Developing an Enabling Financial Policy and Regulatory Environment for Women SMEs in Africa 

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST – FIRM CONSULTANT

Provision of Professional Consultancy Service Review the Existing Financial Education Manual to Support Women Working in the Small and Medium Enterprise Sector in Senegal 

Women Small and Medium Enterprise (WSME) Sector

Project ID No.: G-Z1-ID0-ZZZ-028

This is a Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) on behalf of AfDB towards the below scope.

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) has received financing from the African Development Bank toward the cost of the Developing an Enabling Financial Policy and Regulatory Environment for Women SMEs in Africa, and intends to apply part of the agreed amount for this grant to payments under the contract to review the existing financial education manual to increase access to finance for women MSMEs in Senegal.

This project aims to review update the existing financial education manual, which was developed in 2013 to support financial education and promote financial inclusion for women-owned and led MSMEs (WMSMEs) in Senegal. The services and requirements for this project are stipulated in the Terms of Reference (ToR) at Appendix section of this REOI document.

The AFI now invites eligible consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (profile, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.). Consultants may constitute joint-ventures to enhance their chances of qualification.

Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s “Procurement Policy for Bank Group Funded Operations” October 2015 which is available on the Bank’s website at http://www.afdb.org.

Appendix – Terms of Reference (ToR)

1. Background

Women-owned and led small and medium enterprises (WMSMEs) in Senegal face significant challenges in accessing financial products and services due to low financial literacy levels. The Ministry of Finance and Budget of Senegal (MFB), in collaboration with the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), is seeking consultancy support to update the existing financial education manual, which was developed in 2013.  Recent diagnostic study on “Increasing women’s financial inclusion and closing the women’s SME credit gap in Senegal through enabling financial policy and regulation,” conducted in partnership with AFI and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) project, highlighted that Senegalese women have low literacy levels (40 percent), hampering the financial and digital literacy skills needed for (digital) financial services. One of the recommendations was to implement national financial education initiatives to help pave the way for stakeholders and set targets.

The existing manual is now outdated, as it no longer reflects the evolving financial landscape, including digital and Islamic finance innovations. In response to the case study recommendation, this project aims to review and develop a revised and user-friendly financial education manual to better serve WMSMEs and enhance their financial literacy, thus contributing to national financial inclusion goals.

2. Objective(s) of the Assignment

The main objective of this consultancy is to review and update the financial education manual with a focus on increasing its effectiveness in promoting financial literacy among WMSMEs in Senegal. The revised manual should cover topics related to financial literacy, business management, and improving creditworthiness and should be adaptable for basic, intermediate, and advanced levels of understanding.

The evaluation will be based on the six criteria outlined by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC): relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact.

3. Scope of Services, Tasks (Components) and Expected Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

i.  Engagement and Inception Phase  

• Conduct an inception meeting with MFB and key stakeholders to understand the project objectives, scope, and expectations. 

ii.  Review the existing financial education manual

• Conduct an in-depth review of the existing manual to identify gaps, outdated information, and opportunities for improvement.

iii.  Develop a revised outline of the manual

• Based on the review, create an outline for the revised manual, including updated content on financial literacy, digital finance, and Islamic finance.

iv.  Conduct stakeholder engagement

• Facilitate discussions with key stakeholders, including government bodies, financial service providers, and WMSMEs, to gather input and ensure the revised manual aligns with the needs of its target audience.

v.  Draft the updated manual

• Prepare a draft version of the manual incorporating feedback from stakeholders.

vi.  Virtual validation workshop

• Organize a virtual workshop to present the revised manual to stakeholders, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments.

vii.  Finalize the updated manual

• Revise the draft based on feedback from the validation workshop and submit a final version for approval. 

*Kindly refer REOI_ToR document for Deliverables and Timeline, Team Composition requirements and more information related to the project request.

How to Apply

Interested applicants may follow this revert by email to AFI’s Procurement & Contracts Office at Procurement@afi-global.org and RFP3.1.3@afi-global.org by 10 January 2025 at 1700 hours, Côte d’Ivoire local time and mentioned “REOI 9_ToR – Financial Education Manual for WMSMEs in Senegal“.