Consultant to develop 5-year
Strategy for PPAF’s Interest
Free Loan Program

Relevant Experience:

·       -At least 15 years relevant work experience within the microfinance/financial inclusion sectors.

-Strong understanding of Pakistan socio-economic context and diversity; including an understanding of gender impacts within financial inclusion/labour market sectors.

-Strong research and writing skills.

Job Description:

·       

1. Objectives of the Consultancy

 

In a developing country like ours with already very low indicators of socio-economic development, the pandemic is likely to further enhance inequalities. The challenges that IFL Program faces are diverse and volatile which do not only include the adverse impact of COVID 19 but also the effects of locust attacks and floods in the country which is predominantly an agriculture economy. Furthermore, 39 per cent of the population that lives below the poverty line relies on vulnerable sources of income and lacks the economic resources to sustain itself in times of crises. There is a need to investigate the challenges being faced by stakeholders (IFL clients, implementing partners & PPAF) and suggest solutions to these challenges.

 

Although PPAF is striving to provide financial resources to those who are unbanked and lack access to financial resources, it still feel that more innovative ways should be adopted for financial inclusion of poorest segments of the society esp. women, people with special abilities, unemployed youth, etc.   

 

There is a huge market opportunity for IFL Program keeping in view the market potential of 85.8 million individuals (39% of the population) living below poverty line and IFL Program is one of the major component of graduation model which aims to reduce dependence of the population at the bottom of the economic pyramid on government-led social safety nets (NPGP, BISP, Zakat and Baitul Mal Programmes) and helps to bring this population into the mainstream of economic development and financial inclusion. Therefore, there is a need to plan a framework for sustainability of IFL Program on long-term basis. 

 

To enhance outreach and convenience for the clients, the loan disbursement methodology might need to change. Digital financial solutions can play a key role in conducting the daily financial activities remotely without the need of being physically present at an MFI or public place. There is a need to provide such solutions to all IFL clients to conduct cashless transactions to save cost & other risks.   

 

Therefore, the need arises to develop a comprehensive plan for IFL Program to enable it to assist IFL’s existing and potential clients to revive their economic activities, gain access to interest free loans, improve their economic conditions, linking them with MFIs & MFBs ultimately graduating out of poverty. For this purpose, it is required to engage a consultant who can facilitate in developing the following:

 

 A 5-year strategy document that covers the following:

 

1. Identifying issues and challenges in the current implementation of IFL Program in view of prevailing socio-economic situation, with a view to ensure both outreach to excluded households / communities and enablement of productive businesses, especially for women.
2. Suggesting a way-forward including a 5-year plan to enhance outreach to IFL beneficiaries in a cost-effective manner and offering new loan products under IFL Program. This will provide the direction and scope of IFL Program over the years which will benefit the organization through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment to meet the needs of market and other relevant stakeholders.
3. Use of digitization and technology to enhance impact and long-term sustainability.
4. Look at operational modalities of implementing POs and suggest areas of improvement and cost-effectiveness.
5. Identify the HR requirements and improvements in operational policies and procedures to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, impact and sustainability for PPAF. 

 

Responsibilities of the Consultant: 

 

Following are the deliverables to be submitted by the consultant: 

Deliverable 1: Inception report with workplan 

Deliverable 2:   Situational analysis 

Deliverable 3: Draft Strategy document and presentation for senior management which includes a 5-year business plan for sustainability of the program and recommendations around product development and innovation; and Assessment of viability of using Digital Financial Services for IFL 

Deliverable 4:  Document analyzing HR requirements and operational procedures and processes and suggesting improvements, refinements, and a unit organogram. 

Deliverable 5: Final strategy document incorporating all comments and suggestions by PPAF. 

Deliverable 6: Final Presentations to introduce the strategy to PPAF Management, POs and GoP (in Islamabad and regions) 

6. Methodology 

The consultant will have detailed discussions with the staff of IFL, NPGP, MER, C&M Units, Sr. Group Head, Graduation, CEO , digital financial service providers, staff of implementing Partner Organizations (POs) of IFL Program and targeted communities regarding their understandings and vision of the IFL Program. References will be collected from different studies conducted in the microfinance industry. 

The consultant will also undertake a desk-based review of all relevant documents related to IFL – including evaluations/assessments, strategies, working papers, proposals, developed by PPAF and / or Partner Organizations.

Duration:

Duration of the assignment would be 4 months (extendable depending upon need and performance).

 

Education
Must	Degree	Degree Level	Country	Description
	Masters	Masters Degree	Pakistan	MBA or Master’s in Economics / Statistics preferred

Skills
Must	Title	Level	Description
	Research	Excellent	Strong Research skills
	Writing Skills	Excellent	Strong Writing/Report Writing skills