1. BACKGROUND:

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) is the world’s leading organization on financial inclusion policy and regulation. Currently, 90 member institutions make up the AFI network including central banks, ministries of finance and other financial policymaking or regulatory institutions from over 84 developing countries and emerging markets. AFI empowers policymakers to increase the access and usage of quality financial services for the underserved through sustainable and inclusive policies and an effective use of digital technologies. 

Policies developed and implemented by AFI members contribute to a range of the Sustainable Development Goals.  By Setting their own agenda, AFI members harness the power of peer learning to develop practical and tested policy reforms that enhance financial inclusion with strategic support from both public and private sector partners.

AFI has 7 Working Groups (WG):  Consumer Empowerment and Market Conduct Working Group (CEMCWG), Digital Financial Services Working Group (DFSWG), Financial Inclusion Data Working Group (FIDWG), Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group (FISPLG), Global Standards Proportionality Working Group (GSPWG), Inclusive Green Finance Working Group (IGFWG) and SME Finance Working Group (SMEFWG),

As the key source of policy developments and trends in financial inclusion and as the primary mechanism for generating and incubating technical content in the network, the Working Groups serve as “communities of practice”. Providing a platform for knowledge exchange and peer learning among policymakers to share, deliberate and deepen their understanding, the working groups offer leadership and expertise in their respective policy fields and support the network to monitor new developments in emerging fields.

The knowledge generated via the working groups is disseminated for implementation by a range of capacity building activities such as Joint Learning Programs, Member Trainings, Trainings by Private Sector Partners. The practical experience members garner from engaging in peer learning based capacity building is then applied by members as in country implementation projects which are supported by the provision of financial or technical support to AFI member institutions in conducting activities that aim to deliver financial inclusion policies, regulations, supervisory tools or enablers for the development of policies, such as national financial inclusion strategies. 

The working groups receive strategic guidance and insight from the High-Level Global Standards & Policy Committee, while the  Gender Inclusive Finance Committee, supports WGs in integrating gender considerations into all aspects of their work and support members in fulfilling their Denarau Action Plan (updated 2022) commitment to promote women’s financial inclusion.

AFI members have made further commitments in a range of other accords which can be read here.

The AFI’s five regional initiatives complete the AFI platform of services by supporting policy implementation in Africa (AfPI), Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC), the Pacific Islands (PIRI), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECAPI) and the Arab Region (FIARI).  

2. PROJECT Background:

The primary objective of this project is to develop a gender-responsive toolkit to provide practical guidance to policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders on data collection, analysis, and visualization, as well as best practices for measuring and assessing the MSME sector, with a particular focus on W-MSMEs.

The project should:

1. Establish Robust Data Hubs and Dashboard: Provide guidance on the technical aspects of setting up data hubs and dashboards, including data sources, data cleaning, and data storage.
2. Identify Key Gender-Responsive Data Points: Define core data points that are essential for understanding the MSME sector, such as demographic information, financial performance, operational challenges, and gender-specific indicators.
3. Develop Data Collection Strategies: Outline effective strategies for collecting data from various sources, including surveys, administrative records, and digital platforms, ensuring gender disaggregation.
4. Analyze and Interpret Gender-Disaggregated Data: Provide tools and techniques for analyzing data to identify trends, patterns, and insights, with a focus on gender-specific challenges and opportunities.
5. Visualize Data Effectively: Offer guidance on creating clear and informative data visualizations to communicate findings to policymakers, the public, and other stakeholders, highlighting gender disparities.
6. Promote Gender-Responsive Policymaking: Highlight the importance of gender disaggregation in data collection and analysis to identify specific challenges faced by W-MSMEs and inform targeted policies.

TARGET USERS

The toolkit is primarily designed for the following target users:

• Financial policymakers and regulators: Central banks, financial regulators, and other government agencies responsible for financial sector development.
• Government development program leaders: Government officials involved in implementing development programs and initiatives.
• MSME industry associations and chambers of commerce: Organizations representing the interests of MSMEs.
• Data analysts and data scientists: Professionals working in data analysis and data science.
• International organizations: Multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, and NGOs.

FORESEEN TOOLKIT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

The toolkit will be developed through a collaborative process involving the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) and an external consultant/expert. The process will include the following steps:

1. Literature Review: A comprehensive review of existing literature on MSME data, gender-responsive policymaking, and data-driven decision-making.
2. Expert Consultations: High-level interviews with experts from various fields, including policymakers, academics, and practitioners, with a focus on gender experts in the MSME sector.
3. AFI Member and partners consultation process: Survey and In-depth consultation process with different stakeholders using advanced MSME data systems to learn from best practices, paying particular attention to gender-inclusive initiatives.
4. Data Collection and Analysis: Collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data from various sources to inform the toolkit.
5. Toolkit Development: Development of the toolkit, including writing, editing, and design, ensuring it is gender-sensitive and inclusive.
6. Pilot Testing: Pilot testing the toolkit with policymakers and other stakeholders to gather feedback and refine the content, particularly on its effectiveness in addressing gender-specific challenges.
7. Dissemination and Capacity Building: Dissemination of the toolkit through workshops, webinars, and online platforms, with a focus on capacity building for policymakers and practitioners on gender-responsive data analysis and policymaking.

FORESEEN KEY FEATURES OF THE TOOLKIT

• Practicality: The toolkit will provide practical guidance and tools that can be easily implemented by policymakers and other stakeholders.
• Flexibility: The toolkit will be flexible enough to adapt to the specific needs and contexts of different countries and regions.
• Gender-Responsiveness: The toolkit will emphasize the importance of gender-responsive policymaking and provide guidance on how to collect, analyze, and interpret gender-disaggregated data.
• Inclusivity: The toolkit will consider the needs of MSMEs from diverse sectors and backgrounds, including rural and urban MSMEs, and those led by marginalized groups.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: The toolkit will promote data-driven decision-making by providing tools and techniques for analyzing and interpreting data, with a focus on gender-specific insights.
• Disclaimer: This toolkit provides policy options for the readers to consider for countries policy generation strategies and initiatives. The proposed recommendations are not exhaustive.

LEADERSHIP AND FUNDING

The Toolkit will be developed by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) through the Policy Programs and Implementation team with the consultation and support from AFI member institutions representatives who had expressed interest in supporting this project (SMEFWG and FIDIWG members from Subgroup, check Annex A list) to guide and support the project.  An external expert will be contracted to support key phases of the research and compilation of insights.

ANNEX A – AFI Members from the SME Finance Working Group and the Financial Inclusion Data and Impact Working Group. 

4. SCOPE OF WORK:

The scope and expected deliverables are as follows:

• Gathering primary source of input: finalize survey questionnaire and analyse the results

• Identification of best practices: conduct desktop research and Key Informant Interview (KII) to complement the survey findings
• Benchmarking: compare successful practices against industry standards and benchmarks to identify key success factors. This benchmarking will help in understanding the replicability of these practices in different contexts.

• Impact analysis: incorporate survey analysis result with desktop research and input from the interview
• Development of the Toolkit: consultant develops the Toolkit based on agreed outline.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

By developing and disseminating this gender-responsive toolkit, AFI aims to empower policymakers and other stakeholders to make informed decisions and promote the growth and development of MSMEs, particularly W-MSMEs.

 NEXT STEPS

The first draft of this Concept Note is going to be reviewed and disused internally by AFI Management Unit. Once it is cleared will be submitted to the identified members from the SMEFWG and FIDIWG interested in supporting this project for additional inputs and will finally be submitted for approval to AFI funding institutions to support the project with an external consultant/expert. 

5. TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES:

The project is conceived to be developed during 2025 and is toolkit should be used to support going forward, AFI members and other partners on their aim to consolidate robust assessments on MSME, Women-MSMEs and Women-MSME finance components supporting the respective development policies.

The assignment is expected to commence in March 2025 and end by July 2025. Below is a tentative timeline:

Refer Link to RFP attachment for more detailed information.

6. TRAVEL:

No Travel is expected for this assignment. The consultant(s) will work remotely and undertake virtual meetings to complete the tasks.

7. CONSULTANT EXPERIENCE:

The consultant performing this task must have the following qualifications:

• Open to Firms and individuals
• The team leader should have at least ten (10) years of relevant experience and hold higher degree in a field related to Economics, Finance, Public Policy, International Development, or other related discipline.
• Knowledge and at least seven (7) years of experience in development and financing policies.
• The consulting firm should have a team of experts that have at least five (5) years of experience and knowledge regarding MSME and Women-MSMEs policy development, finance and data collection.
• Good understanding of gender related polices for MSMEs.
• Fluency in English (oral, written and presentation skill) is mandatory
• Ability to maintain and keep confidential information within the scope of the project. 

8. REPORTING:

Throughout the contract period, the Consultant will be reporting to AFI’s Head Policy Management, Senior Policy Manager Financial Inclusive Data and Impact and Senior Policy Manager, SME Finance.

9. PAYMENT TERMS:

The payment terms/schedule proposed for this consultancy are as following:

10. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

Proposals will be due with the following requirements for submission:

10.1      Retention of Proposals

All proposals submitted become the property of AFI. AFI will make all reasonable efforts to maintain proposals in confidence and will release proposals only to personnel involved with the evaluation of the project. Proprietary information should be identified in each proposal. 

11. Evaluation Criteria

The proposals submitted will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

 Evaluation of technical and financial proposals

AFI reserves the right to award the most suitable proposal based on the evaluation of combined criterion, where bidders are qualified by the combined valuation of the technical and financial proposals, with the following weightage:

i) Technical Proposal: 70% (Seventy percent)

ii) Financial Proposal: 30% (Thirty percent)

How to Apply

Interested applicants are expected to submit a proposal with an updated CV and using the template given by email to AFI’s Procurement & Contracts Office at rfp2503@afi-global.org by 13 February 2025.

Note: AFI does not tolerate copyright infringement, including and not limited to infringement, in the form of plagiarism. Consultant or consulting entity awarded a contract by AFI shall take responsibility to ensure that the authored works, produced in parts or as an entirety of the deliverables stated in this RFP does not infringe on copyrights.

The final decision on the selection of a consultant/consulting firm for this project rests with AFI management team and with the Inquiry. Only shortlisted and successful consultants will be contacted.