Background:
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we collaborate to put bold solutions into action - helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within now and for the future.
Mercy Corps has worked across Iraq’s 18 governorates since 2003, implementing relief and development programming. Mercy Corps Iraq’s current goal is to work with new and existing civil society, public and private sector partners to meet immediate and long-term needs by strengthening communities’ ability to rebuild amidst increasing crises. Mercy Corps Iraq focuses on (1) a relief-to-resilience pathway to meet the needs of conflict-affected communities leveraging agency expertise in conflict management and civil society development (2) a humanitarian response that empowers conflict-affected populations to meet their own needs (3) partnering with conflict-affected adolescents to address their diverse needs, promoting leadership and linkages with civil society, as well as access to education, psychosocial support, and economic opportunities; and (4) promoting reconciliation and foster trust across community divisions by strengthening conflict management and prevention mechanisms and enhancing social cohesion.
Purpose:
To review the Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) pilot projects and partnerships, document lessons learned, and recommend key considerations for improvement and scale up the intervention.
Project Description:
Mercy Corps Iraq has been implementing Promoting Economic Revival for Microbusinesses and Agriculture (PERMA) program funded by the Agence Francaise Developpement (AFD) that aims to improve the business environment, improve access to financial services as well as reactivate the agriculture value chains in the area of Hamdaniya in Ninewa governorate. The agricultural sector in Ninewa has been largely disorganized by the conflict: public infrastructures such as irrigated perimeters, slaughterhouses, markets, etc. have been either damaged and/or plundered, as were private equipment and assets (orchards, poultry houses, feed production units, etc.). Although rehabilitation and recovery costs may be modest, access to financial resources is a challenge both for the government, due to a comparatively low priority on agriculture in reconstruction efforts, and for farmers, whose capital has been depleted. The same can be said for all micro and small enterprises that are part of the economic fabric of rural areas and therefore contribute to the overall rural development of the governorate.
Facilitating access to finance for agricultural and other MSMEs in rural areas and smaller urban areas of Ninewa Governorate is one of the objectives of the PERMA program. To contribute to this objective of increasing access to finance, PERMA has been implementing a number of interventions to contribute in addressing the key constraints such as lack of trust in formal financial services and providers, cultural and social beliefs, lack of information, limited financial capability and dependency on subsidies and grant assistance, limited options and high requirements for the guarantee in accessing loans, limited institutional capacity, the weak value proposition for customers, limited understanding of market opportunities, lack of capital with the supply side. In this context, PERMA is partnering with two MFIs- Al-Rabiein Development Center (ARDC), Hamdaniya and Al-Tadhamun Organization for Economic Development (TDMN), Mosul to facilitate lending to targeted farmers and MSMEs in Hamdaniya and Bashiqa through a credit guarantee scheme (CGS) – a risk-sharing mechanism modified in the local context. PERMA is also pilot testing a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) scheme confined to finance actors in the agricultural sector in partnership with ARDC.
Contextual overview of financial services in Ninewa: The financial sector in Iraq, in general, is poorly developed and the situation in Ninewa has been further aggravated by the conflict and security situation. The banking services are limited to city centers and people still do not find the banks as the trusted sources for financial services. MFIs in Iraq established with donor-supported programs to serve low-income people are still in an NGO status and lack loan funds. The MFIs are allowed to do lending services only which limits them to mobilize savings/deposits for lending to their customers. Group lending methodology and outreach models do not exist limiting the access to loans only for the people capable of furnishing enough guarantee. Informal mechanisms for financial services are almost absent and people depend on family, friends, and relatives for loans. Even among the available loan products with the financial institutions, the products and procedures seem to be fit for all with the same terms and conditions. The financial institutions lack knowledge on product diversification, differentiation, and the use of technology in service delivery. Since the MFIs are not in a position to meet the demand of their customers with the funds available to them, the MFIs’ focus is limited to giving continuity to their services rather than developing outreach models and communication strategies to inform and expand their services. Due to the above-mentioned limitations, the internal systems of the MFIs for risk management, transparency, and client protection are lagging behind the industry standards.
Consultant Objectives:
Consultant Activities:
The Consultant will:
Consultant Deliverables:
The Consultant will:
Timeframe / Schedule:
Thirty-five workdays in between June 2022 to August 2022. The desk study, designing tools and report writing can be done remotely; however, the consultant is expected to travel and be on-site for meetings, interviews and observation with partners, borrowers, and other stakeholders. The consultant can continue working on weekends or holidays if assistance of a program or partner’s team is not required to carry out the planned activities.
Activities and Due dates (Work schedule and due dates will be agreed upon once the consultant is selected):
The Consultant will report to:
Financial Inclusion Manager/PERMA Programme
The Consultant will work closely with:
PERMA Financial Inclusion Team, TSU representative, and PERMA Consortium Manager
Payment Schedule
Payment will be made according to the following schedule:
Required Experience & Skills:
The consultant will be a financial inclusion specialist with proven experience, will act as an organizer for the assignment, and will have primary responsibility for the conducting and documentation of the study. The proposed consultant should include the technical expertise and practical experience required to deliver the scope of work and deliverables. The consultant should have:
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
This vacancy is archived.