GENERAL INFORMATION
Services/Work Description: Consultant to conduct a study on revolving fund default in Microfinance Institutions
Project/Program Title: MOYESH: “MOre Young Entrepreneurs in Silk and Honey”
Duty Station: Office-based with travel to SNNP Region and South West Regions
Duration: 20 working days distributed over 2 months
Expected Start Date: Immediately after the signing of the Contract
BACKGROUND AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) is a 50 years old pan-African, non-governmental, and non-profit Centre of Excellence devoted to scientific research, development, and capacity building in the area of insect science. Headquartered in Nairobi, the Centre is engaged in 41 African countries with thriving partnerships with many universities and research organizations in Africa, Europe, and North America. Founded in 1970 by a renowned Kenyan entomologist, Prof. Thomas R. Odhiambo, the Centre’s mandate is to research on and develop alternative and environmentally friendly pest and vector management strategies that are effective, selective, non-polluting, non-resistance inducing, and is affordable to resource-limited rural and urban communities. icipe’s mission is to alleviate poverty, ensure food security and improve the overall health status of peoples of the tropics by developing and extending management tools and strategies for harmful and useful arthropods while preserving the natural resource base through research and capacity-building. In this regard, the Centre has been implementing several R&D projects in the area of human, animal, plant, and environmental health in Ethiopia since the 1990s.
The Centre organized its research and development interventions in the 4H Themes (Human, Plant, Animal, and Environmental Health). Under its Environmental Health Theme, icipe, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and other public and private partners, has been implementing a programme called “MOre Youth Entrepreneurs in Silk and Honey (MOYESH) to contribute to Ethiopian government’s efforts to reduce youth unemployment in Ethiopia. The programme aims to “secure dignified and fulfilling direct employment for 100,000 unemployed youth (60% women) through providing youth with appropriate business skills and promotion of financial inclusion along the beekeeping and sericulture value chains by 2024.
To achieve the programme objectives, and address the identified barriers, the programmer’s interventions have been organized into six components:
Under the second component of the programme, it aims to enable MOYESH youth partners to secure youth-friendly and affordable financial products (including savings, loans, digital financial services, and insurance) from financial institutions (Banks and MFIs). In line with this icipe is seeking the service of an Independent Consultant to conduct a study on one of the financial partners of the programme, Omo Microfinance Institution. The study is required to establish a deeper understanding of loan repayment performance, quantify default rates, identify factors that led to defaulting, and challenges encountered by both the debtor and creditor parties, and recommend appropriate mitigation measures. This study shall focus on loans disbursed through the Omo Microfinance Institution in the MOYESH implementation Woredas namely (Hadiya Zone Soro and Gombora woreda; Keffa Zone Gimbo, Gesha, and Shishonde woreda; Gedeo Zone Wongao and Yirgachefe; Wolaita Zone Kindo koysha woreda and Bench Seko Zone Debub bench and Sheko woreda). The Consultant is expected to use a mixed-methods approach, to identify results, uncover key learnings and make recommendations for future programming on financial inclusion for the youth.
OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The primary objective of this study is to identify factors affecting loan repayment performance and loan default management methods in OMO Microfinance Institution (OMFI), in the MOYESH programme intervention Woredas. The specific objectives are:
METHODOLOGY
The Consultant will implement scientifically acceptable methods and determine the most appropriate assessment methods and design to address the objectives stated in this Terms of Reference. The technical proposal should include a proposed evaluation methodology, sampling methods, and data collection tools that may then be refined in discussion with icipe. The consultant is expected to prepare an ‘Inception Report’, setting out the agreed study methods and their timelines.
The Evaluation will involve on-site and/or remote consultations. A desk-based review of documents, such as the MOYESH programme proposal, periodic technical progress reports, and learning documents will be conducted by the Consultant, combined with consultations with stakeholders and key informant interviews with sector specialists, partner staff, and programme stakeholders including local and regional stakeholders and youth partners (beneficiaries). Throughout the entire assignment and in the process of assessing all the variables, the Consultant is expected to use appropriate disaggregation of data and results by age and sex, among others.
Please find below details of the TOR.
TOR (A STUDY ON REVOLVING LOAN FUND DEFAULT AND ITS FACTORS IN OMO- MICROFINANCE INSTITUTION).pdf
General competencies of the trainer consultant/s are as follows:
· Ability to work under pressure in challenging environments
· Capacity to dialogue with different sectors
· Excellent communication skills
· Experience in the SNNP and South West regions in data collection and research
· Determination and focus on goals and results
· Sound management and effective workshop facilitation skills
Applicants could be either firms or a group of individual consultants. The selection of the firms or individual consultants for the service is based on the following criteria. These are the minimum qualification criteria. Better will be preferable while shortlisting the interested firms.
S. No. | Qualification Criteria | Supporting Document to be provided |
1 | Must have at least 5 years of existence in conducting research and producing analytical reports in Ethiopia | Individual consultants: Consultant CVs Firm: Company Profile, Company registration documents |
2 | Must have executed at least 3 similar scale projects successfully. · Have worked or still works on conducting research on financial inclusion, financial literacy, loan default rate, microfinancing, or any similar subjects Have proven successful research produced and workshop conducted in the region and with government stakeholders | Recommendation letter, Work order/completion letter, contract document, Acceptance letter/certificate, or any related documents clearly demonstrating the objective of the work done |
3 | Must have the right mix of consultants and data collectors to conduct the study. In case the applicant is an individual consultant, that consultant will be responsible for signing the contract with icipe and will be responsible for managing contracts of other consultants and data collectors to team up with and deliver the project | Individual consultants: CV of the personnel who shall work on this project if awarded Firm: Company profile, CV of the personnel who shall work on this project if awarded. Regional government and/or partner organization officials may visit the site to confirm this |
4 | If applicant is a firm; Company Registration, VAT & TAX Certificates | Company registration and renewal, VAT certificate |