AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
BANQUE AFRICAINE DE DEVELOPPEMENT
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Division: Microeconomics, Institutional and Development Impact Division
Title of Assignment: Senior Consultant for drafting a report on Trade Finance in Africa – ECMR2
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Title of the assignment : Senior Consultant for drafting a report on Trade Finance in Africa
Department making the request : Microeconomic, Institutional and Development Impact Division (ECMR.2)
Place of assignment : Home-based with missions to Abidjan
Period of assignment : From 17 February 2020 to 15 May 2020
Expected start date of the assignment : 17 February 2020
Last date for expressing interest : 03 February 2020
Expression of interest to be submitted to : Alesse Allaba Lucette : a.alesse@afdb.org
Any questions/ clarifications needed to be addressed to : Alesse Allaba Lucette (a.alesse@afdb.org)
- Establishment of the shortlist :
A shortlist of three to six individual consultants will be established at the end of the request for expression of interests. The consultants on the shortlist will be judged on the following criteria based on their updated resume.
| Level of education in general | 30% |
| Educational level compared to the field of mission | 20% |
| Number of years of experience relevant to the mission | 50% |
- Background :
The African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. The Bank’s development agenda entails delivering financial and technical support to transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas of focus (High 5), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; light up and power Africa (energy), feed Africa (agriculture and nutrition), industrialize Africa (industrialization), integrate Africa (regional integration and intra-regional trade) and improve the quality of life for Africans (sustainable socio-economic development).
The Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management (ECVP) is responsible for (i) providing leadership and visibility for the Bank on economic, finance, financial governance and socio economic development issues; and coordinate the generation of analytical work to inform operational policy; and (ii) systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on sustainable and inclusive transformation of African economies.
The Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting and Research Department (ECMR) is dedicated to the generation of high-quality knowledge in the area of development in Africa. ECMR comprises o f t wo divisions, one of which is the Microeconomics, Institutional and Development Impact Division (ECMR.2) which serves as the institutional anchor of the ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment (ADOA) of the Bank’s private sector operations. As such, it is a key element of the Results Measurement Framework and the primary tool for mainstreaming Development Outcomes into the Bank’s operations.
ECMR.2 also undertakes microeconomic-related research and knowledge generation activities to inform its additionality and development outcomes assessments and more broadly the Bank’s operations. These activities cover a wide range of areas, such as development finance, infrastructure development, private sector development, industrial organizations, governance, competitiveness & investment climate, agriculture, institutions, and regional integration, which are relevant to the Bank’s High 5 priorities. For instance, ECMR.2 has initiated the periodic survey of the trade finance market in Africa. The first two rounds of this survey have generated reports that summarize the main findings and trends, helping to fill the knowledge gap on trade finance in Africa.
ECMR.2 is currently seeking to recruit a senior consultant with strong analytical and report writing skills to analyze data on Trade Finance in Africa collected through a survey and write a comprehensive report on Trade Finance in Africa. This report will be the third report on Trade Finance in Africa produced by the Bank. The First two reports were published in 2014 and 2017.
- Objective and Activities of the Assignment :
- The consultant’s primary responsibilities will be to clean the survey data, analyze and write a comprehensive report on Trade Finance in Africa ;
- Specifically, she/he will be requested to complete the following tasks ;
- Undertake literature review on trade finance issues in Africa and around the globe and consolidate this information to enrich the content of the third report on Trade Finance in Africa ;
- Clean the trade finance data collected from African Commercial Banks through a survey questionnaire ;
- Summarize the data in user friendly formats (charts, tables, etc.) that will form part of the Trade Finance Report in Africa. These data formats will also be used for the preparation of reports, economic intelligence, and statements for Senior Management ;
- Draw up a draft report outline with time schedule for each activity or section for discussion and clearance by the research division ;
- Write a comprehensive report on Trade Finance in Africa, based on the data collected and the desktop research on trade finance issues in Africa and around the globe ;
- Perform statistical analysis using the data collected from the three Trade Finance survey conducted by the Bank ;
- Collate and incorporate inputs, comments and suggestions from within the Bank for improving and finalizing the report on Trade Finance in Africa ;
- Assist with the preparation of presentation materials in the form of presentation slides to Senior management ;
- The consultant will be required to make at least one visit to the Bank. The timing of this visit will be discussed and agreed upon between the consultant and the Bank’s project team.
- Management and Supervision of the Consultancy :
The consultant will work independently, under the overall guidance of the division manager (ECMR.2) and under the immediate supervision of the task manager for this project.
- Duration and Location of the Assignment :
The Consultant will work on a full-time basis for a period of three (3) months, from 17 February 2020 to 15 May 2020. The present contract could be renewable upon satisfactory progress and depending on the needs of the Division. The assignment will be home-based with potential missions to Abidjan to meet the research team and relevant AfDB departments to discuss preliminary results.
- Required qualifications and experience :
- At least a master’s degree in development economics, econometrics, finance or a related field. A PhD will be an added advantage
- Be a national of one of the member countries of the Bank ;
- A minimum of 7 years research and report writing experience with an international organization, in Africa or other low-income countries with strong attention to details ;
- Proven experience working on financial-sector (financial inclusion, capital market development, banking, private equity, etc.) related projects ;
- Proven experience in trade finance research globally or in Africa ;
- Familiarity with the trade finance program at the Bank or other development finance institutions ;
- Publication record in peer-reviewed international journals, in any field related to development economics or international trade will be an added advantage ;
- Good knowledge of development issues in Africa and solid understanding of economic concepts ;
- Ability to design and conduct research projects/programs with limited supervision ;
- The Bank’s working languages are French and English. For this assignment, strong writing and editing skills in English are required, and knowledge of French will be an added advantage ;;
- Proven capacity to deliver outputs in a timely manner and under tight deadlines ;
- Proficiency in conventional econometrics and statistical packages (EViews, Matlab, Stata, R, etc.), and ability to work with and manipulate large and complex datasets.
- Remuneration for the assignment :
The consultant will be paid a competitive monthly lump sum for the entire period in accordance with Bank’s scale set for consultants and commensurate with the number of years of relevant experience. The Bank will cover travel costs in line with its rules and as authorized by the Bank in connection with the contract.
- Interested individual consultants may obtain further information at the address given below during the Bank’s working hours: 9:00 hrs. to 17:00 hrs ;
- Expressions of interest must be received at the address below (either electronically by email or hard copy by post) no later than 03 February 2020 at 18:00 hrs. Abidjan time and specifically mentioning “Senior Consultant for drafting a report on Trade Finance in Africa – ECMR2.”
For the attention of:
Ms. Alesse Allaba Lucette
Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting & Research Department (ECMR)
African Development Bank
Avenue Joseph Anoma, 01 BP 1387, Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire
Tel : +225 20 26 58 70
Fax : +225 20 21 31 00
E-mail : a.alesse@afdb.org
Copy to :
Amoussou, Omolola, Chiazor O.amoussou@afdb.org , and Patrick Mabuza : P.mabuza@afdb.org
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