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Technical and Advocacy Support for SME Policy 2020 Roll-out and Implementation


Scope of Work Summary:

As part of SMEA technical assistance to the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P), Government of Pakistan, a revised SME Policy of Pakistan was prepared through a collaborative effort with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) of Pakistan. This technical activity was undertaken with a very aggressive private sector participatory approach, where detailed consultations were held with more than 250 – public private stakeholders across the four provinces. The proposed  SME Policy was presented to the Ministry of Industries on 4th September, 2020 and ,after deliberation within the Ministry, was presented to the National Committee on SMEs headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 9th Sepetember,2020. The Prime Minister was pleased to approve the Pillars/ principles and the Macro-Economic Framework of the Policy and directed that the Ministry now put up a plan on the implementation of the recommendations proposed in it. SMEA has now been requested by the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) to provide the requisite assistance to facilitate in the implementation of the Policy .

As part of this consultancy, and based on the policy prepared, an action plan will be developed for the Government. This will entail prioritization of recommended actions, clearly identifying roles and responsibilities and also the timelines involved. Subsequently, the team of consultants hired for this assignment will also be required to engage in technical discussions on issues/thematic areas in the policy such as SME definition, the institutional mechanism for its implementation, and others as decided, along with supporting the MoI&P with any subsequent advocacy related tasks for presentation of this policy and action plan to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Cabinet.


1.     Position Title & Department:

 Short Term Technical Experts - Business Enabling Environment Component.

 The proposed team composition for this assignment will include the following:

 -     Senior Policy Advisor-  Team Lead (Pre-selected representative from SMEA)

-     Economist                     

-     Policy Expert

-     Additional resources – as required ( appropriate subject matter experts to be engaged for a minimum of 2 and maximum of 5 days        to get inputs) – To be decided later {floating LOE}

-     The consultants will be required to work together to complete the tasks under this scope of work.


2.     General Summary:

 

Chemonics International is implementing Pakistan Small and Medium Enterprise Activity (SMEA), which is a 5-year, $35 million project that is aimed at improvement of financial and operating performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan in selected high-performing industrial, manufacturing and services sectors. Creating an enabling business environment is one of the objectives of SMEA. As such, the Project is now looking to explore avenues for reviving SMEs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SME Policy 2020 provides a comprehensive analysis and set of recommendations for the revision of the SME Policy 2007, in light of both economic and constitutional changes of the past decade.   The  objective  of  this  policy  is  to  trigger  private  sector  growth,  which  is geographically  and  socially  inclusive,  generate countrywide  employment,  improve  business competitiveness and increase exports. The guiding economic principles behind the suggested interventions   are   to   rectify   market   failure arising   from externalities   and   information asymmetries present in markets such as skills and credit, reduce cost of doing business by improving the regulatory infrastructure, and ease coordination problems arising from the lack of supply of critical infrastructure such  as  roads,  energy ,Information  and  Communications Technology(ICT) services etc. impeding SME growth. The policy framework is based on two central pillars –reforming the policy and regulatory environment and addressing SME market constraints, both demand  and  supply  side. The recommendations emanating from the revised SME Policy were endorsed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and as part of next step the MOI&P has reached out to USAID SMEA requesting technical assistance with the roll out of this Policy. The tasks completed under this scope of work will lead into follow on work for institutional restructuring of SMEDA, supporting MoI&P with regulatory guillotine and others as decided.

 

3.     Objective of the Consultancy:

 

Objectives:

(i) Prepare an action plan based on the detailed proposals recommended in the SME Policy 2020  for the roll out and implementation of the Policy  

ii) Undertake subsequent tasks relating to discussions and deliberations with relevant government entities including MoI&P, SMEDA, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), provincial regulatory authorities and other public stakeholders as deemed necessary to develop consensus and agreement on the action plan thus developed. 

 

4.     Principal duties and responsibilities

 

  • Meet with SMEA team, SMEDA , and MoI&P to understand the tasks relevant to this scope of work
  • The team of experts with their relevant experience will help design the roll out process of this policy  
  • Develop an action plan with priority items for government to roll out the policy. This will also include identifying the timelines involved for implementation of individual recommendations as proposed in the policy.
  • Participate in subsequent discussions on issues/subject areas such as SME definition, taxation, institutional mechanism with relevant public sector stakeholders.
  • Work as a team and in close coordination with SMEA and SMEDA to complete the tasks detailed in this scope of work.

 

 5.     Specific Tasks of the consultants

 

  • Meet with relevant public and private sector stakeholders for purpose of this assignment.
  • Develop a detailed action plan for the roll-out of the Policy
  • The team of experts will be engaging with the relevant public – private stakeholders to address institutional inputs such as the establishment of the SME council
  • Conduct dialogue  relevant entities such as SBP  to agree on a unified SME definition
  • Work alongside relevant taxation authorities for bringing about taxation and custom reforms pertaining to SMEs as proposed in the policy
  • Support the MoI&P in the process of getting the policy approved from the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Cabinet.
  • Assist MoI&P in any subsequent task related to technical subject matter of the Policy and its implementation process.

 

6.  Job Qualifications

Advisor

Person Specifications

 

Level of Effort

Senior Policy Advisor

(Team Lead)

  • Completed sixteen years of education with a degree in economics or any related field  
  • At least 15 years of practical experience of directly working with the government and administrative machinery
  • Excellent organizational, motivational, leadership and communication skills
  • Previous experience of working on economic growth reforms
  • Experience of working with different Government counterparts at the federal and provincial level, international donors and various industries and partners will be preferred
  • Experience of working directly with Small and Medium enterprises with an understanding of their challenges and the sector ecosystem.
  • Previous experience of on ground and strategic work in various parts of the country in different landscapes
  • Individuals involved in the design and formulation of revised SME Policy 2020 will be preferred
  • Experience of advocacy with senior government level officials on policy issues

  

3 days

Economist

  • Completed 16 years of education with a degree in Economics/Business Studies, from a reputed national /international university
  • At least 6 years of experience in undertaking research on industrial development in Pakistan
  • Good understanding of the current business environment, macro-economic framework and the corresponding institutional arrangements at the federal and provincial levels
  • Good understanding of the constraints faced by the SMEs at the federal and provincial levels
  • Previous experience of working with USAID projects in the area of economic growth, particularly on policy and regulatory side is preferred.
  • Specific experience of working on federal and provincial reforms for ease of doing business will be preferred
  • Excellent communication and report writing skills
  • Demonstrated experience in research and economic modeling will be preferred.
  • Demonstrate leadership, versatility, and integrity in previous professional assignments
  • English fluency required
  • Individuals involved in the design and formulation of revised SME Policy 2020 will be preferred. 

7 days

Policy Expert

  • Completed 16 years of education in economics, public policy, development economics, development studies,  governance or other related field  from a reputed local or international university
  • At least 6 years of experience working either with the Government or donor funded projects on business enabling environment and policy
  • Deep knowledge and understanding of the Federal and  provincial regulations, compliance regimes and policies  pertaining to industrial sectors, preferably SMEs, across Pakistan
  • Previous experience of working with SMEs for private-sector led growth reforms is required.
  • Previous experience of working with international donors especially USAID is preferred.
  • A sound understanding of issues related to creation of a sound business environment and how these affect SMEs
  • Experience working with the Federal or Provincial Government on similar projects. Preferably on policy analysis, drafting of regulations and proposing pro-small business policy and compliances will be preferred .
  • Excellent communication and report writing skills
  • Individuals involved in the design and formulation of revised SME Policy 2020 will be preferred. 

7  days

 

Other subject matter experts

  • To be determined later

TBD

  

7. Duty Station:

The consultant will be based in Islamabad and  will be working closely with the BEE team.

 

8. Workspace and Use of Personal Laptop and Software(s):

The consultant will be required to use his own personal laptop and must certify that all software used are genuine and licensed; to ensure that the project’s IT resources are protected from accidental destruction or deliberate attempts at sabotage by computer viruses and other hazards.

 

9.Reporting:

The consultant(s) will be required to report to BEE Deputy Component Lead, and/or her designee.

 

10. Duration of the Assignment:

This will be an intermittent effort of 17 days of LOE spread over a period of 2 months. This job is planned to take place as per a start date of on or around September 25, 2020 and end date of on or around November 30, 2020 (subject to date of mobilization of consultants). Additional resources for subject matter expert will be hired as and when required.

 

11. Deliverables:

The timeline for the LOE assigned for each activity as mentioned in the following table will be discussed and agreed with SMEA technical team and the consultants.  The consultants will be required to submit task sheets against each of the deliverables noted below.

 

No.

Activity

LOE(Days)

1

Meetings/discussions with SMEA, SMEDA, MoI&P  to understand the tasks under this scope of work  and on the subject matter of the policy

1

2

Development of Action plan with roles and responsibilities, prioritization of actions and timelines involved

2

3

Consolidation of proposals from the SME Policy in accordance with the action plan developed above

1

4

Submission of Action Plan to SMEA and discussion with SMEDA , MoI&P   

1

5

Consultations with SBP and other relevant Ministries/Departments on the action plan thematic/functional areas

5

6

Consolidation of inputs from stakeholders met during the process.

1

7

Subsequent technical advisory and advocacy support to MoI&P during the approval process from Prime Minister and the Cabinet- preparation for presentations, development of brief notes etc.

5

8

Other ad hoc tasks – participation in meetings/presentations  leading to policy approval

1

 

 

17 days