PROJECT NAME: ADFI WSME Program: Enhanced Access to Finance Leveraging Data and Technology
COUNTRIES: Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique
DURATION: Thirty (30) Months
START DATE: 01 AUGUST 2025
DESCRIPTION: Implementing Agency (IA) firm consultancy services for the ADFI WSME
Program country implementation
EXPERTISE: Multi stakeholder program design and partnership development; M/WSME financing and innovative product design; general and country specific gender and ecosystem access to finance dynamics; digital financial solutions for M/WSME’S; application of research and human centered design for solutions development; Effective M/WSME capacity building for strategy, growth, effeciency, resilience and ability to coach and mentor; strategy, change management, project management; experience in program target markets.
The African Development Bank hereby invites Consulting Firms to indicate their interest in the following Assignment: Implementing Agency _ ADFI WSME Program: Enhanced Access to Finance Leveraging Data and Technology _ Country name, Country name, Country name, etc
The Assignment will be implemented simultaneously in 5 target countries namely; Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Mozambique, over a two and a half year period. The Consulting Firm/s will act as the program Implementing Agency (IA) in the target countries spearheading implementation and working with select service providers.
Achieving gender parity for development is a key objective of the Bank for which enhanced access to finance and technical support for upskilling women led businesses is paramount. In addition to its internal efforts to drive this critical agenda through the gender department and aligned thematic funds, the Bank works in collaboration with external partners to ensure a singleness of purpose for maximum impact.
The Bank has received Technical Assistance funding from the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative, We-Fi, to implement the ADFI WSME Program “ Enhanced Access to Finance Leveraging Data and Technology” in five target countries namely; Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Mozambique. The program aims to leverage technology and data, tools that have transformed and accelerated inclusion in Africa, to support women businesses build resilience and improve overall efficiency, as well as work with financial service providers and the broader financial ecosystem to design responsive solutions.
OBJECTIVES
The program globally aims to provide WSME digital financial services capacity building to at least 12,000 WSMEs and provide digital solutions and credit to at least 8,000 WSMEs in the pilot and scale phase.
The program targets to leverage the We-Fi technical assistance funding to mobilise WSME credit funding of at least USD one hundred and five (USD 105,000,000) million across the five participating countries or an average of USD twenty one (21) million per country.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
The Assignment entails establishment of a partnership of participating stakeholders, developing country level implementation plans that are informed by ecosystem assessments; undertaking human centred research and design work that will inform development of financial services and products for WSMEs that are responsive and foster resilience; stakeholder training on the new products; a targeted test and pilot phase of the new products, followed by a go to market plan to enable wider dissemination and a scale phase. The targeted product training will be supplemented by a broader WSME capacity building program on technology leverage for enhanced efficiency and access to finance. Program communication, knowledge management, advocacy and project management will also be led by the IA. Services to be provided under the Implementing Agency Assignment are briefly described in the table below;
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COMPONENT |
DESCRIPTION |
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Component 1 |
Ecosystem Review and Stakeholder Identification
Working in liaision with the team at the AFDB and ADFI, the Implementing Agency will help identify service providers and WSMEs to participate in the program design and implementation
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Component 2 |
Partnerships Development and Country Level Program design
Further to ecosystem review and participant identification, based on need, partnerships will be developed to facilitate effective program implementation and country level programs designed and completed. |
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Component 3 |
Research, human centered design (HCD) and Pilot Undertake HCD research on WSMEs, and engagement with providers, to inform the design of responsive financial solutions that help mitigate risk, drive business growth and enhance efficiency. This phase will include stakeholder training and culminate in a test and pilot run with a select number of WSMEs
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Component 4 |
Go to Market and Pilot Scale
IA working with the EA and program partners to develop go to market plans to disseminate and drive product and service uptake of the scale phase |
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Component 5 |
Capacity building for WSMEs, and other stakeholders on leverage of data and technology for improved business performance and access to finance, as well as on responsive digital products and business best practice
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Component 6 |
Project Management Project Management . The Implementing Agency will be responsible for onsite project management to ensure technical and operational delivery of the program. They will work directly with the Executing Agency (the Lead Financial Service Provider) in liaison with the other participating service providers
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Component 7 |
Knowledge Management (KM), Audit and Project Closure: Knowledge management will happen at all technical components and will culminate in a final KM outcome. The communications, advocacy and KM are integral program activities and will be agreed at the program planning stage. The IA in liaision with the EA and program partners will lead this component of the TA. As project manager, in liaison with the EA, they will support the closure phase of the program.
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IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORTING ARRANGEMENT
The Implementing Agency (IA) will be the Banks primary contact with Executing Agency, other program partners and participating WSMEs, working closely with the assigned in-country Bank teams and a program lead who will serve as the focal point. The program lead will provide direct oversight for the Bank/ADFI team and will actively engage with in-country Bank teams assigned to the program, the Implementing Agency and program service providers and participants, as and when required. They will participate in partnership development and product design engagements, ensuring quality and alignment with the Bank, ADFI and We-Fi objectives, streamline stakeholder communication, consolidate inputs, flag challenges requiring intervention, closely monitor developments, attend key engagements as needed etc, all with a view to supporting a seamless and timely program delivery.
The IA will establish a cross functional project implementation team and assign a head of program and country project manager, with the latter being the focal communication point with the Bank task manager and PL. The IA will be oversighted by the and the country level Bank assigned task manager and the PL with global oversight from the ADFI Coordination team.
Interested consulting firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of and experience in similar assignments, adequate availability of appropriate skills, etc). The firms should demonstrate;
- Comprehensive understanding of MSME and WSME issues and financing options
- Extensive record of working with WSMEs on finance, governance and capacity building
- Understanding and experience in application of digital tools for SME/WSME financing and operations
- Adequate professional team/s to deliver the projects on an accelerated basis without compromising on quality
- Demonstrable experience on the Bank and We-Fi gender programs or projects is an added advantage
- Consulting Firms may submit the EOI with respect to one or more countries. Multi country submissions and experience, will be an added advantage.
- Working level fluency in english will be required for all applicants with bilingual teams fluent in french and Portuguese for Cameroon and Mozambique teams
You can learn more about the Banks gender work, We-Fi and ADFI at these links: We-Fi Finance Code | We-Fi Program | AfDB 2021 - 2025 Gender Strategy | Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI) .
The WSME definition under this program is outlined below:
- ≥ 51% owned by a woman/women
- ≥ 20% owned by a woman/women; and have ≥ 1 woman as CEO/COO (President/Vice President) and have ≥ 30% of the Board of Directors comprised of women where a Board exists.
- Financing between USD 5,000 and USD 1 million
- Between 5 and 300 employees
- Sales between USD 50,000 and USD 15 million
Whereas Consulting Firms may partner with other entitities to deliver on aspects of the project, contracting will be with the applying firm and they will remain responsible for full delivery of their scope of work. Evidence of MOU’s and partnership agreements will be required prior to contracting, with the Bank’s No Objection a pre-requisite for any proposed changes. Applying firms should provide high level details of proposed/ potential partnerships at the REOI submission stage and their expected role.
Eligibility criteria establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s “Rules and Procedures for the use of Consulting firms.”
The estimated duration of the project and contract is thirty (30) months (end-to-end), structured as an initial fifteen (15) month contract renewable once for a further fifteen (15) months subject to satisfactory performance and program needs.
The duty station for the role will be a hybrid of remote and onsite. The country program managers (a full time role) will be expected to predominantly, and preferably, be based in-country. Specifics will be agreed at the negotiation stage.
The target date for commencement of the contract is 1st August 2025.
Expressions of interest must be delivered to the e-mail address below by 17.00 hours Abidjan Local time on 23 May 2025, and with the title and/or mention “Expression of Interest Implementing Agency _ADFI WSME Program: Enhanced Access to Finance Leveraging Data and Technology _Country name, Country name, Country name”.
The Expression of interest must be delivered (via pdf electronic copy) to the address below for the attention of: ADFI Team
Email: [email protected]
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SHORT LIST
A shortlist of three to six consulting firms will be established at the end of the REOI to proceed to request for proposal stage. Shortlisted firms will be judged on the following criteria:
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Criteria |
Weights |
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Experience relevant to the Assignment |
20% |
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Understanding of the Terms of Reference and proposed methodology |
20% |
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Relevant experience and qualifications of key personnel |
35% |
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Experience with the Bank/Multilaterals, We-Fi programs, gender programs |
15 % |
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Relevant experience and/or operations in the target countries/continent |
10% |
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Total |
100 % |
Note: Due to anticipated volume of submissions, the Bank will only provide comprehensive responses to shortlisted applicants.