Consultant: Development of an AFI Policy Framework on Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs)

1. Background

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) is the world’s leading organization on financial inclusion policy and regulation. Currently, nearly 100 member institutions make up the AFI network including central banks, ministries of finance and other financial policymaking or regulatory institutions from over 85 developing countries and emerging markets. AFI empowers policymakers to increase the access and usage of quality financial services for the underserved through sustainable and inclusive policies and an effective use of digital technologies.

Policies developed and implemented by the members of the Alliance contribute to a range of the Sustainable Development Goals. By setting their own agenda, AFI members harness the power of peer learning to develop practical and tested policy reforms that enhance financial inclusion with strategic support from both public and private sector partners.

AFI has 7 Working Groups (WGs): Consumer Empowerment and Market Conduct Working Group (CEMCWG), Digital Financial Services Working Group (DFSWG), Financial Inclusion Data Working Group (FIDWG), Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group (FISPLG), Global Standards Proportionality Working Group (GSPWG), Inclusive Green Finance Working Group (IGFWG) and SME Finance Working Group (SMEFWG).

As the key source of policy developments and trends in financial inclusion and as the primary mechanism for generating and incubating technical content in the network, the Working Groups serve as “communities of practice.” Providing a platform for knowledge exchange and peer learning among policymakers to share, deliberate and deepen their understanding, the working groups offer leadership and expertise in their respective policy fields and support the network to monitor new developments in emerging fields. The WGs are supported by a full range of capacity building courses and events and in-country implementation projects.

The working groups receive strategic guidance and insight from the High-Level Global Standards & Policy Committee, while the Gender Inclusive Finance Committee, supports WGs in integrating gender considerations into all aspects of their work and support members in fulfilling their Denarau Action Plan (2016) commitment to promote women’s financial inclusion.

AFI members have made further commitments in a range of other accords which can be read here.

The AFI’s five regional initiatives support policy implementation in Africa (AfPI), Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC), the Pacific Islands (PIRI), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECAPI) and the Arab Region (FIARI).

2. Project Background

Since the inception of our workstream on Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs) in 2017, our efforts have centered on raising awareness among our member institutions and providing policy recommendations to devise national financial inclusion policies and regulations that financially include FDPs. This was achieved through the development of the following policy guidance documents:

• AFI Special Report on the Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons: Perspectives of Financial Regulators;
• GPFI Policy Paper on Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons: Priorities for G20 Action; and
• Roadmap for the Sustainable and Responsible Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons.

More recently, AFI has been collaborating with our member institutions to implement these policy recommendations at the country level in order to facilitate the development and implementation of sustainable and responsible policy solutions that empower FDPs and alleviate pressure on host countries. AFI members have promoted the collection of sex- and age- disaggregated data (SADD) on the financial inclusion of FDPs, included FDPs in their National Financial Inclusion Strategies (NFIS), lowered KYC requirements for FDPs, implemented digital financial literacy programs for FDPs, and established new relationships with important stakeholders such as line ministries responsible for FDPs and those from the humanitarian and private sectors.

In this respect the role of financial policymakers and regulators has been evidently crucial for the creation of an enabling regulatory environment and the promotion of cross-sectoral multi-stakeholder collaboration for the long-term. Towards that end, in June 2019 AFI started implementing a project titled “Advancing the Financial Inclusion of FDPs: Putting Recommendations to Practice.”

As part of this project AFI is now developing a Policy Framework for the Financial Inclusion of FDPs to further guide member institutions and other financial policymakers and regulators on effective policy and regulatory interventions to advance FDP financial inclusion within their own jurisdictions.

3. About the Policy Framework

The Policy Framework is intended to guide AFI member institutions’ policy choices through analysis of key high-level considerations in implementation as they relate to the financial inclusion of FDPs, particularly cross-cutting across multiple policy themes and AFI’s seven WGs. The framework should present a set of principles, phases or stages that provide technical systematic guidance in the process of policy formulation or implementation. It would capture effective evidence-based policies and lessons learnt from member institutions. A variety of those good practices would be highlighted, systematized, and the conclusions would be incorporated into the Policy Framework as a set of recommendations.

Indeed, the Policy Framework would be a way of synthesizing complex information into an accessible format where the key building blocks and high-level focus areas for consideration are clearly conveyed. Each of the areas of the Framework may then benefit for more detailed technical guidance at a subsequent stage of analysis.

Some references of previous AFI Policy Frameworks

As a reference, below are existing AFI Policy Frameworks:

• Cybersecurity for Financial Inclusion: Framework and Risk Guide

https://www.afi-global.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019-11/AFI_GN37_DFS_AW_digital_0.pdf

• FinTech for Financial Inclusion: A Framework for Digital Financial Transformation

http://afi-global.org/sites/default/files/publications/2018-09/AFI_FinTech_Special%20Report_AW_digital.pdf

• Youth Financial Inclusion Policy Framework

https://www.afi-global.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AFI_YFI_PM_AW_digital.pdf

4. Objective

The overall objective of the assignment is to support the development of the Policy Framework for the Financial Inclusion of FDPs.

5. Key Deliverables and Activities

21 July : Preliminary discussion with the AFI MU on the scope of work, specific deliverables, and timelines

23 July : Submit inception report and workplan

26 July-9 August : Perform desk-based research and literature review

26 July-9 August : Develop lines of inquiry

August : Conduct 10 KIIs in total with AFI member institutions, development and humanitarian organizations, private sector actors in order to fill data gaps and undertake cross-verification

1-7 September : Draft Policy Framework and PowerPoint presentation

8 September : Submit first drafts

20-24 September : Analyze feedback and incorporate into drafts

30 September : Submit final drafts

During the assignment, the AFI MU will closely support the consultant by: sharing internal expertise and existing research; contacting or connecting key stakeholders to assist in arranging the consultant’s communications and telephonic interviews; and providing inputs to deliverables. This assignment is expected to involve extensive desk research, data collection, and interaction or consultation with key stakeholders.

6. Consultant Experience

• Advanced university degree in social science, international economics, public policy, development finance, forced displacement and refugee studies, or other related field.
• 10+ years of combined professional experience in financial regulation, financial inclusion, forced displacement and refugee studies, gender issues, public policy, and international development.
• Excellent data collection, research, and written skills in the English language.
• Previous experience working with central banks and other financial regulatory entities.
• Previous experience working with global and national institutions involved in financial inclusion and forced displacement policy and regulation, particularly in developing countries.

7. Reporting

The consultant will work closely with the Policy Specialist, Policy Analysis Department and report to Head, Policy Analysis.

8. Criteria For Evaluation

1. Academic Qualification; 10%
2. Experience and technical competence of the key staff for the assignment; 40%

· Adequacy for the assignment ; 20%

· Regional/Global experience; 20%

1. Adequacy of the proposed work plan and methodology in responding to the Terms of Reference;**30%**

· Technical approach and methodology; 15%

· Workplan; 15%

1. Quality of the submitted sample work; 10%

Total : 90%