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, 84 member institutions make up the AFI network including central banks, ministries of finance and other financial policymaking or regulatory institutions from over 76 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:
As a member-driven organization, AFI continuously builds its member orientation, to being responsive and flexible, to best cater to its members needs and expectations. The key shift in the previous AFI Phase III Strategic Plan (2019 – 2023) was to position AFI as a policy leadership alliance that plays a more proactive role in and contributor to the global financial inclusion policy landscape. Becoming a policy leadership alliance represents AFI’s growth path and organizational evolution, which has successively progressed in prior phrases: from a grantmaking facility; to a peer learning platform; and to a policy driving network.
AFI’s Phase III strategy prioritized supporting evidence-based financial inclusion policies through peer-learning programs and funding support for the development and implementation of policies at the country level. This helped members tackle supervision challenges from new technologies and business models while fostering innovation. In response to growing demand for high-impact financial inclusion policies, AFI launched the In-Country Implementation (ICI) program in 2019, offering technical and financial support. Over 90 ICI projects have since been implemented, benefiting more than half of AFI’s members, who consists central banks, ministries of finance, and other financial policymaking or regulatory institutions from over 84 developing countries and emerging markets.
The In-Country Implementation (ICI) program is guided by the In-Country Implementation Approach approved by the AFI Executive Team (ET) in May 2019. Execution of the ICI program is guided by the ICI Policy and Guidelines 2020, ICI Management Policy 2020 and ICI Management Standard Operating Procedure 2020, which was subsequently updated in 2024.
The ICI program continues to be in high demand by AFI members and AFI’s Phase IV Strategic Plan (2024-2028) envisions in-country support to remain a key driver of support to members for policy implementation. Given the growth and demand for ICIs, AFI Management Unit aims to undertake an internal evaluation of the ICI program to learn from the experience from 2019-2024 and to generate lessons for the ICI program going forward. The evaluation shall be undertaken by an independent, third-party. This exercise aligns with AFI’s commitment to agile management and continued learning and improvement of its programs and processes.
The main objective of this consultancy assignment is to review the design and execution of AFI’s In-Country Implementation (ICI) program for the period of 2019 to 2023. The assignment will provide recommendations for strategic and tactical adjustments to enhance the effectiveness of the ICI program in meeting the needs of AFI members.
3. Overall Objective:
The assignment will focus on an evaluation that will generate lessons learned to inform the future direction of the AFI ICI program that further meet the needs of AFI members, through a review of the design and execution of AFI’s In-Country Implementation (ICI) program for the period of 2019 to 2023. This will be developed into recommendations for the program under AFI’s Phase IV Strategic Plan (2024-2028).
The evaluation will seek to:
- Review the relevance of the AFI’s ICI program in addressing members’ policy priorities and needs, identify gaps and opportunities at the activity level to ensure AFI’s future service delivery meets members’ needs;
- Review the coherence of the AFI’s ICI program within the AFI Phase III strategy, in relation to the delivery of other services and benefits provided by the AFI Management Unit (MU);
- Review the effectiveness and efficiency of execution of the ICI program by the AFI MU, in view of internal policies, processes, systems and resources (i.e. ICI Management Policy, SOP, ICI Dashboard etc.);
- Assess the positioning of AFI’s ICI program in the global and/or regional financial inclusion landscape, vis-à-vis similar grant-making/technical support facilities provided by other organizations that support the development and/or implementation of financial inclusion policies and regulations; This should include members’ perspectives on AFI’s ICI program in comparison to other funding organizations;
- Evaluate how well the benefits of AFI’s ICI program are likely to be sustained throughout the current AFI Phase IV strategic phase and beyond;
- Provide an updated assessment of members’ needs and expectations from AFI in terms of ICI support. Assess the relevance of the ICI program to member needs;
- Assess the impact and evaluation framework for ICI program and its sufficiency in measuring and reporting on outcomes and impact of ICIs;
- Review the extent to which the ICI program is contributing to the development and implementation of policies and regulations to advance financial inclusion across the AFI network;
- Generate recommendations to enhance or adjust the ICI program going forward, based on the aforementioned:
- Evaluation of the ICI program under Phase III and in light of AFI’s Phase IV Strategic Plan;
- Updated needs assessment; and
- Position brief of AFI’s ICI program in the financial inclusion landscape and other grant-making facilities; and
- Provide recommendations to enhance the impact and evaluation framework and approach for the ICI program.
This assignment seeks experienced project or program evaluators who have worked in grant-making facilities. This assignment may be conducted by an individual or a firm.
4. Scope of Work:
The Consultant is expected to review and evaluate the ICI program under the Phase III Strategic Plan (2018-2023) with recommendations for the program under AFI’s Phase IV Strategic Plan (2024-2028).
The tasks that are expected to achieve this objective include:
- Conduct a desk review of AFI strategic documents such as the the AFI organogram, the AFI Phase III Strategic Plan (2019 – 2023), AFI’s Phase IV Strategic Plan (2024-2028), the In-Country Implementation Approach (approved by the AFI Executive Team (ET) in May 2019), and the ICI Policy and Guidelines 2020, ICI Management Policy 2020 and ICI Management Standard Operating Procedure 2020, which was subsequently updated in 2024, and other documents as advised by the AFI Monitoring & Evaluation Unit;
- Conduct remote or virtual interviews with AFI Management Unit, AFI Monitoring & Evaluation, and selected AFI members who have undertaken previous ICI projects with AFI support as well as other partners and stakeholders as advised by the AFI Monitoring & Evaluation Unit;
- Develop key deliverables (as detailed in the next section) required for the evaluation;
- Provide weekly progress updates to the AFI Monitoring & Evaluation Unit; and
- Prepare presentations for the AFI Management Unit and AFI Senior Management Team.
5. Timeline & Deliverables:
This work would be undertaken between November 2024 and March 2025. The key deliverables for the assignment are as follows:
- Evaluation matrix and workplan – the evaluation matrix outlines the approach and methodology of this review, including research questions that address the scope defined above;
- Annotated outline of the report – the provisional document contains the key findings generated from the assessments and recommendations as defined in the overall objective above;
- Draft review report (.docx) and presentations to AFI (up to 2 presentations) on review findings (.pptx); and
- Final report with recommendations.
The timeline for this assignment is indicated below:
No
Deliverables by the Consultant
Tentative Deadlines
1.
Submission of evaluation matrix and workplan
December 2024
2.
First draft report and presentation of review findings
Early February 2025
3.
Second draft report and presentation of review finding, incorporating feedback
Early March 2025
4.
Final review report with recommendations
End of March 2025
6. Travel:
No travel is expected for this assignment. The consultant(s) will work remotely and undertake virtual meetings to complete the tasks, in coordination with AFI HQ in Kuala Lumpur.
7. Consultant Experience & Criteria:
The evaluation professional or team must have the following qualifications:
- Relevant academic qualifications: Advanced degree in international development, economics, finance or other related field;
- Professional experience in international development: More than 10 years of professional experience in international development, specifically in financial inclusion and/or in grant-making facilities. Prior professional engagement with financial regulatory entities particularly in developing countries be an added advantage;
- Experience in undertaking program and/or project reviews and evaluation: more than 8 years of professional experience undertaking project and/or project reviews in developing or emerging economies is compulsory; experience in strategic review of international organizations and/or programs be an added advantage;
- Experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods: Experience in data collection, quantitative and qualitative research are required; strong research, reporting and analytical skills with practical experience in engaging with public sector stakeholders are desired;
- Extensive experience and knowledge of the grant-making processes and the provision of technical assistance within the international development sector; and
- Language and report writing skills: Fluency in English (oral and written) is compulsory; French and Spanish (oral) are an added advantage.
8. Reporting:
The consultant(s) will report to AFI’s Monitoring and Evaluation department and is expected to provide weekly progress updates (in English).
The work plan submitted by the consultant(s) along with the evaluation matrix will be used for the monitoring and supervision of the progress of this consultancy assignment.
During this assignment, consultant(s) will also be working closely with the AFI Monitoring and Evaluation team based in AFI HQ in Kuala Lumpur.
9. Payment Terms:
The payment terms/schedule proposed for this consultancy are as following:
Deliverables – Percentage
Submission and acceptance of the evaluation matrix and workplan 20%
Submission and acceptance of the first draft report and presentation of review findings 20%
Submission and acceptance of the second draft report and presentation of review findings 30%
Submission and acceptance of the final review report with recommendations 30%
TOTAL: 100%
10. Administrative Information:
10.1 Disclaimer
The final decision on selection of a firm for this project rests with AFI management team and with the Inquiry. Only shortlisted and successful firms will be contacted.
10.2 Proposal Submission Information:
Proposals will be due with the following requirements for submission:
Submission Deadline:
22 November 2024
Documents to be submitted with Annexure 1 and 2:
Firm
· Company Registration;
· Company Profile;
· List of previous or current clientele on similar work;
· References with email contact;
· Joint-Agreement (if any);
· Conflict of Interest Disclosure form;
· At least one (1) sample work (link or attachments) if any
Individual
· Full CVs with list of previous similar work;
· Disclosure if individual have a full time or part time employment contract with any organization or government official or indirect involvement in this tender;
· Conflict of Interest Disclosure form;
· Reference letter (if any);
· References with email contact;
- At least one (1) sample work (link or attachments) if any
Method of Submission:
By email to AFI’s Procurement & Contracts Office at
Submission of Technical and Financial:
Kindly submit the followings:
1. Using the template/format given in Annexure 1 (Technical) and Annexure 2 (Financial) and/or additional technical proposal for more information.
2. Technical and Financial proposal must be separated in different pdf.
3. Financial proposals must be USD only. Whereas for Malaysian applicants with Business Registration under Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), please submit your financial proposals in MYR.
4. Proposal to be submitted to the designated email address.
5. AFI does not tolerate copyright infringement, including but 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.
AFI is not bound to accept the lowest quoted bid and reserves the right to disqualify incomplete submission, overlapping submission, non-compliance to the above requirements. Notification of results will only be sent to shortlisted candidates upon completion.
10.3 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:
1. Profile and Overall Qualification 20%
· Academic Qualification 10%
· Sample work – writing experience with English to produce quality reports 10%
2. Technical experience 50%
· Experience in undertaking programs and/or project reviews and evaluations 30%
· Experience in international development, financial inclusion and/or in grant-making facilities10%
· Experience in undertaking qualitative and quantitative research 10%
3. Adequacy of the proposed work plan and methodology in responding to the Terms of Reference 30%
· Technical approach and Methodology 20%
· Workplan 10%
Total:100%
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
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 [email protected] by 22nd November 2024, Friday.
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.