1. AFI & Project Background
The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) is a unique international network of central banks, ministries of finance and economy, and other regulatory bodies which hold the mandate to develop and implement financial inclusion policies. Our aim is to do so through our mission of empowering financial regulators and policymakers to increase access and usage to quality financial services for the most underserved and unserved populations.
AFI is preparing a Special Report titled “Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Women: Key Findings and Policy Recommendations.” The report will examine the current global context, practices and gaps in advancing the financial inclusion of forcibly displaced women among both AFI member jurisdictions and non-member jurisdictions and it will identify the unique policy and regulatory barriers that prevent progress in this area. It will also provide preliminary policy recommendations and other related opportunities, such a capacity building programs or engagement opportunities with other stakeholders, aimed at promoting the financial inclusion of forcibly displaced women.
Project Rationale
By the end of 2019 the number of FDPs worldwide was 79.5 million, an 8.7 million increase from 2018 and another record high. Out of these 26 million were officially registered as refugees with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Developing countries host 85 percent of FDPs and continue to shoulder a disproportionately large responsibility for hosting refugees. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) similarly increased by 4.4 million from the previous year, at 45.7 million. Women make up approximately half of the global FDP population.
FDPs are at risk of being overlooked as the world continues to tackle the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Excluded from social protection systems, many are feeling the devastating effects of the crisis as they remain at the base of our economic pyramids, reminding us of intrinsic social and economic inequalities that have resurfaced, despite policy actions to ‘leave no one behind.’ With host countries already focused on alleviating the economic impact of COVID-19 on their own citizens, FDPs are in danger of being excluded from government safety nets and emergency plans. Without access to formal social protection, many are forced into the informal labor market to make ends meet. This is particularly harmful for forcibly displaced women who are at even greater risk of exploitation.
It is important to note the intersectional nature of financial inclusion where gender, age, status and location can all become multipliers in the factors for financial exclusion and must be tackled together to ensure effective, sustainable and responsible inclusion.
Similarly, gender is also intersectional given that it cannot be properly understood in isolation, as it interacts (or intersects) with other systems of oppression to produce unique rather than cumulative forms of disadvantage.
Forcibly displaced women are an example of a doubly disadvantaged group who is negatively affected by such intersectionality. They face an even higher risk of financial exclusion due to prevailing gender and socio-cultural norms, and their forced displacement compounds pre-existing challenges including extreme poverty, lack of access to basic infrastructure and services and the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and human well-being. For instance, refugee women are often barred from entering the formal labor market despite making up 25 percent of household heads. At the same time, there is a serious lack of sex- and age- disaggregated data (SADD) on forcibly displaced women, in the context of financial inclusion and economic participation. This makes them invisible, and presents challenges in the diagnosis of policy problems and consequently in devising appropriate policy solutions.
Forcibly displaced women typically lack access to healthcare due to national rules for the provision of services to non-citizens and their limited understanding of the functioning of the host country’s healthcare provisions. Should there be an operating UNHCR country office, it is able to support forcibly displaced women in understanding the healthcare provisions available to them and in accessing them. However, without access to and usage of formal financial services, forcibly displaced women are unable to make savings in order to seek and access healthcare, build financial resilience for medical emergencies, or buy health (micro)insurance products for their sexual and reproductive health (SRH), maternal health and family health. The COVID-19 global pandemic has demonstrated that it is very critical for forcibly displaced women to gain access to healthcare, in order to receive necessary medical attention in times of crisis, but also on a regular basis. There is a link that increasing women’s financial inclusion also support their health outcomes and this intersect should not be ignored.
Thus, the Special Report, “Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Women: Key Findings and Policy Recommendations” is very timely. It is intended to support financial policymakers and regulators in their efforts to address the specific barriers faced by forcibly displaced women and support them in their pursuit of full financial inclusion that leaves no one behind.
2. Objective
The overall objective of the assignment is to support the development of the special report, which should cover:
• the current global context.
• practices and gaps in advancing the financial inclusion of forcibly displaced women among both AFI member jurisdictions and non-member jurisdictions.
• unique policy and regulatory barriers that prevent progress in this area.
• preliminary policy recommendations and other related opportunities, such as capacity building programs or engagement opportunities with other stakeholders, aimed at promoting the financial inclusion of forcibly displaced women.
• areas which may require further detailed consideration and guidance by an AFI working group moving forwards.
3. Timelines and Key Deliverables
The consultant team is expected to commence the assignment in March 2021 and will complete the deliverables by 17 May 2021. The timelines and key deliverables are found below:
March – 2 April Undertake desk-based research
5 - 14 April Conduct key informant interviews
15 – 23 April Draft special report
23 April – 7 May Review special report drafts including by GIFC and external partners
10 – 14 May Finalize draft
17 May Submit final draft
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.
4. Consultant Experience
• Advanced university degree in social science, international economics, public policy, development finance, forced displacement and refugee studies, or other related field.
• 8+ years of combined professional experience in 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 global and national institutions involved in financial inclusion and forced displacement policy and regulation, particularly in developing countries.
5. Reporting
The consultant will work closely with the Policy Specialist, Policy Analysis Department and report directly to Head, Gender Inclusive Finance.
6. Criteria for Evaluation
The proposals submitted will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
Technical Scoring
- Academic Qualification; 10%
- Experience and competence of the key staff for the assignment related; 50%
• Adequacy for the assignment - 25%
• Regional/Global experience - 25% - Adequacy of the proposed work plan and methodology in responding to the Terms of Reference; 30%
• Technical approach and Methodology - 15%
• Workplan - 15% - Quality of the submitted sample work; 10%
How to apply:
nterested applicants are expected to submit a proposal with updated CV and using template given by email to AFI’s Procurement & Contracts Office at rfp2114@afi-global.org by 12th March 2021.
The final decision on selection of a consultant/consulting firm for this project rests with AFI management team and with the Inquiry. Only shortlisted and successful consultants will be contacted.
