Participatory Review and User-Friendly Guideline Preparation for Women Access to Finance at LGAs at SNV tanzania

Terms of reference title -Making Revolving Fund at LGAs Work for Women SMEs in Sunflower Market System

Sector and Program – Agriculture Sector

Project – Transforming Agricultural Markets (TAM)

Geographical focus – Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi regions

Proposed start date – 14th January 2020.

Proposed end date – 15th February 2020.

Open to: Individual consultants

1.0. Introduction

SNV, Netherlands Development Organization is an international, not-for-profit, development organization, working in 36 of the poorest countries worldwide, including 17 countries in Sub Saharan Africa. We focus on achieving impact in Agriculture; Energy; and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene. By sharing our specialist expertise in Agriculture; Energy; and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, our global team of local and international advisors works with local partners to equip communities, businesses and organisations with the tools, knowledge and connections they need to increase their incomes and gain access to basic services

– empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development.

SNV is implementing a two-year project called Transforming Agricultural Markets (TAM), which started in August 2018, and funded by UKAID. The TAM project aims to improve livelihoods and economic opportunity for smallholder farmers by empowering them to effect changes in the dairy and sunflower market systems through engaging with government and private sector providers.

The TAM project Theory of Change is that by working with citizens, private sector and government at sub- national level on specific, actor-led systems issues to produce data and facilitate stakeholder analysis the project can broaden understanding, build consensus, and strengthen accountability relationships for collective action to: i) make existing policies work at the local level, and to ii) provide documented evidence for national level policy dialogue and reforms. The project aims at achieving the following impact and outcomes:

Impact: Improved livelihoods of SHFs and SMEs in the dairy and sunflower market systems

Long term outcome: Increased access and inclusiveness to basic services (production, financial, capacity services) and strengthened business environment for SHFs and agribusinesses in dairy and sunflower market systems.

Outcomes:

a) Increased responsiveness of Government to the issues of smallholder farmers and SMEs.

b) Increased collective actions of stakeholders for the improvement of access to basic services and entitlements, and business environment.

The TAM project focuses on making policies work for smallholder farmers (SHF), and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by enhancing good governance, accountability and responsiveness by government, local organisations and stakeholders in dairy and sunflower market systems. The targeted areas for increased responsiveness and accountability relations are, functioning cooperatives and harmonisation of regulations in the dairy market system; and contract farming and women access to finance from local government authorities (LGAs) in the sunflower market system.

2.0 Background to the Assignment

The government of the United Republic of Tanzania through the Ministry of Community Development, Women Affairs and Children developed and approved the “Policy on Women in Development in Tanzania” in March 2019. The policy provides a framework to address key challenges hindering women in development initiatives including access to finance

The Policy led to the establishment of Women and Youth Development Fund – a Revolving Fund and during the financial year 2018/19 (FY 2018/19), the parliament amended the Local Government Finances Act # 9 of 1982 through Finance Act of 2018 by inserting section 37A in which the Revolving Fund and the law became effective from July 1st 2018. The amendments to the Local Government Finances Act were followed by The Regulation for Issuance and Governance of Group Loans to Women, Youth and People with Disabilities at LGAs which sets the conditions and requirements for accessing loans from LGAs by the target groups.

TAM Project has been facilitating women SMEs to form and register groups at LGA level in order to access funding from the LGAs in Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi regions. During implementation of the women access to finance interventions, through the revolving fund, several governance problems were raised by stakeholders. Some of the issues includes; lacking transparency, inadequate availability of information on procedures and requirements to the target beneficiaries, low levels of sensitization by government officials on the fund activities, fear of penalty for failures to repay loans, and long bureaucratic procedures. The TAM project has facilitated and built the capacity of involved stakeholders to collaborate in addressing the issues in issuance of loans from LGAs to women in order to make The Local Government Finances Act and Regulation for Issuance and Governance of Group Loans to Women, Youth and People with Disabilities from LGAs work for women SMEs in sunflower market system. It is therefore against this background that SNV is seeking the services of an individual consultant to carry out a participatory review of the Regulation (Regulation for Issuance and Governance of Group Loans to Women, Youth and People with Disabilities from LGAs), prepare and develop the User-Friendly Guidelines for Women Access to Finance at LGAs, and use as a case from Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi regions, develop a Policy Brief for national level advocacy for women Access to Finance from LGAs.

3.0 Purpose and objectives of the assignment

The purpose of the assignment is to enable key stakeholders in Women Access to Finance at LGAs in the four project regions to review the Regulation for Issuance and Governance of Group Loans to Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, and develop User-friendly Guidelines for women groups in sunflower processing and businesses, and Policy brief to enable these players to advocate for needed policy changes.

The objectives of the assignment are to:

a) Review of existing Regulation for Issuance and Governance of Group Loans to Women, Youth and People with Disabilities in reference to Women Access to Finance at LGAs of project intervention districts of Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi regions. The review should put particular emphasis

on: i) efficiency and effectiveness the regulations, in terms of costs and time associated to groups forming and registration as well as the extent to which LGAs achieved objectives of the Law in

this area; ii) processes in terms of what works well and what don’t and why (contributing factors), iii) Institutional Structure whether it supports or hinders the implementation of the Regulation;

iv) Case for strategic change, in terms of what is proposed to change and what the change should look like;

b) Develop User-friendly Guidelines manual in Kiswahili with a format which explains sequentially the topics, the steps, conditions and requirements, government and banking institutions with its

related procedures and contact persons and elaborating expected outputs per each step.

c) A policy brief for national level advocacy for Women Access to Finance at LGAs which provides the effects and evidence which is required to review national regulations on women access to finance.

4.0 Scope of work

The project is supporting 19 women groups to access finance at the 6 LGAs located in Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi regions. The consultant is required to undertake the following key activities and produce the associated deliverables:

Key Activity 1: Participatory Review of the Regulation

i. Consultation with TAM project staff for clarification on the assignment especially on Women Access to Finance at LGAs intervention area and on the TOR’s objectives and deliverables.

ii. Desk review of secondary resources such as Local Government Finances Act as amended in 2018 especially section 37A together with the Regulation for Issuance and Governance of Group Loans

to Women, Youth and People with Disabilities from LGAs. He/she is also expected to familiarise with the TAM project reports.

iii. Develop and share with TAM staff questionnaires for key resource persons and FGD. Incorporate inputs from TAM staff on the questionnaires.

iv. Facilitate Focus Group Discussions (women groups) and key informants interviews. The discussions and interviews should aim at capturing issues and their effects which hinders access to finance relate to groups’ registration fees, differences on the application of the law between LGAs, procedures and requirements for opening bank accounts,

v. Prepare and facilitate validation workshops (one workshop per region or one workshop for everytwo regions) including workshop agenda, facilitation tools n collaboration with TAM project staff.

vi. Produce a report on the FGDs and workshop outputs.

vii. Prepare Report of the Review of the Regulation and its policy recommendations

Deliverables: A Concise Report of the Review of the Regulation with methodology used, main findings and policy recommendations. The FGD and workshop outputs should be annexed to the report.

Key activity 2: Develop a User-Friendly Guideline manual and policy brief for Women Access to Finance at LGAs.

i. Review existing Regulations and use it develop a manual of user-friendly guidelines in Swahili which is easily accessible and understood by women SMEs and businesses in sunflower.

ii. Organise and facilitate a validation workshop for the guidelines which, in consultations with TAM project, will involve Community Development Officers from the LGAs, Women SME Groups, and

other relevant actors.

iii. Incorporate inputs and comments from the validation workshop to produce a final draft of the manual for User-Friendly Guidelines for Women Access to Finance at LGAs.

Deliverables: Workshop reports detailing the process and key findings in developing the use-friendly guidelines; and a Draft manual of User-Friendly Guidelines for Women Access to Finance at LGAs.

Key activity 3: Develop a policy brief for use by key stakeholders (Women SME groups, Regional MSPs etc) for Women Access to Finance at LGAs to advocate for policy changes in the Regulation for increasing Women Access to Finance.

i. Draft the policy paper based on the Report of the Review of the Regulation and stakeholders’ recommendations documented during workshops including validation workshop.

ii. Prepare and make a PPT presentation to the validation workshops in consultation with TAM project staff) and the TAM project team on the main points of the policy brief.

iii. Finalise the policy brief by incorporating stakeholders’ feedback during the validation workshop

Deliverables: A final draft policy brief with maximum five pages.

5.0 Methodology

The consultant is expected to propose the methodology and the justifications for the proposed methodology. The whole assignment will be participatory in nature whereby the project stakeholders are the key participants in the focus group discussions and the main users of the User-friendly Guideline.

Therefore, the methodology shall include at the minimum the following: sampling of the women groups and districts, face to face discussions, FGD, validation meetings and reporting.

6.0 Time Frame and reporting

6.1 Timeframe

The assignment period is 15 working days, delivered within the period of Monday 14th January 2020 and Tuesday 15th February 2020.

6.2 Reporting

The consultant will work in close supervision of and report to, the TAM Policy Advisor.

7.0 Competence required

The consultant must clearly demonstrate knowledge, skills and experience for this assignment by presenting:

• Relevant academic qualification especially in governance, public policy and laws, rural development and laws, etc

• Proven experience in conducting participatory reviews and producing high quality reports.

• At least 7 years of experience in governance and legal review projects in Tanzania

• Proven experience in agriculture sector development in Tanzania, a sunflower market system experience is an added advantage

• A proven ability to produce high quality reviews and documentation.

8.0 Selection criteria for engagement

Applicants are advised that applications will be evaluated using the following criteria: (COPY AND PASTE THE LINK BELOW TO A NEW TAB TO VIEW THIS CRITERIA)

shorturl.at/bgJO9

9.0 Applicants are requested to submit:

A: Technical proposal with the following details:

• Understanding of the assignment and its tasks,

• Methodology and approach to be used,

• Operational plan with clear timeline,

• CV of consultant that will implement the work

B: Past Performance

Applicants must prove that they have enough experience in assignments comparable with the work they are bidding for in terms of scope and complexity. Applicants must prove this experience using only and exactly three references for work they have done in the last five years.

Applicants must provide written proof for each of the references giving at least the following data:

– Name of the contracting company/donor, name of the person who managed the contract for the company/donor and e-mail and telephone numbers of the contact person who managed the

contract;

– Title of the project or contract or grant and / or the contract/grant number;

– Time and place of execution for the work done;

– Clear description of the services provided by the applicant (no more than one page); organisations/contractors worked with and assignment performed in the last 3 years.

C: Financial proposal (in TZS) broken out to provide at least the following details

• Consultancy fees (please note that under Tanzanian Law, withholding tax of 5% for national and 15% for international is deducted at source and paid direct to TRA.

• Transport and per diem costs,

• Communication and stationeries.

E: Mandatory Requirements – Copies of:

• Completed and filled Conflict of Interest Statement

• TIN certificate

All these are mandatory items whereby failure to provide any of them will result to disqualification of the whole bid.

Please submit your EOI entitled “EOI – “Making Revolving Fund at LGAs Work for Women SMEs in Sunflower Market System – TAM Project” in the subject line and email to: tanzaniaprocurement@snv.org no later than 1700 hrs on 06th December, 2019.