Expert in providing Technical Assistance to Equity BCDC to scale up the LPG microfinance in DRC

Consultant Finance & Economy

Contract

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Background

United Nations Capital Development Fund

The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs). UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF pursues innovative financing solutions through: (1) financial inclusion, which expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the local economy, while also providing differentiated products for women and men so they can climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; (2) local development finance, which shows how fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion, women’s economic empowerment, climate adaptation, and sustainable development; and (3) a least developed countries investment platform that deploys a tailored set of financial instruments to a growing pipeline of impactful projects in the "missing middle."

One key thematic area of work that has emerged as part of UNCDF’s portfolio of projects is supporting decentralized energy solutions. This is also one of the key thematic areas of work under the UNCDF Strategic Framework 2022- 25, alongside climate and biodiversity. Energy as theme is a significant part of the nascent LDC-IP portfolio of investments, to which the IDE Energy team has provided pipeline. The main targets geographically remain LDCs, and close coordination with individual government country plans on energy and energy access will be sought. Within individual countries, this pertains mainly to the off-grid market with last-mile client segments being the main focus. UNCDF seeks to position itself as an agency helping to bridge the classic “missing middle” investment challenge, where ordinary risk premiums are preventing financiers, Energy Service Companies and associated ecosystem enablers from entering new market frontiers. The DR Congo in particular is seen as key country for further UNCDF programme development, given its central place in the global climate challenge. Productive use and larger energy solutions and services are also considered

UNCDF supports low-income consumers to transition to cleaner and more efficient energy. To this end, UNCDF promotes access to finance across the energy value chain from customer to enterprise by investing in early stage, innovative business ideas from SMEs that have the potential to make a step-change in improving the accessibility, affordability, and reliability of modern energy for people, especially those at the last-mile. Business ideas should have strong commercial-viability potential.

UNCDF has adopted four pillars to improving the energy access market. The (1) investment component as described above is complemented by three other components that center around (2) providing technical advisory services to get concepts and business plans investment-ready, as well as general advice and linkages to non-financial resources such as experts and business development opportunities during the life of the partnership; (3) knowledge and learning through customer insights research and Think-Shops to discuss trending market topics; and (4) advocacy and partnerships with strategic partners to jointly support the improvement of the energy access market ecosystem so that business models can scale.

UNCDF’s Energy Access Programme in DRC

In DRC, UNCDF is implementing with UNDP a Joint Programme for the Sustainable Consumption and Partial Substitution for Wood Energy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Funded by the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) through the National REDD+ Funds of the DRC ( FONAREDD), the Joint Programme is structured around three main energy sub-sectors of focus: Improved Stoves; Liquid Petroleum Gas; Micro-Hydro Electricals. This is through an institutional setup that makes use of a diversified partnership with Congolese public institutions, the private sector, UN agencies, research institutions and learned societies as well as civil society. To this end, the Joint Programme aims to contribute to the establishment of a sustainable clean cooking market through (i) the establishment of a favorable environment and (ii) an incubation programme for the private sector to select clean cooking companies to receive funding and technical assistance throughout the duration of the programme. In line with the national and international lessons learned, the Joint Programme's efforts are focused on sites where a viable and self-sufficient potential market exists, with the presence of actors able to benefit effectively from catalytic technical and financial support of the Joint Programme to change scale of production (knowledge of the sector and sufficient basic entrepreneurial capacities).

In 2021, UNCDF launched the microfinance pilot on LPG with EQUITY BCDC a major financial institution and Coete Gaz a private sector LPG distributor/marketer with goals : (i) to demonstrate that providing microfinance loans for upfront LPG equipment costs over a short period of time (six months) is effective in driving conversion from biomass to LPG;(ii) to show that a commercially acceptable percentage of the loans will be repaid; (iii) to demonstrate that equipment can be assembled and marketed on a commercially sustainable basis to peri-urban and rural communities which have less financial means and less access to LPG distribution infrastructure; (iv) to develop a data set and analysis on LPG adoption, use and loan performance to guide future consumer empowerment (in later Project phases) in support of the DRC’s LPG Master Plan goals; and (v) to expand public awareness about the benefits of clean cooking through increased Project publicity.

,In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s recent development plans, the energy sector was identified as a key driver. Reliance on biomass such as wood and charcoal for cooking energy has attracted the attention of local and international market participants, policy makers, and government and non-governmental organizations because of the significant deforestation effects and the harm to health from the household air pollution (HAP) arising from biomass combustion. (More than 400,000 deaths each year in Sub-Saharan Africa is attributable to HAP from burning solid fuels for cooking.) The promotion of clean fuel has a deep impact on a nation’s socio-economic environment. Environmental and sustainability implications have greatly reduced the utilization and consumption of other heating and energy products like firewood and charcoal, paving the way for liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”), also known as “bottled gas”. Greater knowledge among consumers on the benefits of LPG should increase its usage. Various reasons account for this low and uneven access to, and use of, LPG, notably: the upfront cost of acquiring LPG cylinders, cookstoves, and equipment, and lack of consumer knowledge and awareness of the negative health impacts of cooking with traditional biomass fuels.

The results of the pilot included several lessons learned regarding technical support to financial inclusion and energy; re-designing financial products to meet energy payments; better targeting bank customers, and widespread awareness raising regarding The credit product offering, safety and usage of energy technologies for cooking.

• The financial institution requests further technical assistance to make their LPG micro-credit offering, and other energy financing products, more attractive to existing and new client bases .

• Training is also required to build awareness and technical know-how of internal and external value chain actors, since this product is newer in the market.

About Equity BCDC

Equity Banque Commerciale du Congo (EquityBCDC) is a commercial bank in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It is a merger between Equity Bank Congo (EBC), formerly ProCredit Bank DRCongo, and Banque Commerciale du Congo. This followed the acquisition of majority shareholding in both banks by the Equity Group Holdings Limited, a Kenya-based financial services conglomerate with total assets in excess of US$10 billion . As of December 2021, EquityBCDC had total assets of US$3.7 billion, with over 1,300,000 bank accounts. In the calendar year ended 31 December 2021, the bank realized an after-tax profit of US$40.2 million and paid tax amounting to US$9.4 million to the DRC government . The bank's vision is to champion the socio-economic prosperity of the people of DRC. Its mission is to provide integrated financial services that empower consumers, businesses and communities socially and economically. Its fundamental objective is to transform lives, empower people and expand opportunities for wealth creation. Commercially, it is divided into 5 regions: Western Region, Eastern Region, Central Region, Southern Region and Far North. In terms of its positioning, it manages customer segments, namely: retail, MSMEs and corporate.

These terms of reference describe support needed for the Technical assistance for the LPG Microfinance Scale up project.

The scale up intervention is planned to reach around millions of clients in DRC accessing clean energy products in form of kit including lighting solutions ( solar lamps and solah home system) and clean cooking solutions ( lpg and improved cookstoves) . To operationalize this intervention, Equity BCDC has been developing with UNCDF assistance MoUs with Schneider Electrics for lighting solutions and with Bboxx, Sogaz, Progaz and Coete Gaz. The first order of lighting products has been done and LPG marketers have been preparing product for the scale up intervention.

[2] Equity Group Holdings (15 February 2021). "EquityBCDC Announces Leadership Team on Heels of Brand Transformation author". Equity Group Holdings. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

[3] Equity Group Holdings (18 May 2022). "One year after the merger, EquityBCDC's results show exponential growth". Equity Group Holdings. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

Duties and Responsibilities

The scale up intervention is planned to reach around millions of clients in DRC accessing clean energy products in form of kit including lighting solutions ( solar lamps and solah home system) and clean cooking solutions ( lpg and improved cookstoves) . To operationalize this intervention, Equity BCDC has been developing with UNCDF assistance MoUs with Schneider Electrics for lighting solutions and with Bboxx, Sogaz, Progaz and Coete Gaz. The first order of lighting products has been done and LPG marketers have been preparing product for the scale up intervention.

[1] Equity Group Holdings (15 February 2021). "EquityBCDC Announces Leadership Team on Heels of Brand Transformation author". Equity Group Holdings. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

[1] Equity Group Holdings (18 May 2022). "One year after the merger, EquityBCDC's results show exponential growth". Equity Group Holdings. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

The overall objective of the Technical Assistance (TA) support is to strengthen Equity BCDC ’s capacity to

1) Provide technical advice on the LPG microfinance pilot scale up, with regards to implementation plan and workplan review, review of marketing material, etc.

2) Support the integration of the LPG pilot into the bank’s larger financial integration project which features energy services

• Propose eligibility criterium and process map for the new micro credit product

• Propose risk management specific points related to the new product

• Co-marketing and branding with partner energy companies

• Propose key points to be integrated in the digital monitoring, reporting and evaluation platform

3) Provide TA to bank and LPG partner staff on the following topics:

• Propose set of key training modules for bank’agents and staff related to the new product

• Propose set of key training modules for energy companies, distributors and resellers related to the new financial product

• Training of Equity Bcdc staff, banking agents, clean energy distributors and resellers on new LPG product, TVET, Education and financial inclusion, Entrepreneurship ,

4) Reports and monitoring features

• An inception report must be submitted to document the launch of the TA during a work session with Equity BCDC ’s management

• A monthly steering committee should be organized by the consultant and documented as progress reports that must be submitted to document progress and challenges.

• A final report must summarize the TA assignment and contain all the deliverables and the recommendations for sustainable use of the deliverables and for further enhancements

5) Make recommendations to UNCDF and Scale Up project key actors that can influence sector LPG interventions including (make linkages and recommendations)

Contract Duration: 6 months with 90 man-days of level of effort The individual contractor is expected to be home-based with possible travel to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. As such, the activities should be planned to take into account the way the tasks will be deployed including a combination of webinars, workshops, on-the job-training, coaching sessions, etc. The consultant should ensure that proper measures are in place and are respected to deliver on the scope of services.

In case of travel, UNCDF will arrange for all associated travel in line with the UNDP/UNCDF rules or Travel costs associated to the assignment will be advanced by the consultant, and paid by UNCDF on a reimbursement basis, and following the UNDP/UNCDF rules and regulations which states that consultant shall only be paid the most direct and most economical ticket, as will be quoted by the official UN travel agency. Any amount in excess of the said quotation, such as class and airline preference of the consultant, shall be borne by the consultant. The daily living allowance will be paid as per UN Rate prevailing on the city/ies of destination, and may be paid before or after the travel, and only upon submission of appropriate supporting documents. All other expenses outside of these items shall be on the account of the consultant.

The deliverables outlined below are expected in French or English.

1 Inception report describing the methodology and plan for the technical assistance package

2 Notes on the integration of the clean cooking solutions into the bank’s larger financial integration framework which features energy services

Marketing material and promotional tools for the scale up intervention co-branded with Equity Bcdc – Clean energy companies – Energy program

3 Report of training of Equity Bcdc staff, clean energy product marketers/distributors and their resellers on new financial product specifications, TVET, Number of TVET beneficiaries selected for the clean energy training and entrepreneurship training. Number of certified training centers selected for training

4 Final report outlining progress, lessons learned, recommendations Number of TVET beneficiaries trained in clean energy and entrepreneurship training done

Competencies

Competencies:

Functional Competencies

• Able to support business models that include linkages between energy access and access to finance.

• Understands how financial service providers and/or small to medium scale enterprises serving vulnerable people operate.

• Understands incubation and investments needs of decentralized energy and other utility enterprises and service companies.

• Strong analytical and writing skills; experienced in producing concise, executive level reports and presentations, training modules and materials.

• Good interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in a multi-cultural environment, with sensitivity to diverse opinions.

• Strong communications skills in speaking, writing, as well as presenting materials in variety of media.

• Strong understanding of DRC regions and cultural differences /habits. Working and living experience would be a plus

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Corporate Competencies:

• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNCDF;

• Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

Education:

• Masters level qualifications in business, finance, accounting, risk management, marketing, economics, accounting, energy, electrical engineering or related fields

Experience:

• Minimum 6 years of experience supporting market-based development of energy markets that serve low income people;

• Minimum 5 years’ experience advising or implementing energy business models that may incorporate digital services, pay as you go business model, and access to finance for vulnerable people, including household/business level solutions as well as larger SME and community-based solutions (years of experience can overlap with other categories); experience must include risk management and financial management.

• Minimum 3 years’ experience providing technical assistance to financial service providers and/or fintech and energy enterprises, particularly in developing the segment of business targeting vulnerable people (years of experience can overlap with other categories);

• Minimum 2 years of work experience in more than one of the CleanStart programme focus countries in Africa (DRC, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, Niger, Zambia).

Language:

• Fluency in both English and French.

Step I: Screening/Longlisting

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the minimum criteria below(education, experience, language) will progress to the pool for shortlisting.

Education:

• Masters level qualifications in business, finance, accounting, risk management, marketing, economics, accounting, energy, electrical engineering or related fields

Experience:

• Minimum 6 years of experience supporting market-based development of energy markets that serve low income people;

Language:

• Fluency in both English and French

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review

UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates by evaluating the following criteria with the corresponding points (100 points)

• Minimum 6 years of experience supporting market-based development of energy markets that serve low income people; (20 points)

• Minimum 5 years’ experience advising or implementing energy business models that may incorporate digital services, pay as you go, and access to finance for vulnerable people, including household/business level solutions as well as larger SME and community-based solutions (years of experience can overlap with other categories); ( 30 points)

• Minimum 3 years’ experience providing technical assistance to financial service providers and/or energy enterprises, particularly in developing the segment of business targeting vulnerable people (years of experience can overlap with other categories); (30 points)

• Minimum 2 years of work experience in more than one of the CleanStart programme focus countries in Africa (DRC, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, Niger, Zambia ) ( 20 points)

As applicable, only the applicants achieving a minimum of 70% of the points for the technical proposal will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

Step III: Financial Evaluation

The following formula will be used to evaluate the financial proposal:

Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%. All financial proposals shall be submitted along with the applications, and no modification shall be made on the proposals unless requested by UNCDF.

The top candidate that achieved the highest cumulative score will be recommended for award of the contract.

APPLICATION

Interested individual consultants or firm must submit the following documents/information as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications. (NOTE: The system does not allow multiple uploads of document. Applicants must make sure to upload all documents in one PDF file.)When applying for this consultancy position, please apply with your official name as shown in the government issued identification document (e.g. passport and/or driver license). Contract award is subject to this verification.

All applications must contain the following information:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references; link to P11: http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc;

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised posi-tion. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.

The following document is to be sent by email to [email protected]

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal (do not upload your financial proposal online.) The financial proposal should be emailed separately to [email protected] with the subject line: Experts in providing Technical Assistance to Equity BCDC to scale up the LPG microfinance in DRC

• Earliest availability of the consultant .

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org If the consultant is over 65 years old, UNCDF reserves the right to require full medical certification and clearance from the consultant’s physician prior to commencing the travel.

Both individual consultants and individuals employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply. Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for Individual Consultant must do so in their individual capacity (providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly). If the company or institution that employs them will charge a management fee, the said amount must be incorporated in the financial proposal that the individual will submit. No further changes to reflect additional costs shall be accommodated by UNCDF at the point of awarding the contract.

Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply. UNCDF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Please include all documents into one file while submitting your application.

References

UNDP’s Individual Consultant’s General Terms and Conditions are provided here:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf

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Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org