STTA - Fund Design
Expert - Business Enabling
Environment Component

Chemonics International Inc.

USAID Small & Medium Enterprise Activity

SOW

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

STTT Fund Design Expert - Business Enabling Environment Component.

Note: An economist and policy expert have already been hired under the subject scope of work and are currently working with SMEA to meet the objectives of this scope of work.  The position of a fund design expert is now being filled to meet specific deliverables detailed in the next sections.

 

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:

• Meet with SMEA team, and SMEDA to understand the tasks relevant to this scope of work.
• The team of experts already working under the subject scope of work to be consulted for completion of tasks under this scope of work
• Participate in subsequent discussions on the fund design with relevant 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.
• Review existing documents prepared by SMEA, and SMEDA related to the SME fund design.
• Review international best practices and successful models in Pakistan to propose a suitable design and structure for the fund.
• Design a proposal covering the overall design, features and structure of the SME Development fund to support SMEDA’s activities for SME development in line with the SME Policy 2020 and the action plan which has subsequently been developed.
• Participate in discussions with Ministry of Industries and Production, SMEDA, and other relevant entities to finalize the proposal on the SME Development fund.

 

6.  Job Qualifications:

Advisor	Person Specifications	Level of Effort
Other subject matter expert – Fund Design Expert	Completed 16 years of education in Finance, Economics, Business Administration or other related field from reputed local or international University Minimum 10-15 years of diversified experience in the field of finance, SME/investment, Fund design/structure or similar discipline Sound understanding of the demand and supply side issues pertaining to SMEs in Pakistan – and how relevant entities can align their policies to fill this gap Understanding of and experience with the access to finance needs, of entrepreneurs, SMEs and other new ventures. An understanding of business development services most required by SMEs and the prevalent landscape of business development service providers in Pakistan. Previous experience of working with Provincial/Federal Governments in structuring/designing funds on an income generation model Sound understanding of the link between a robust structured fund and efficient fund disbursement Demonstrated experience in investment management, portfolio management, financial product structuring, fund designing etc. Excellent communication and report writing skills	05 Days

 

 

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:

The fund design expert is to be hired for 5 LOE days with the specific deliverables for this position to be completed by February 28 , 2021.

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 consultant.  The consultant will be required to submit task sheet covering each of the deliverables noted below.

 

No.	Activity	LOE(Days)
1	Meet with SMEA and SMEDA to understand the specific requirements of the tasks involved under the SoW	0.5
2	Review available material on SME Development Fund as contained in the SME Policy 2020, action plan etc. along with discussing the initial concept with SMEA and SMEDA	0.5
3	Development of draft proposal on SME Development Fund -  in line with other regional and international best practices	3
4	Discuss and finalize the proposal with feedback from SMEA and any inputs from SMEDA	1
	Total	5 days