Consultant – Strategic Business Planning Training – Iraq At Mercy Corps

Promoting Economic Revival for Micro Business and Agriculture (PERMA-2) Program in Ninewa and Salah Al-Din

Seeking a consultant to provide comprehensive Strategic Business Plan Development Training for micro-finance institutions (MFIs) in Iraq.

Background

Mercy Corps has been dedicated to making a difference in Iraq since 2003, implementing impactful relief and development programs. In partnership with civil society and public and private sector allies, Mercy Corps Iraq aims to address immediate needs and reduce long-term vulnerabilities in communities throughout Iraq. Mercy Corps is executing the Promoting Economic Revival for Micro Business and Agriculture in Ninewa and Salah Al-Din (PERMA) program, a three-year initiative funded by the Agence française de développement (AFD). This program is designed to revitalize economic activities in the agriculture sector by connecting agriculture producers and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with access to financial services to enhance their capacity to improve revenue and foster social cohesion to rebuild economic relationships.

The program has established partnerships with Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Ninawa Governorate and Salah Al-Deen to empower smallholder farmers and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by introducing innovative loan products. The MFIs employ conventional loan procedures and Strategic business planning requiring capacity development.

Objective of the assignment

Strategic business planning for MFIs is a critical process encompassing strategic and operational planning. Strategic planning involves setting institutional goals, evaluating performance, and selecting strategies to expand outreach and achieve profitability. Operational planning includes creating a framework for strategy implementation with detailed financial projections. Developing a business plan, particularly with detailed financial projections, is instrumental in understanding the factors crucial to an institution’s success. This includes designing financial products that meet clients’ needs and lead to profitability, such as loan size, term, and effective interest rates. The business plan and financial projections are also essential tools for the institution’s managers. Managers can monitor progress toward the outlined goals by comparing actual and projected results. Furthermore, a clear plan with well-thought-out financial projections strengthens a microfinance institution’s negotiating position with donors, commercial banks, other funders, and the regulatory authorities.

With the above background, Mercy Corps Iraq is looking to hire a consultant or trainer to develop the necessary skills and empower MFI staff with the knowledge, information, and essential skills needed to enhance and execute the MFI’s strategic business plans in alignment with their vision, mission, and objectives. The selected trainer or consultant must have experience working with MFIs in Iraq. The primary goal of this assignment is to enhance the capacity of MFIs to either update or develop their strategic business plan. The entire training program spans 9 working days.

Requirements

• A resolute trainer or consultant who is not currently affiliated with any public or private organization on a full-time basis
• A master’s degree with 10 years of professional experience; in the case of a bachelor’s degree, additional 2 years of experience will be required.
• Fluency in both English and Arabic languages
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in the micro-finance industry in Iraq and specific experience of at least 5 years in delivering training on Strategic business planning to different management tiers in the MFIs.
• Please send your technical proposal, including a cover letter and resume highlighting relevant experience related to the assignment. The proposal should also include a high-level approach to delivering the training, proposed strategic business planning topics for the training and a work plan to implement the scope of work.
• Financial proposal with day rate in USD

Supervision and performance evaluation

The successful candidate will report directly to the Financial Inclusion Intervention Lead and be supervised by the Financial Inclusion Advisor. Performance will be assessed based on the quality of work as outlined in the expected deliverables.

Eligibility criteria

Mercy Corps shall select one Individual trainer or consultant to implement the training according to the procedure described below and the prerequisite qualifications. The selection of an MFI trainer shall be made on a competitive basis, considering the above, the availability of funding, and the selection criteria described below.

Deliverables:

The individual trainer or consultant will be responsible for preparing and submitting a plan to achieve the following deliverables:

Effort

(in days)

Deliverable

Completion Date

4

1. Design and preparation of strategic business planning training materials
2. Preparation of the pre-and post-training test questions
3. Review and finalization of the material with the Mercy Corps Financial Inclusion Intervention Lead and the Junior Financial Inclusion Manager
4. Conduct a pre-training test with the training audience
5. Deliver the training topics for day 1
6. Review and check the pre-training test and provide numbering (1 being the minimum and 10 maximum)
7. Deliver the training topics for day 2
8. Deliver the training topics for day 3
9. Conduct a post-training test with the training audience
10. Review and check the post-training test and provide numbering (1 being the minimum and 10 maximum)
11. Prepare a draft report on the training; the training report should be a maximum of 3 pages.
12. Prepare content for strategic business planning workshop with the MFIs
13. Review and finalize the draft training report and strategic business planning workshop content with the Mercy Corps Financial Inclusion Intervention Lead and the Junior Financial Inclusion Manager

TBD

1

TBD

1

TBD

1

TBD

2

TBD

Mercy Corps responsibilities:

1. Selection and recruitment of the individual trainer or consultant
2. Organizing the strategic business planning training venue and other coordination (i.e., meals, accommodation, etc)
3. Invite the selected MFI staff participants to the strategic business plan training.

Evaluation criteria

A committee will assess and prioritize proposals using the following criteria:

• Technical proposal 70%: Relevant experience of the individual trainer or consultant, including experience in similar assignments, approach to the scope of work and work plan.
• Financial proposal 30%