Consulting services on private and financial sector development in Ghana

Kurze Beschreibung

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana are critical to achieving economic growth and development. MSMEs form the foundation of private economic activity in Ghana, accounting for approximately 70% of GDP. MSMEs employ approximately 85% of the workforce in Ghana. However, unemployment remains one of the country"s major economic challenges. This was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In view of the above, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is supporting the Ghanaian Government to tackle the high rate of unemployment and promote green jobs via the Support to the Private and Financial Sector (PFS) programme. The programme commenced in January 2023 and will run until December 2025. The programme builds on the experience of the previous Programme for Sustainable Economic Development (PSED) and aims to improve the employment situation of MSMEs in five regions of Ghana, i.e., Greater Accra, Ashanti, Bono, Bono East and Ahafo.
This tender serves to recruit consultants who will support the implementation of four key outputs of the PFS programme, namely, 1) support for financial services, 2) business development service offering for MSMEs; 3) employment services for job seekers, especially for migrants, internally displaced people and the vulnerable population; 4) promotion of green business opportunities for MSMEs. For the third output the EU is contributing through co-financing.

Beschreibung der Beschaffung

The contractor will be responsible for the management of a pool of national and international experts ("short-term expert pool") which will contribute to the overall strategy and objectives of the PFS programme.
The services delivered by the short-term expert pool will be related to the following activities under the four key outputs of the programme:
Access to financial services for MSMEs (Output 1)
- Provide trainings and capacity development measures at partner financial institutions (banks, MFIs, insurance companies, pension fund trustees etc.) of the project in product development optimization of business processes, market research development, green finance, sales and marketing, digital solutions to increase outreach, etc.
- Capacity development for MSMEs in coordination with their trade associations to enable them to manage their businesses well and access financial services
- Participatory development of a public-private implementation-oriented action plan of inclusive financial services for women led businesses (Gender Action Plan for Inclusive Finance) and advice on the implementation of selected activities
- Knowledge transfer to MSME associations, to strengthen their competence regarding financial management and analysis including the area of sustainable and green financing
- Integration of PFI offerings (financial services and complementary BDS offerings) into the new regional networks which will be created in the implementing regions by Output 2
- Advised public stakeholders such as the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana (BoG) and National Insurance Commission (NIC) on improving the regulatory and supervisory framework of innovative financial services for MSMEs
Improved business development service offering for MSMEs (Output 2)
- Advice on the formation of regional networks to improve the work-sharing cooperation between business development service (BDS) providers (public and private), MSME associations and the Regional Coordination Councils (RCCs)
- Advice on adapting the range of services offered by the network partners to the priority demand of MSMEs, through the diversification/specialization of the BDS portfolios and corresponding training/advice for staff.
- Advice, review and update strategic plans or documents for the effective and efficient running of regional networks (based on the performance of the networks)
- Stimulating MSME demand for the services of regional network members through information and awareness campaigns on the availability and benefits of BDS
- Development/provision of temporary subsidies in the range of services offered by the regional networks for combining BDS with financial services.
- Mobilizing the Ghanaian diaspora and integrating their regional representatives into the networks
- Create a pool of experts (enterprise development) on readiness to deliver speeches, keynotes, presentations, serve as panel members etc. during the MSME trade festivals.
Improved employment services for returned migrants and jobseekers (Output 3)
- Integration of the regional/local structures of the Department for Employment and Labour Relations (Regional Labor Departments) and other providers of employment services into the regional networks in the five intervention regions
- Improvement of the offering of employment services and office infrastructure as well as further advice for the specialist staff of the Public Employment Centers (PECs) active in the networks
- Cooperation with the Ghanaian European Center for Jobs, Migration and Development (GEC) in the qualification of selected specialists from the PECs for the initial support of job-seeking returnees and potential migrants
- Organization of advice including post-foundation support by service providers in the network of returnees and potential migrants who want to take up wage-dependent, self-employed, or collective employment, through technical and business training, material, or financial start-up packages
- Enhance the use of legal pathways for labour migration and mobility and set up models and a Study in Europe Desk within a selected employment service.
- Diaspora engagement for the social and economic development in Ghana will be enforced.
Green Jobs (Output 4)
- Implementation of regional potential analyzes for the implementation of the Green Jobs Strategy of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations (MELR)
- Development of regional program proposals for the broad promotion of environmental and climate protection in the MSME sector
- Organization of regional MSME competitions on cleaner production and/or expansion into green business areas in cooperation with relevant business associations
- Advice and training for the winners of the competitions, including the provision of matching grants
- Implementation of a landscape study and action plan on the promotion of Green and Inclusive Businesses in Ghana
- Facilitate Access to Green Finance by building a pipeline of bankable projects through assistance to MSMEs on concrete business proposals, and through collaboration with and support to financial institutions
- Policy measures to promote green business opportunities as identified as part of above-mentioned activities
The services to be delivered by the contractor will be based on individual requests by the PFS programme specified during the duration of the contract. This strategy follows a results-oriented approach that requires a high level of flexibility. The contractor is therefore expected to adjust the work plan and to react with additional short-term consultants based on what is emerging through the course of the assignment in consultation with GIZ.

Beschreibung der Verlängerungen

GIZ may optionally commission contract amendments and/or increases based on the criteria in the tender documents to the successful bidder of this tender. For details, please see the terms of reference.

Objektive Kriterien für die Auswahl der begrenzten Anzahl von Bewerbern

If more than five candidates/associations are considered suitable, only the five candidates/associations ranked in the top five according to the following selection criteria will be invited to submit a tender. The other candidates/associations will not be invited to submit a tender. This selection will be made under all eligible participants based on the following criteria:
I. Technical experience
1. Private sector development (weighting 15%)
2. Financial systems development (weighting 15%)
3. Green business promotion (weighting 15%)
4. Green finance (weighting 10%)
5. Employment promotion for migrants (weighting 15%)
II. Regional experience:
Regional experience in Africa (weighting 20%)
III. Experience of development projects (ODA-financed)
Experience of development projects (at least 50% ODA-financed) (weighting 10 %)

Beschreibung der Optionen

GIZ may optionally commission contract amendments and/or increases based on the criteria in the tender documents to the successful bidder of this tender. For details, please see the terms of reference.

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Bedingungen

1) Name and address of the company, legal form, registered office (country), owners and controlling parties, commercial register number/dirstrict court, bank account, tax number, VAT identification number, brief company profile and contact in event of queries.
2) Extract from the commercial register or equivalent evidence/proof (not older than six months).
3) Self-declaration that no grounds for exclusion in Section 123, 124 of the German Act Against Restraints of Competition (GWB), section 22 of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and EU-Russian sanctions apply.
4) If a candidate/tenderer wishes to use the capacities of another company for the execution of the contract or to prove his/her eligibility, she/he must prove by submitting a declaration of commitment that the corresponding capacities are available to him/her for the execution of the contract and a declaration of commitment and a declaration that no grounds for exclusion pursuant to Section 123 GWB and/or Section 124 GWB apply to them must be submitted (in the case to prove the elegibility, this declaration must be submitted already with the request to participate).
5) In the case of participation as a bidding consortium: tenderers must appoint a leading member and authorise this member to represent the group and to receive payments with discharging effect also for the other members. A corresponding agreement, signed by all members, must be attached to the application for participation. For this purpose, the form provided by GIZ must be used.

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Auswahlkriterien

1) Declaration on the average annual turnover for the last 3 financial years (last-but-4 financial year can be included in case of invitation to tender held within 6 months of end of last financial year).
2) Declaration on the average number of employees and managers for the past three calendar years

1) Average annual turnover for the last 3 financial years: at least 3,000,000 EUR.
2) Average number of employees and managers for the past three calendar years: at least 20 persons.

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Auswahlkriterien

It is necessary to provide minimum 3 reference projects in the technical field "sustainable economic development" and minimum 2 reference projects in Africa, each of them in the last three years with a minimum commission value of at least 400,000 EUR

Bedingungen für die Teilnahme (technische und berufliche Fähigkeiten)

1) The technical assessment is only based on reference projects with a minimum commission value of EUR 400,000 (four hundred thousand Euro) in the last three years.
2) The minimum requirements forsee at least 3 reference projects in the technical field "sustainable economic development" and minmum 2 reference projects in Africa, each of them in the last three years with a minimum commission value of at least EUR 400,000 EUR (four hundred thousand Euro).

Genaue Informationen über Fristen für Überprüfungsverfahren

According to Article 160, Section 3 of the German Act Against Restraint of Competition (GWB), application for review is not permissible insofar as
1. the applicant has identified the claimed infringement of the procurement rules before submitting the application for review and has not submitted a complaint to the contracting authority within a period of 10 calendar days; the expiry of the period pursuant to Article 134, Section 2 remains unaffected,
2. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that are evident in the tender notice are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for the application or by the deadline for the submission of bids, specified in the tender notice.
3. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that first become evident in the tender documents are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for application or by the deadline for the submission of bids,
4. more than 15 calendar days have expired since receipt of notification from the contracting authority that it is unwilling to redress the complaint.
Sentence 1 does not apply in the case of an application to determine the invalidity of the contract in accordance with Article 135, Section 1 (2). Article 134, Section 1, Sentence 2 remains unaffected.