Background

The Programme in support of funding tailored to family farming (AgriFinance-Burkina) is an initiative of the Government of Burkina Faso (2014-2018), officially launched in 2015, with the technical and financial support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

AgriFinance seeks to improve the producers' (especially women and young people) access to financial services tailored to the needs of family farming (in particular the rice sector, market gardening and small-scale animal breeding).

The Programme has five (5) components: I) provide technical assistance to microfinance institutions to offer financial services adapted to the needs of family farming, II) develop a local offer of technical service providers and support, III) strengthen the capacities and skills of small farmers in mastering  family farming  and managing  their income; III) draw up a roadmap around  agricultural financial inclusion to support family farming; capitalization, documentation and popularization of  experience in financing family farming.

After opting for a “Make-Do” strategy, AgriFinance Burkina recruited strategic partners through a selective, transparent and competitive process for the implementation of the components of its activities with a focus on the value chain approach:

•   Four (4) MFI: FCPB (Umbrella Organisation of Credit Unions of Burkina), APFI-Burkina (Association for the promotion of inclusive finance of Burkina), SOFIPE (Small Business Financing Company) and the First Microfinance Agency of Burkina (PAMF-Burkina) and,
• Five (5) Technical agricultural service provider: LESSOKON, ICDE, SOSSIBF, CISV and  GRAD-FDC grouping.

With the AgriFinance-Burkina Programme, UNCDF which is in charge of implementation, strives to improve access to financial and technical services adapted to the needs of small farmers. AgriFinance-Burkina combines public resources and those of the private sector (banks and microfinance institutions) to help farmers reduce their risk profile and increase their use of agricultural inputs, in order to invest more productively, for higher income and outputs, and thus improve food security. During its initial phase (2014-2018), the programme covers the East, North and Mouhoun Loop zones, targeting about 20 000 small farmers (including 50% women and 25% youths). UNCDF, UNDP and the Government intend to extend the programme throughout the country.

AgriFinance-Burkina is in line with the priorities of the Government's National Economic and Social Development Programme (PNDES), particularly with regard to its axis 3 and its Expected Effect 1.1 “The primary sector contributes to food security, decent employment, the supply of the local food processing industry and is respectful of sustainable development principles”.

Focused on poverty reduction, food security and women and youth empowerment sectors, it contributes to achieving SDD 1, 2 and 8.

The AgriFinance-Burkina Programme implemented the in-depth diagnosis of the financial services demand which was carried out and presented officially in April 2017 in connection with the performance of the MAP (Making Access to financial services) process. The diagnosis of the offer, the regulation and channels of distribution are being launched with the aim of developing the roadmap for the Inclusive National Finance Strategy before the end 2017.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall Objective

The overall objective of the mission is to capitalize the experience gained by AgriFinance over the period from 2015 to April 2017 in order to share the good practices and lessons learnt with regard to agricultural/rural financing which could guide the future UNCDF and UNDP actions relating to the development of agricultural value chains in the country. It will involve producing, in the form of capitalization notes and articles, in paper format and publishable electronic medium, the good practices and lessons learnt from the various mechanisms, tools, strategies and approaches implemented within the framework of AgriFinance.

Specific objectives:

More specifically, the mission will focus on the following themes:

1. Key lessons learnt from the implementation of the Programme, in general;
2. Strengths and limits of partnerships between microfinance institutions and technical service providers for the development/improvement of integrated products (financial and non-financial) in the funding of value chains;
3. The added value of the AgriFinance Programme to the positioning of partner financial institutions (MFIs and Banks) on agricultural and rural financing;
4. The contribution of new developed/improved products to the funding of value chains, in particular onions, potatoes, animal fattening and lowland rice;
5. The conditions under which the financial education of the populations is likely to contribute to increasing financial inclusion in areas of intervention, in particular.

 Expected Outcomes

The mission is expected to yield the following outcomes:

1. A general capitalization note (good practices, challenges, lessons learnt…), on the implementation of AgriFinance is prepared (max 15 pages);
2. Four capitalization notes  (7-10 pages per note) are produced on (I) partnerships between Financial Service Providers -Technical Service Providers (PSFs-PSTs) under AgriFinance; (II)  added value of the AgriFinance Programme for the positioning of partner MFIs and Banks on rural and agricultural financing; (III) description of new developed/improved products, lessons on the processes and their contributions to the funding of value chains (in particular onions, potatoes, animal fattening and lowland rice); (iv) financial education, mentoring, training of family farmers and involvement in the maintenance or creation of rural employment.

Methodology of the mission

The mission will follow a methodology comprising the following elements:

•   Develop a table of contents and a methodology for the 5 capitalization notes;
• Interview major stakeholders (MFIs, Banks, Technical Service Providers (PSTs, Farmer Organizations (Ops), Governments, TFPs, etc.);
• Collect relevant information, data and images from partners of the Programme to provide input to the capitalization notes;
•  Summarize, process and analyse information and data;
• Develop the provisional versions of the capitalization notes;
• Incorporate UNCDF comments (AgriFinance team, and Regional office) in the final versions of the capitalization notes;
• The sample will cover the Programme's three regions of intervention, namely the Center-East, the North and the Mouhoun Loop.

Delivrables

For each of the five (05) capitalization products, the consultant will submit:

• The provisional version of the table of contents and the methodology to be adopted;
• The final version of the table of content;
• The provisional version of the capitalization note;
• The final version of the capitalization note.

Organization and duration of the mission

The mission will be conducted under the supervision of the Technical Adviser of AgriFinance in close collaboration with the UNCDF Regional office

Organization of relevant documentation

AgriFinance will collect and provide the consultant with basic documentation for the preparation of the preliminary report. It will also facilitate meetings with stakeholders for interviews and focus groups, where necessary. The main sources will be as follows:

• Beneficiaries of financial and non-financial services offered by financial service providers;
• AgriFinance Implementing Partners;
• Members of the Investment Committee;
• The reports, studies and other relevant documents.
  • Follow-up (regular reports, examination) and mission reports;
  • SNMF (National Microfinance Strategy) Document;
  • Research - financial Information and management reports (Atlas, performance steering, audit, results-based management, etc….);
  • Minutes of Investment Committees, PBA/GAP and performance indicators, financial reports of supported MFI;
  • Quarterly reports on the implementation of the Programme;
  • Various studies;
  • Reports of various consultations at national level;
  • Etc.

Duration of the mission

The Consultant will be recruited for 2.5 months from June 1 to September 30, 2017. The consultant will conduct interviews from a distance and may, where necessary, pay a country visit to gather data.

Competencies

Selection Criteria

The candidates are invited to submit a technical and a financial proposal.

The technical proposal

The proposal should include a methodological note to conduct the mission. The latter will enable the panel to evaluate the consultant on the basis of the detailed evaluation grid provided below. It should be noted that the methodology proposed by the selected candidate will be amended thereafter in the light of the documentary review and the requirements of the organization in this regard, and then be submitted for validation of the evaluation committee. The technical proposal accounts for 70%.

The financial proposal

• Detailed financial proposal for the mission including the daily fees and per diem allowances in the event of a day's mission;
• The consultant will bear all travelling expenses related to the discharge of his mission.

The consultant's financial proposal is subject to negotiation on the basis of the United Nations scale for fees, DSA and logistics costs and depending on the availabilities of the budget. The financial proposal accounts for 30%.

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of:

• The understanding of the ToRs;
• The methodology and work plan;
• Qualification and skills (education, qualification, general experience, specific experience,….).

Required Skills and Experience

The consultant must have:

• A University Degree (at least a Master’s Degree) in economics, management, finance, social sciences, statistics, econometrics or a similar subject  area;
• Proven experience in the production of capitalization notes for widespread dissemination (the consultant must attach a copy of some notes, or reference sites);
• Relevant experience and thorough technical knowledge in financial inclusion;
• Familiarization with the Burkinabe context.

Documents to be included in the proposal

Technical:

• Methodological note for the discharge of mission;
• Form P11 + CV - similar experiences and three references - email and telephone contact ;
• Letter of motivation.

Financial *

* This proposal will be negotiable depending on the availabilities of the budget and the adjustment to the UN rate.

Detailed and complete financial proposal for the duration of the mission itemized as follows:

• Daily fees;
• Logistics expenses (communication, consumable, etc. …);
• Costs for the translation of the gathered documents (where necessary).

Evaluation Ethics

In the discharge of their missions, the evaluators should refer to the principles, ethics and procedures of evaluation set forth in UNEG’s “Ethical Directives for Evaluation”. Knowledge of these devices is essential to safeguard the rights and confidentiality of people providing information, for example: measures to guarantee compliance with the legal codes governing the areas, such as provisions to collect and report data, in particular, authorizations required to interview or obtain information about children and teenagers; provisions to help store and protect the security of gathered information and protocols to guarantee anonymity and confidentiality.

Confidentiality

The selected consultant will undertake to preserve the confidentiality of professional information obtained or discovered during the mission. 

Penalties for Delay

The penalties for delay will be applicable if the submission of the final report unduly exceeds the consultant's planned schedule. in the event of established delay, the UNDP will notify the consultant of a date fixed for the submission of the final report, which shall not exceed an additional unpaid week. With effect from the 8th day, a penalty of 2% of the contract amount for each day of default will be applied. When it reaches 10%, the UNDP reserves the right to unilaterally opt out of the contract with no financial compensation.

Selection criteria

The contract will be awarded to the qualified and compliant technical proposal with the best offer. If none the technical proposals obtains the minimum technical score, the contracting authority  reserves the right to negotiate and sign a contract with the consultant who has the highest technical score.