance – Storage – Analysis- Reporting), with consent and
data-protection protocols compliant with Uganda’s and Kenya’s data protection laws.
● Train the designated SHONA team on the respective tools.
Workstream 3 – Geographic Information System (GIS) – Enabled Land and Carbon Measurement
Reporting Verification System
● Deploy open source, portfolio-level GIS tools (QGIS, Google Earth Engine, OpenForis Collect Earth,
Mapeo or equivalent) suited to SHONA’s context and budget, to enable measurement of land use and
carbon impact.
● Define sourcing polygons and a transparent land aggregation methodology that links farmer plots,
enterprise, and project-level land impact figures.
● Set protocols for tree cover monitoring, change detection, and carbon estimation aligned with
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and FAO Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT),
and document assumptions transparently.
● Integrate the Measurement, Reporting, and Verification with the Workstream 2 data system; train
SHONA’s monitoring staff on tool use, basic spatial data management and interpretation of results.
Workstream 4 – Baseline Pilot
● Plan and execute baseline data collection for selected enterprises
● Ground-truth GIS outputs against field observations; validate land and carbon assumptions (per-farmer
hectarage, sequestration coefficients, and agroforestry system typologies).
● Field-test all Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning tools under real conditions, capture
structured feedback from field staff and programme teams, and refine MEL tools and the
methodologies accordingly.
● Produce a baseline report presenting initial findings, validated assumptions, and methodological
notes.
● Deliver an updated Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Toolkit (consolidated tools, protocols,
user guides) ready for independent use by SHONA staff and for scale-up to subsequent cohorts.
Phase 2: Implementation, Tracking & Reporting
Phase 2 covers the ongoing operation of the Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning system for the
remainder of the project, transitioning from consultant-led to SHONA-led data collection with consultant
quality assurance and analytical support.
Work Stream 5 – Regular Impact Tracking and Reporting
● Coordinate quarterly and annual data collection, cleaning and analysis cycles to produce period
reports aligned with P4F and other stakeholder reporting requirements.
● Produce quarterly impact dashboards for internal decision-making and Rootical/Neycha cohort
management.
