Applications are invited for:
Title: Business development for Impact Investment and SME Support Programmes
Location: remote
Background and rationale
Oxfam Novib supports the people who stand up for equality. We stand for a world in which prosperity is equally distributed. Together with partners, we strive for an economy that focuses on well-being and sustainability. The cluster Impact Investments is a sub-team within the FAIR thematic program stream that hosts the Impact SME development program and Oxfam Novib Impact Investments. In 2023 a new fund, the Pepea fund, was added to the investments portfolio. It targets the financing of impact-driven Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in East-Africa. With this new addition, there is an increased need to leverage synergies between our program that support impact-driven SMEs and our investment funds that fund Micro Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). Concretely, there is a need to strengthen Oxfam Novib’s proposition on pre- and post-investment technical assistance and other risk-mitigation instruments for MSMEs so that we are better positioned to attract funding for our interventions.
The assignment will be part of a wider strategic trajectory of the impact investment cluster with the aim to increase the synergies between 3 interventions:
- The Oxfam Novib Fund: financial and non-financial support to MSMEs via Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) with a focus on building climate resilience. The country scope is all official development assistance (ODA) recipient countries1.
- The Pepea Fund: financial and non-financial support to SMEs with a focus on gender and climate. The country scope is Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
- The Impact SME Development Program: business development support and access to finance support to impact-driven SMEs and influencing the ecosystem for impact-driven SMEs. The program has so far been in Eqypt, Somaliland, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The outcome of the services provided should be a market scan of the ecosystem of de-risking mechanisms to support funding of the “missing middle” SMEs and a concept note of Oxfam Novib’s pre- and post-investment support and de-risking package to “missing middle” SMEs in ODA recipient countries2.
Objective and scope
The objective of this assignment is to build a proposition for a pre- and post-investment support and de-risking package to “missing middle” SMEs in ODA recipient countries. This proposition will include a market scan and a concept note:
1. Market scan: an overview of the funding and support needs of different type of SMEs, trends and organizations (including donors) that are active in this field, including a menu of options for offering pre-and post-investment and de-risking support that would fit Oxfam Novib.
2. Concept note: a concept note detailing the potential programs and funding mechanisms that combine our 3 interventions. It should be based on the findings from the market scan and follow the requirements of an existing and relevant Call for Proposals (please refer to methodology for a list of examples). It should include a list of funding opportunities to submit this concept note to.
This assignment is not an evaluation of our current interventions, but rather an attempt to design our future interventions that are well suited to Oxfam’s Novib’s added value (as enabler), the needs of the SMEs (demand-side) and the available funding opportunities (supply side).
Methodology
Desk research:
This could include a literature study, a review of relevant internal strategic documents, donor scanning and a review of call for proposals.
List of relevant Call for Proposals:
In order to effectively write an concept note, the consultant should respond to an actual Call for Proposal. This could be one of the following (non-exhaustive) list:
- Design and implementation of a first loss facility to catalyze agri-SME investments in Africa
- Call for proposals – Innovation and Entrepreneurship on food, blue economy, renewable energy, clean cooking solutions, climate adaptation and environment in Sub-Saharan Africa
- SWITCH Asia – Promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production
- SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO BRIDGING ACCESS TO INCLUSIVE FINANCIAL SERVICES IN GHANA PROGRAM
Workshops/interviews:
Workshops/interviews with members of the impact investment cluster and potential other relevant stakeholders.
Components & deliverables
The different components of this assignment are:
- Data collection: includes a kick-off meeting to align the process and interviews/workshops and a desk study.
- Writing and presentation: includes the writing of the required reports and the final presentation.
The different deliverables of this assignment are:
- 1. Kick-off session that contains a:
- a. Updated work plan and methodology to undertake this study
b. Updated timelines
2. Market scan that includes:
- Quick scan of different segmentations of SMEs’ needs in relationship to funding and non-financial support
- Key trends and organizations that are active in pre- and post-investment support for SMEs in OCA countries
- Key trends and organizations that are active in other de-risking support (e.g. first loss guarantees and currency risk guarantees) for SMEs in OCA countries
Key donors that are having funding opportunities for pre- and post-investment support and de-risking support for “missing middle” SMEs, including a summary of their strategy on missing middle finance and key requirements based on previous CfPs - Menu of options for Oxfam Novib in pre- and post-investment support and other de-risking support per SME segmentation group, sector and region, including high-over recommendations for Oxfam Novib’s role and minimum capacities to conduct this type of support
3. A concept note that includes: concept note that reflects the objectives, design and requirements of a recent and relevant call for Proposals with a maximum amount of 10 pages
4. A presentation to the Impact Investment Cluster that includes a summary of the market scan, a summary of the concept note, the reason behind certain choices in the concept notes, and a list of upcoming call for proposals to submit an adapted version of the concept note
Preliminary Planning
| Phase | Deliverables | Time frame (indicative) | Number of working days (indicative) |
| Advertising ToR | 8 February – 22 February | ||
| Selection and contracting of consultant | 26 February – 8 March | ||
| Component 1: Data collection | Deliverable 1: Kick-off session | Second & Third week of March | 3 days |
| Component 2: Writing and presentation | Deliverable 2: Market Scan ReportDeliverable 3: Concept noteDeliverable 4: Presentation | Fourth week of March – First week of April | 3 days |
Deadlines
Any questions, remarks or requests for clarification can be sent to [email protected]
Quotations should reach Oxfam Novib no later than 22/02/2024
Contents of quotation
The following should be included in applications:
- At least two relevant reference assignment previously performed by the supplier that are comparable in content, time and money.
- Copy of the registration with the Chamber of Commerce
- A technical proposal, including the approach, a time planning based on this ToR and the CV(’s) of the proposed consultant(s), proving relevant experience and/or diplomas.
- Financial proposal with the total price. Accompanied with a cost brake down in days or hours spend and the related fee.
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