CONSULTANT SCOPE OF WORK
Credit-Readiness and Loan Packaging Service Development
Location of Assignment: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with travel to Mbeya, Iringa, Morogoro, and Zanzibar
Proposed Level of Effort: 18 days
Anticipated Start Date: 28 January 2018
Anticipated End Date: 16 February 2018
Problem Statement
Small enterprises in Tanzania often cite a lack of access to finance as a key constraint to the long-term viability and growth of their business. While the reasons for low levels of small enterprise lending among financial institutions is myriad, one significant factor is the inability of business owners to adequately prepare prior to seeking a business loan.
Objectives of the Assignment
The objective of this assignment is to finalize the development of a structured “credit-readiness” process. This process will be employed by a select group of Tanzanian business advisors to use when assisting small and medium enterprises with planning for a business loan, completing their application and assembling the required documentation.
The consultant will work with the ENGINE team to develop a stepwise loan application preparation process. Once developed, with standards established for each step, the consultant will teach the elements of the process to business advisors. By pre-underwriting potential borrowers, this process would also serve as a first line of due-diligence, ensuring accuracy and reasonableness on the part of the business before its profile is shared with financial institutions.
Already, the business advisors have been screened and trained on financial analysis and commercial credit. As a next step, the consultant will deliver a two-day, hands-on training focusing on working with a client to collect the information necessary to construct financial statements, cash-flow projections and business plans.
This follow-up training should be highly interactive, containing case studies and group/individual exercises on financial statement preparation, cash flow projections and business plan development.
Background
The Tanzania Enabling Growth through Investment and Enterprise Program (ENGINE) is a four-year, USAID-funded Feed the Future activity awarded through the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), that aims to streamline and enhance many of the regulatory, informational and financial channels that encourage domestic and foreign investment in the southern mainland agricultural regions of Mbeya, Morogoro, and Iringa, and in Zanzibar.
ENGINE works at the district level, using a broad-based approach to engage with district Local Government Authorities (LGAs), private sector associations, business development service providers, financial institutions and small and medium enterprises. The program’s activities are divided into three main components:
Implement policies for growth. Build the capacity of the private sector to effectively dialogue with the government to set the policy agenda and improve the capacity of the public sector to implement policies.
Equip businesses for growth. Strengthen SME capacity and foster the growth and capacity of a sustainable market for business development services (BDS) in Tanzania.
Access to finance for growth. Broaden access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially women and youth entrepreneurs and those working within agricultural value chains, to facilitate increased investment and growth.
Assignment Tasks
The consultant will complete the following tasks:
Prior to departure
- After receiving confirmation to work with ENGINE, the consultant will coordinate closely with the IESC office in Tanzania, reviewing available secondary information (materials and recommendations from the initial training) and finalizing the details of the assignment.
- Develop effective training materials with case studies, exercises and practical examples (localized as much as possible) for the BDS providers.
Upon arrival in Tanzania
- Attend an orientation meeting with ENGINE Program staff in Dar es Salaam.
- In collaboration with the ENGINE team, develop the required elements of a formal credit-readiness process for small business owners—including both the necessary knowledge and documentation, as well as a set of standards, guidelines and templates for each component, with methods of quality assurance verification.
- Conduct a two-day training in Iringa, Mbeya, Zanzibar and Morogoro to train business service providers in the process and standards that constitute a firm’s credit-readiness so that they can provide the service directly to business owners. Topics should include:
- Financial statement preparation
- Cash flow projection
- Business plan development
- Loan structuring & repayment
- Start to finish loan application process
1. Submit a final report summarizing findings, conclusions and recommendations related to the assignment;
2. Provide exit debriefings to ENGINE leadership and other relevant stakeholders.
1. Deliverables
The consultant will submit the following deliverables:
i) To be submitted prr to delivering training:
2. Development of standards, guidelines and templates that constitute a firm’s credit-readiness for BDS providers to adhere to when offering this service, developed with input from the ENGINE program team;
3. Training materials.
1. ii) To be submitted after concluding training:
2. Final Trip Report that includes the following sections:
A. Introduction; B. Methodology; C. Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations; and
Discussion of assignment objectives and how they were met or why they were not met.
Additionally, the consultant will provide exit debriefings to the ENGINE staff.
Consultant Qualifications
The ideal Credit Readiness Service Development consultant will have the following skills and qualifications:
- 7+ years of commercial credit underwriting experience;
- Knowledge of business loan documentation and loan processing;
- Strong skills in financial statement analysis, commercial credit, cash flow analysis and business plan development;
- Undergraduate university degree in business, finance, accounting or related field; relevant graduate degree is a plus;
- Training skills, including participatory training in group settings.
- Well-developed writing skills in English and the ability to express one’s self clearly and concisely;
- Self-motivated, proactive, detail-oriented, mature, professional team player, who is a strong people person and communicator, with good inter-personal skills;
- Ability to address issues, challenges, questions, and concerns in a professional, respectful, logical, and timely manner;
- Ability to work effectively in cross-cultural contexts; prior experience working overseas—especially in Africa—is helpful;
- Fluent English language skills, knowledge of Swahili would be helpful; and
- Good computer skills in MS Office.
- When applying please send CV and cover letter to [email protected] with “Credit Readiness Consutlant” in the subject line.
About the Organization
IESC – the International Executive Service Corps – is a US-based NGO with a focus on supporting private enterprise internationally. We have worked in partnership with local people in 130 countries—mainly with the generous support of USAID—designing, implementing, managing and evaluating a wide range of market driven solutions along the entire value chain of a company or industry. In Tanzania, IESC is implementing the Enabling Growth through Investment and Enterprise (ENGINE) program, a four-year USAID-funded Feed the Future activity awarded through the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) that aims to address many of the regulatory, informational and financial constraints that inhibit domestic and foreign investment in the southern agricultural regions of Mbeya, Morogoro, and Iringa, as well as in Zanzibar.