Background

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital. UNCDF focuses on Africa and the poorest countries of Asia, with a special commitment to countries emerging from conflict or crisis. It provides seed capital – grants and loans – and technical support to help financial service providers reach more poor households and small businesses, and local governments finance the capital investments that will improve poor peoples’ lives.  Financial inclusion means universal access, at a reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable institutions.  The range of financial services includes savings, short and long-term credit, leasing and factoring, mortgages, insurance, pensions, payments, local money transfers and international remittances.

With support from Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (“DFAT” formerly AusAid) and by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UNCDF launched MM4P in March 2012, a global thematic initiative to address the opportunities and challenges of implementing branchless banking and mobile money in challenging markets in Africa and Asia. MM4P’s long-term mission is to help low income and rural households in LDCs increase their financial security through appropriate, affordable and secure means to receive, manage and save money through these “digital financial services” (DFS). To do so, its intermediate goal is to help build inclusive digital financial sectors such that a wide range of digital financial services are provided responsibly, and at reasonable cost, by sustainable institutions in a well-regulated environment. This combines a making markets work for the poor approach with UNCDF’s traditional operational model of directly supporting the most crucial level – retail service providers. UNCDF is currently implementing this in eight countries (Laos, Nepal, Liberia, Malawi, Senegal, Benin, Zambia and Uganda).  With its programme management unit in Brussels, Belgium, UNCDF has placed technical teams in each of the focus countries of the programme.

In partnership and with financing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF or “the Foundation”) UNCDF started in Uganda in 2014. Having completed many initial stages of the programme around awareness raising, research, strategy and business planning, the work has narrowed to several crucial areas which are focused on reaching women and rural areas. The identified interventions over the next few years include: digitization of bulk payments (agricultural value chains, social welfare, education and potentially energy); agency banking; a few policymaker and regulator support efforts. This is done through direct technical assistance and grants DF providers, NGOs, agriculture companies, etc. as well as working with the government. 

MM4P seeks an international consultant to conduct a Study on KYC Requirements for Digital Financial Services in Uganda. 

Duties and Responsibilities

A healthy digital financial services (DFS) ecosystem depends on the ability for its users to be fully registered and compliant with the KYC requirements in the market. This especially applies within a maturing DFS ecosystem wherein more and more uptake is expected from a wider diversity of end-users and use cases, such as payments acquiring by small traders/merchants and schools, as well as bulk disbursements to refugees.

The knowledge and conduciveness of these KYC requirements for the various stakeholders is therefore important for adoption and scale of DFS. 

Discussions with various stakeholders in the DFS space in Uganda have revealed:

1. A need for more clarity around the KYC regime for the various stakeholders in the DFS eco-system (consumers, agents, small traders/merchants, non-corporate entities e.g. schools etc.)
2. Disparities in interpretation of the requirements around the KYC regime;
3. Challenges around registration and on-boarding, e.g. merchants and refugees, citing stringent KYC requirements and onboarding processes.

Hence a need to conduct an enquiry on this subject matter.

The major objectives of this assignment are:

1. Undertake an exhaustive analysis of the requirements and associated processes (either driven by regulatory authorities or by other stakeholders, such as MNO’s and banks) for the various players in the DFS ecosystem.
2. To assess the current and potential impact of these requirements as well as the interpretation and implementation thereof on the growth potential of the DFS market and in particular on potential financial exclusion of certain type of end-users (e.g rural/BoP, merchants/traders, aliens/non-nationals, refugees, etc).
3. Considering practices in other DFS markets that are similar to Uganda, provide insights on how to address the challenges and opportunities around the KYC regime so as to further increase the uptake DFS in Uganda.

This is in line with UNCDF’s goal of helping build an inclusive digital financial sector in Uganda such that a wide range of digital financial services are provided responsibly, and at reasonable cost, by sustainable institutions in a well-regulated environment.

Part 1: Assessment of the KYC regime for all players in the DFS ecosystem:

• Review of the current KYC regime for consumers, traders, agents, merchants, aggregators (whether individuals or entities) in Uganda.
• Conduct key informant interviews with players at all levels of the ecosystem including, but not limited to MNO’s, aggregators, FIA, UCC, Bank of Uganda, banks, merchants. This to understand what drives the level of scrutiny in each case; which institution requires what, from who and what is the rationale for the requirement, how is it interpreted, by who and how is it implemented and what are the impediments for further uptake of DFS?

Part 2: Recommendations for the wider DFS industry:

• Recommendations that can be deployed by the market players;

·         Recommendations for policy or regulatory changes.

The consultant will complete the below deliverables:

• Study approach and methodology (to be discussed prior to field work);
• Study report with the key findings, learnings and recommendations for each of the key stakeholders in the industry;
• Workshop presentation of study findings to key stakeholders.

Competencies

Professional:

• Takes on innovation and new approaches and fosters innovation in others;
• Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
• Conceptualizes more effective approaches to programme development and implementation and to mobilizing and using resources.

Management/Client Orientation:

• Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives;
• Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for internal and external clients, and persuades management to undertake new projects or services;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities, and resolve problems;
• Focus on impact and results for clients and stakeholders;
• Builds trust in interactions with others, facilitates partnerships;
• Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude and responds positively to feedback;
• Committed to team work, working with other stakeholders.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field: economics, public/business administration, social sciences, or the equivalent experience is mandatory

Experience:

• Strong expertise and at least 5 years’ experience in designing and conducting  qualitative sector-wide impact assessment studies on the cross section of regulation and DFS is mandatory
• Knowledge and experience with the DFS market in Uganda and/or East-Africa is desired.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English is mandatory.

Timeline: 

• 15 May 2017 – 15 June 2017.

Location:

•  Kampala, Uganda.

Total number of working days for assignment: 20 working days (1 month).

Travel:

• The consultant shall quote 1 return airticket to Kampala, Uganda in the financial proposal.
• Please note that UNCDF cannot guarantee residence permits or visas for consultants. Consultants are responsible for securing their work documentation. In the case of national consultants, applicants that are not nationals of the duty station requested will have to prove their residence status.  Please note that national consultants will not be compensated for living expenses.
• For unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNCDF and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Provision of Monitoring, Progress Controls & Payments:

• The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Uganda Country Technical Specialist.
• Payment will be made on periodical basis in accordance with number of days worked and upon satisfactorily achieved deliverables. All payments are subject to the clearance and approval of the direct supervisor.
• Final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant.

Application: 

Interested individuals must submit the following documents 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:

• Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies in relation to the TOR.
• Earliest availability and proposed schedule for consultancy.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Completed and signed P11 (Personal History Form) with names and current contacts of 3 referees (available from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc).
• Signed financial proposal for the full assignment outlining the total professional fee (including professional fees, per diem in Kampala (if applicable)) other professional expenses (such as insurance, taxes, etc.), duty travel (1 return ticket from country of origin to Kampala, Uganda). The form is available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916).

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure that you have provided all requested materials in one PDF file.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Preliminary Evaluation - Step I: Screening

Technical Evaluation Weight - 70% x (Step II: 20 Points + Step III: 80 points= 100 Points)

Financial Evaluation Weight - 30% = Step IV.

Step I: Screening:

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria (listed under education and experience) will progress to the pool for shortlisting.

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review:

UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates and technically evaluate them.

As applicable, only the first top 4 ranked applicants achieving 70% of the points at this stage shall be invited for an interview.

Step III: Interview:

A technical interview shall be conducted for the top 4 candidates who achieved 70% of the points at the shortlisting stage.

Step IV: Financial Evaluation:

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of Steps II (20 points) + III (80 points) will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal: Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

Award Criteria:

The contract shall be awarded to the best applicant whose offer have been evaluated and determined as: responsive/compliant/acceptable and having received the highest combined weight (technical proposal & Interview) 70% + financial 30%= 100%.

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 IC must do so in their individual capacity (providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly).

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.