PAN-AFRICAN FINANCIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS
1. Introduction
FSD Africa ("FSDA") is looking to build a panel of specialist advisers on whom it can call on for short term consultancy assignments or for draw-down (i.e. retained consultant) arrangements. This call for Expressions of Interest is aimed at pre-qualifying consultants so as to facilitate procurement for assignments that are anticipated in the future. Terms of Reference for the specific assignments will be sent out at the appropriate time.
As FSDA is in the process of being set up as a legal entity, this call for Expressions of Interest is being managed through FSD Kenya's procurement system.
2. Introduction
2.1. FSDA – a pan-African financial market development programme
FSDA a financial sector deepening trust, aims to support financial sector development across the African continent by encouraging skills development, the transfer of knowledge (e.g. research, business models, policy approaches etc.) across borders, especially through the FSD network (but also in non-FSD countries) and by building the capacity of financial systems in other ways.
There are currently seven FSDs operating in Africa (in Nigeria (EFInA), Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda (Access to Finance Rwanda), South Africa (FinMark Trust), Zambia and Uganda (Financial Sector Inclusion Programme Uganda)) and one more is in development (Mozambique).
FSDA, like the other FSDs, is a market development programme. It aims to achieve sustainable large-scale impacts by addressing the systemic constraints that prevent financial markets from reaching poorer consumers – whether these are regulatory in nature, or caused by imperfect or asymmetric information or skills gaps, or rooted in the cultural norms that shape how poorer consumers undertake financial transactions.
Its vision is of "African financial markets that are responsive to the broader developmental needs of African economies and people". Its mission is "to be a resource to facilitate innovation, skills development and research to encourage the development of African financial markets that are robust and inclusive".
FSDA has developed four broad programme areas.
Pillar 1 focuses on skills development and training and envisions sub-programmes on organisational change management, building services markets (including HR and data analytics services) and supporting the emergence of regional centres of excellence, working closely with training institutions.
Pillar 2 focuses on knowledge and evidence with sub-programmes focusing on cross-country research, information products and data analysis, and impact evaluation.
Pillar 3 will see FSDA catalyse sub-programmes in retail payments and government-to-person payments, agriculture finance and credit markets.
Pillar 4 is about using FSDA's regional platform to encourage regional harmonisation in financial markets, to initiate inclusion-related initiatives in non-FSD countries (including post-conflict environments) and to conduct feasibility work into innovative financing approaches geared explicitly towards driving investment and economic growth.
It is within Pillar 1- supporting the emergence of regional centres of excellence that this EOI is being issued.
2.2. FSDA's requirements for technical support
This call for EOIs is aimed at identifying individual consultants or specialist firms with whom FSDA can work as follows:
2.2.1 Country specialists
FSDA wishes to identify consultants who, by virtue of their location and prior experience, have deep and credible relationships in financial industry skills development, systems of accreditation and examination, financial sector training organisations and with bankers associations and institute of bankers in particular countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Those relationships would ideally be based on several years of experience of working with financial sector industry players, policy makers and regulators. Consultants should demonstrate their ability to engage successfully at a senior level in these environments. Their role on behalf of FSDA would be to broker interventions with relevant bankers associations and institute of bankers, financial institutions who can be change catalysts, and financial industry skills training providers. These relationships will be coordinated closely with FSDA and (where relevant) the locally-based FSD. Priority countries for the purposes of this EOI are Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Nigeria but FSD would be interested to hear from country specialists in other markets too.
2.2.2 Skills development specialists
To support its specific country-level financial sector skills development engagements, FSDA wishes to identify experienced consultants in the following areas:
1. Are specialists in professional training systems of accreditation and examination;
2. Are specialists in professional and/or financial sector training curriculum development;
3. Are specialists in private sector-led professional training delivery;
4. Are specialists in training needs analysis;
5. Are specialists in institutional assessments;
6. Are experienced in conducting pre-investment institutional due diligence
FSDA envisages a number of potential engagements for consultants in this area –both short term (e.g. strategic and technical inputs) and long term (e.g. potentially managing a sub-programme as a "theme champion"). Domain expertise, applied to African financial markets (and ideally FSD countries), would be critical to justify shortlisting.
3. Objective of EOI
The main purpose of the EOI is to enable FSDA to create a panel of pre-qualified consultants whom it can approach as and when it initiates procurement processes.
FSDA is committed to the principle of competitive tendering for value for money reasons and because it welcomes innovative insights and is committed to building local sustainability. Only in exceptional circumstances will it sole source. For contracts of a certain size, however, FSDA's procurement rules allow it to conduct a limited form of competition, whereby it will approach a shortlist of candidates who it believes are suitable to carry out the assignment. Pre-qualification through this EOI will ensure that consultants are considered for shortlisting in these circumstances (although this is not a guarantee that they will be short-listed).
4. Expressions of Interest
For this exercise, FSDA is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from suitably qualified individual consultants1 or specialist firms in the areas specified in 2.2 above.
Please note – fully costed proposals and/or detailed work plans are not required at this stage. Cost estimates of travel, accommodation etc. is also not required.
Your EOI should contain:
- Your name and a full CV
- Your place of business
- Your area of expertise (as per 2.2 above)
- A short statement (maximum 1 side of A4) of why you believe you have the right qualifications to help FSDA in the stated area
- A statement describing your availability, e.g.:
o Preferred length of assignment o Willingness to travel
o Availability in the next 12-18 months
- Your current fee rate (applicable for at least 12 months)
- Any other information that you believe should be taken into account in the pre-qualification process
Your EOI, which should not exceed 3 sides of A4 (font size 11) in total (excluding CV) should be sent to FSD Africa at info@fsdafrica.org under a subject line reading ''Expression of interest: Financial Sector
Skills Development Specialists'' by 1200 (EAT) on Friday 30th January 2015.
5. Contact
Questions or comments in respect of these terms of reference should be directed to: Julius Alego at Julius@fsdafrica.org
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