SEEKING A CONSULTANT: FINANCIAL INCLUSION ADVOCACY FOR INFORMAL SAVINGS GROUPS
CARE’s ACCESS AFRICA program was launched in June 2008 as a bold, 10-year investment that will show dramatic returns in the fight against poverty. Already the ACCESS AFRICA program has reached over 3.2 million additional clients across 26 countries in Africa.
Over the next decade, the program will provide 30 million people ― 70 percent of them women ― with access to a suite of basic financial services that can enable them to break the vicious cycle of poverty, transforming it into a virtuous cycle of rising income, improved health, better education and greater participation in their communities and nations. We believe, by reaching so many people, Access Africa will create a tipping point for developing a financial sector in which all citizens can participate.
CARE pioneered its flagship Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) approach in Niger in 1991. CARE’s VSL approach to microfinance builds on traditional borrowing and lending practices to create self-sufficient savings and loans groups, predominantly in rural areas where the main source of income is smallholder farming. It enables people to pool their money together with others in their community to make small loans, which can be used to start income-generating activities. Because the approach is community-managed and does not require any external financial input, it is suitable for communities in rural and remote locations where the transaction costs for formal banks and microfinance institutions are too high to make financial services for poor people commercially viable.
CARE is seeking a consultant to lead the development and implementation of financial inclusion policy strategies for three countries which are implementing Access Africa programs. This will involve supporting each team in a process of policy analysis, and then working with the team to transition that analysis into a strategy for policy change. It is anticipated that this will involve both remote support as well as in-country support. Once the strategy is developed the consultant will also support in the development of an implementation plan for achieving the strategy.
At the end of this process, the incumbant will consolidate the lessons learned into a training program, based on CARE’s existing Policy Analysis Manual. The incumbant will develop and deliver the training curriculum at the Access Africa Learning Event the week of April 21st.
Consultants who are interested in this assignment should contact Nurys Bustamante-CARE Procurement Officer at nbustamante@care.org by March 10th for a full copy of the RFP. TOR will be sent to all interested at the same time after deadline.
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