SHONA Group
Background
The WeWork — Green and Decent Jobs for Youth project, implemented by SHONA Group through The Good
Green Business Accelerator in partnership with Enabel, is a 23-month initiative designed to address key
constraints hindering the growth of Green and Circular Economy (GCE) enterprises in Uganda.
The project seeks to contribute to a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable green and circular economy
ecosystem, driven by competitive, investment-ready businesses that create decent jobs, reduce
environmental harm, and promote resource efficiency.
The project began with a recruitment campaign, where 100 businesses will be selected to participate in a
3-month online pre-accelerator. This phase includes self-paced learning, business diagnostics, and a
baseline assessment of the businesses’ green practices. Based on this, 50 enterprises will be selected for
an intensive acceleration phase. This includes tailored capacity building delivered through in-person
bootcamps, technical assistance grants, peer learning circles, and exposure visits to industry leaders.
Additionally, to ensure sustainable growth for the businesses, the project aims to:
1. Provide investment readiness support and connect the 50 entrepreneurs with SHONA Capital and other
investors.
2. Contribute to job creation by co-developing career pathways for green jobs, training 200 youth via an
online platform, and matching 100 youth to employment opportunities with the entrepreneurs.
To identify the right support to provide to the businesses, we are conducting business diagnostics to
identify the needs and gaps within the businesses. This process will ensure the delivery of customized
support that aligns with each business’s specific needs.
Business diagnostics conducted across the businesses have identified that many businesses operate with
limited or no formal sales systems, rely heavily on informal or ad hoc customer acquisition, struggle to
articulate their value proposition to new markets, and lack the commercial skills needed to compete
effectively in growth markets.
On this note, SHONA is seeking experienced consultants/organisations to offer targeted sales and market
development Technical Assistance (TA) to support businesses in building the commercial systems, skills,
and practices needed to grow revenues, reach new customers, and create the conditions for
sustainability.
Overall Objective of the Assignment
The overall objective of this assignment is to strengthen the sales and market development capacity of
businesses participating in the Good Green Business Accelerator, enabling them to grow revenues, access
new customer segments, and build the commercial foundations for sustainable business growth.
The expertise to be offered to the business will fall under the key thematic areas listed below, and
specific to the needs of the businesses at a given time.
Sales diagnostics and assessments
● Conduct an initial sales and commercial diagnostic for each business, covering current sales channels,
customer base, pricing approach, conversion rates, sales cycle, and revenue trends.
● Review existing sales materials, customer communications, and marketing collateral to assess quality,
relevance, and effectiveness.
● Identify key constraints limiting sales performance, including gaps in skills, systems, processes, and
market positioning.
● Produce a concise sales diagnostic report for each business, forming the basis of the TA workplan.
Sales systems and process development
● Design and implement fit-for-purpose sales processes, appropriate to each business’s size, sector, and
sales model (B2B or B2C).
● Introduce basic customer relationship practices, including customer tracking, pipeline management, and
follow-up systems — whether digital or manual.
● Develop standardised sales scripts, pitch frameworks.
● Where applicable, support businesses in adopting or optimising accessible customer relationship tools
appropriate to their scale.
● Train business owners and designated sales staff on the implemented systems and processes.
Customer acquisition and retention
● Support businesses in identifying, segmenting, and prioritising target customer groups, including
individual consumers, institutional buyers and corporate clients.
● Develop customer acquisition strategies appropriate to each business’s context.
● Guide businesses in understanding customer feedback and using customer insights to improve offerings
and increase satisfaction.
Value proposition and sales materials
● Work with businesses to clarify and articulate a compelling, differentiated value proposition that speaks
to the needs of their target customers and highlights the green or circular economy dimensions of their
products or services.
● Support development of core sales materials in formats appropriate to the business’s sales context.
● Build capacity in presenting the business and its offerings clearly and persuasively, both verbally and in
writing, to different customer types.
● Assist businesses in developing pricing structures and packaging that are competitive, clear, and aligned
to value delivered.
Market development and growth strategy
● Support businesses to identify underserved market segments with growth potential, including emerging
opportunities in the green economy, circular economy supply chains, and sustainability-driven
procurement.
● Develop a market development roadmap for each business outlining priority customer segments, market
entry approaches, and key milestones for revenue growth.
● Build awareness of relevant market linkages, sector associations, trade platforms, and business networks
in Uganda that can expand each business’s commercial reach.
● Where applicable, support businesses in developing partnerships or distribution arrangements with larger
firms, aggregators, or retailers as a route to market.
Sales capability building and coaching
● Deliver practical, on-site or accessible sales training sessions for business owners and designated sales
staff, covering core commercial skills including prospecting, negotiation, closing, and account
management.
● Provide one-on-one coaching to business owners to build confidence and competence in leading and
managing sales functions within their organisations.
● Develop a simple sales performance monitoring framework for each business, enabling owners to track
key metrics such as pipeline conversion, customer acquisition cost, and revenue per customer.
● Prepare a Sales and Market Development Manual for each supported business, documenting key sales
processes, customer segments, value proposition, and market development priorities in a format usable
by staff after the assignment.
The consultant(s) are expected to adopt a firm-level, hands-on approach, working directly with business
owners and key staff at each enterprise. The following principles should guide the assignment:
● Contextualised support: Assistance should be tailored to each business’s current commercial capacity,
sector, customer base, and growth stage.
● Capacity transfer: The goal is not to manage sales on behalf of businesses, but to build the knowledge,
skills, habits, and systems that enable businesses to maintain and grow their sales functions
independently after the assignment.
● Practical delivery: Where possible, sessions should be conducted on-site or at locations accessible to
business owners, using plain language and practical tools appropriate to each business’s level of
commercial sophistication.
● Green economy alignment: The consultant(s) shall ensure that market development strategies and sales
approaches are cognisant of the green and circular economy context of participating businesses,
including the specific value drivers and customer motivations relevant to sustainability-oriented
products and services.
● Linkage to project objectives: The consultant(s) shall coordinate with the project team to align TA
activities with business diagnostic findings, growth plans, access to finance initiatives and talent
matching initiatives including coaching and mentorship.
Experience
● A degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Commerce, or a related field.
● A minimum of five years of practical experience in sales management, business development,
or commercial advisory, with a strong track record of supporting revenue growth in SME
contexts.
● Demonstrable experience providing hands-on sales or market development TA to SMEs, ideally
in Uganda or East Africa.
● Strong skills in sales process design, customer segmentation, value proposition development,
and sales coaching.
● Excellent communication and facilitation skills, including the ability to deliver practical
training and coaching to non-specialist business owners.
● Experience working in or advising businesses in green economy sectors, including renewable
energy, waste management, eco-tourism, circular economy manufacturing, or organic
agriculture.
● Experience with digital sales tools or e-commerce as applicable to SME contexts
Proposal Submission
Please use this link to submit your proposal. The submission deadline is 18th July 2026.
Additionally, please use this link to join the SHONA Expert database.
If you have any questions or comments regarding these terms of reference, please email them to
rbamugye@shona.co by 10th July and a response will be provided.
CLICK HERE TO SEE DETAILS AND APPLY
