BACKGROUND

First Consult

First Consult (FC) is one of the leading local consulting firms in Ethiopia. It specializes in delivering effective and business oriented solutions for development, business, strategy, human resource, finance and investment problems & needs of its clients. Presently FC would like to hire SME TA Manager for Enterprise Partners (EP) which is a program implemented by a consortium with DAI Europe(led), First Consult, Enclude, ITAD and BCaD.

Enterprise Partners

Enterprise Partners (EP) is a 7-year (2013-2020) wealth creation programme, which aims to support the private sector and Ethiopia’s economic growth, inclusive of women and the environment. By applying the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach for sustainable results, it aims to facilitate market development in order to spur innovation and investment, creating jobs and increasing incomes for the poor.  It does so with a combination of technical assistance and market facilitation in resolving market failures. 

The EP pillars are:

• The Finance Pillar is expected to achieve the outcome of increasing investment levels in the Ethiopian economy, particularly for growth-oriented Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This will include funding of green technologies where appropriate and develop funding for green growth investments.

In addition, the finance team also focus on the base of the pyramid, where market failures are being addressed to increase the usage of semi-formal and formal financial services by the poor.

• The Agro-Industrial Pillar is expected to achieve the outcome of increasing returns on investment (productivity) and investment levels in the priority sectors of cotton/textiles/apparel, livestock/leather and fruits/vegetables, in order to achieve the impact of creating jobs and raising household incomes. Additionally, this pillar will incorporate the promotion of climate change awareness and addressing women’s economic empowerment.
  

Background specific to SME Finance Project

The Government of Ethiopia (GoE), in cooperation with the World Bank Group, the European Investment Bank and the DFID-funded Enterprise Partners, is implementing the SME Finance Project, aimed at enhancing access to finance opportunities for SMEs in Ethiopia. The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) has been identified as the implementing agency for the over $260 million credit facility aimed at supporting SMEs, through leasing finance and/or working capital finance, to be delivered through DBE, commercial banks, microfinance institutions and lease (or capital goods) finance companies.

The Ethiopia SME Finance Study (2014) represents the analytical background for the project. The study, conducted by the World Bank at the request of the GoE, looked at SME finance (or lack thereof) as one of the possible obstacles to job creation. The study has demonstrated the existence of a so-called “missing middle” phenomenon in Ethiopia, whereby small enterprises are more credit constrained than either micro or medium/large enterprises. The study also highlighted the inadequacies of Ethiopia’s financial sector to address the financing needs of SMEs, and the existence of severe limitations in the overall enabling environment for SME lending (e.g. the lack of a collateral registry).  Moreover, it also highlights the importance of lease finance as a complementary source of funding for boosting the Ethiopian economy, by providing long-term finance to SMEs, which need funds to expand but often do not have the credit history or collateral sufficient for credit from conventional financing sources.

The project will have four components: Component 1: Financial services to SMEs; Component 2: Enabling environment for SME Finance; Component 3: Business Development Services to SMEs; Component 4: Project’s management, communication and impact evaluation.

Under component 1, the project will provide participating financial intermediaries with a line of credit facility for the provision of leasing and working capital to eligible SMEs. This liquidity support will be complemented with technical assistance (TA) aimed at supporting participating financial institution in designing, piloting, and rolling out financial products, utilizing novel lending methodologies (i.e. cash flow based lending) to successfully expand their outreach to the target SMEs. 

DBE will provide direct financing to SMEs, and wholesale finance to other financial intermediaries for on-lending to SMEs through two windows: a lease finance window and a lending (working capital) window.

A TA facility is established to complement and reinforce the credit facility. In order to make the credit facility more effective, participating financing institutions will receive high-quality, tailored technical assistance. This is being delivered through a combination of specialized trainings and the presence of technical advisors with proven and relevant local and international experience to help build capacity in financial services to SMEs. This capacity building will aim to develop the staff of participating financing institutions to serve SMEs adequately – training them in assessing SME business proposals and developing suitable financial products and lending methodologies for the target group. Participating Financial Institutions will assume full credit risk of lending to SMEs and are free to set pricing and loan conditions, including relevant policies and procedures, commensurate with their cost structure, capital base and risk profile.

The final project beneficiaries will be eligible SMEs operating in the manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism and construction industries. For the purposes of this project, SMEs are defined in terms of number of employees (e.g. from 6 to 100 employees).  Working capital loans to SMEs will be limited to a maximum of Birr 10 million per SME, while lease finance loans will be aligned with the DBE Lease Financing Policy requirements: i.e. a maximum lease loan size of Birr 30 million.

PURPOSE

The TA Manager will facilitate all TA deliveries to the participating financial institutions as per the TA plan.  He/she holds primary responsibility for timely identification of consultants, coordinating TA deliveries, organizing trainings/workshops, following-up on and supporting implementation of TA recommendations, and coaching and mentoring staff at different levels.

The TA Manager will be responsible for the day to day implementation of the work plan and managing consultants, ensuring that provided TAs are to the satisfaction of the participating financial institutions, and that all outputs are up to standard and delivered on time.

In addition, the TA Manager is expected to bring his/her experience to provide guidance and support to the staff of the participating financial institutions at the head office and branches. He/she will be responsible for following-up and coaching of staff in the implementation of the SME Finance Project. 

SPECIFIC TASKS

The TA Manager is expected to bring his/her experience, judgement and best financial sector knowledge to support participating financial institutions in implementing SME Finance Project and thereby extending their project and services to target SMEs. The TA Manager should have an in-depth understanding of SME Finance Project and it’s objective. This includes all the requirements from the project documents of the World Bank, documentation from the Development Bank of Ethiopia and all other relevant project documents. Moreover, the TA Manager should understand the overall project structure and the roles of the various stakeholders involved in the implementation of the SME Finance Project. He/ she is expected to undertake the tasks and activities listed below.

• TA needs identification, preparation and execution of TA plan for participating financial institutions.
• Manage relationship with senior managers/CEO of the respective participating financial institutions and other stakeholders.
• Deliver and/or oversee delivery of technical assistance (training, follow-up and mentorship, technical advice, policy/strategy formulation, etc) as per agreed work plan.
• Develop TOR, source international and local consultant and manage TA deliveries.
• Manage consultants, ensure timely delivery of outputs, ensure buy-in from the financial institutions and monitor implementation of recommendations.
• Provide TA as required and coach/mentor consultants, junior staff, MFI management and staff.
• Manage overall TA delivery to PFIs and ensure TA quality and achievement of milestones.
• Provide regular progress updates/reports on activities performed and overall performance of the participating financial institutions.
• Continuously keep abreast of developments in the financial sector, analyse the impact of any changes to EP’s financial sector interventions and communicate to the team.
• Working closely with MRM, monitor the effectiveness, direct and indirect results of SMEFP TA on changes of practice by participating financial institutions.  Ensure monitoring results are used as an input to improve TA design and delivery.
•  Working closely with MRM and SMEFP impact evaluation team, capture the overall impact of SMEFP.
• Work closely with DBE PMT team and provide support as and when required. This involves facilitation/conducting of TA need assessment, design and delivery to the DBE PMT team including mentoring and coaching of the team.
• Oversee and manage other financial sector related interventions as needed.
• Support the SME lead in coordination of activities within the SME team to ensure sharing/ efficient utilization of resources and achievement of the overall targets.
• Perform other tasks as required.

WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

The TA Manager will be based at EP Office.  The TA Manager will be working closely with participating financial institutions (PFIs) and other stakeholders of the project. The TA Manager will report to the SME Finance Lead at EP.

SMEFP reference number:

• TBA

Sector:

• Investment Sector

Fund used:

• SMEFP

Responsible Person: 

• Kenno Itana

Period of assignment:

• TBD

CONSULTANT REQUIREMENTS

• Senior Level Consultant with experience in the financial sector including SME finance.
• University degree or higher, in business, economics, finance or related discipline
• 10 years + proven experience in SME finance
• Experience working with financial institutions
• Proven experience in provision of technical assistance to financial institutions
• Experience in developing policy documents/ procedure manuals, guidelines, and training materials
• Good knowledge of the financial sector in Ethiopia or experience in other African countries
• Good understanding of Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach
• Ability to manage technical experts, work plans and budgets
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with others
• Proven ability to develop and deliver classroom training as well as on the job mentoring
• Experience in development of appropriate technical appraisal tools, policies and procedures
• Ability to work with public and private sector stakeholders
• Commitment to building the skills and competence of the team
• Competencies required include:
  • Fluent in spoken and written English, Amharic is an asset
  • Excellent writing and presentation skills
  • Excellence in developing work plans and budgets
  • Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines