OFFICIAL USE

TERMS OF REFERENCE

WEST BANK AND GAZA: WEST BANK AND GAZA WOMEN IN BUSINESS – TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION - BANK OF PALESTINE

1. BACKGROUND

1.1 Women’s Access to Finance and Entrepreneurship in West Bank and Gaza

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (“MSMEs”) constitute the backbone of the economy in West Bank and Gaza accounting for more than 95% of private sector businesses (Althalathini, 2015). However, only a quarter of these businesses are owned by women (IFC, 2016). Furthermore, many of the women-owned businesses operate in the informal sector, making it difficult to accurately measure their contributions to the economy.

Overall, in West Bank and Gaza the gender gap remains large, with labour force participation rates at 72% for men compared with just 21% for women (PCBS, 2019). There is also a gender gap in access to finance in West Bank and Gaza with only 27% of bank accounts held by women (Palestinian Monetary Authority). MENA region level data show that women business owners tend to meet their capital needs through private sources, such as personal savings, family and friends (52%), and few women business owners in MENA rely on financial institutions or outside investors for business needs (IFC, 2014).

The low representation of women entrepreneurs in West Bank and Gaza is attributable to several factors. Firstly, while in light of political instability, lack of mobility affects both men’s and women’s ability to grow their business in West Bank and Gaza, women entrepreneurs are more impacted because of social restrictions limiting their ability to move outside their local communities. As a result, female entrepreneurs have less exposure to formal business trainings and tend to operate in smaller networks, often running their enterprises from home (Althalathini, 2015). Moreover, conservative attitudes towards women in lending institutions and society as a whole, and a lack of business skills, legal awareness and financial literacy are all factors that can impede women’s access to commercial finance.

West Bank and Gaza, and in particular the Palestinian National Authority (“PNA”), have historically heavily relied on donor support, the majority of which focused on public sector spending, capacity building and infrastructure, with more than 90% of IFI/DFI support provided to or through public sector counterparts. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “EBRD” or the “Bank”)’s support for the private sector, and in particular women-led MSMEs, will be highly additional in achieving the international community’s goal of improving the business climate and stimulating women entrepreneurship across West Bank and Gaza.

1.2 West Bank and Gaza Women in Business

In order to address the underlying challenges described above, and improve women-led MSMEs access to finance and know-how in West Bank and Gaza, the EBRD has entered this cooperation with Bank of Palestine under the Women in Business Programme (“WiB Programme” or “the Programme”). The ultimate goal of the

1OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

Programme is to promote women’s entrepreneurship by improving women entrepreneurs’ access to finance and to know-how, and promoting a strong women-led MSME sector in West Bank and Gaza.

These Terms of Reference are for technical assistance services to be provided to Bank of Palestine (the “Assignment”).

1.2.1 OBJECTIVES

The Assignment will aim to: Support women-led MSMEs in accessing finance for their sustainable growth and

job creation; Develop sustainable credit mechanisms targeted to women-led MSMEs through

technical assistance to Bank of Palestine in West Bank and Gaza; and Support women-led MSMEs in accessing know-how, non-financial business

development services and networking opportunities.

The Women in Business Programme with Bank of Palestine includes four components: (i) a dedicated Women in Business financing component; (ii) a risk-sharing mechanism in the form of a first-loss risk cover; (iii) technical support to Bank of Palestine; and (iv) a WiB Advice for Small Businesses component.

The Women in Business financing component is established for the purpose of facilitating increased access to finance for eligible sub-borrowers. This will be achieved through up to EUR 5 million of finance to Bank of Palestine for on-lending to eligible women-led MSMEs.

Expected accompanying first-loss risk cover will enable Bank of Palestine to test the adaptation of terms and requirements to women-led businesses, thus improving their access to finance. A first-loss risk cover will be provided to cover up to 70% of losses incurred on individual sub-loans for an amount up to [10]% of the EBRD loan.

The Technical Cooperation (“TC”) component will consist of:

Technical Support to Bank of Palestine to strengthen its capacity to understand the financial needs of women-led MSMEs in West Bank and Gaza and effectively reach out to them through the introduction of new or improved products and processes.

The Women in Business Advice for Small Businesses component is established for the purpose of facilitating increased access to know-how and non-financial development services for women-led enterprises, as well as access to markets through networking opportunities. This, in turn, by promoting the sustainability of the assisted enterprises, shall put them in a better position to access finance and/or to make better use of it for growth and development.

2.       OBJECTIVES OF THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO BANK OF PALESTINE

The overall objective of the Assignment is to support Bank of Palestine by:

1) Strengthening Bank of Palestine’s capacity to effectively serve women-led MSMEs through facilitating a process for Bank of Palestine to develop a strategy to target women-led businesses, including institutional strengthening of

2OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

Bank of Palestine as well as new or improved financial and non-financial products, business models and delivery mechanisms to target them;

2) Ensuring effective synergies between the full range of activities provided under the Programme, including financial products, advisory services and other non-financial services (entrepreneurial training courses, Women in Business seminars, Business Lens et al.); and

3) Implementing relevant Programme management functions, including monitoring, marketing, visibility and reporting;

4) Support the EBRD with policy dialogue activities in related areas. In particular, the Consultant will coordinate with other EBRD consultants and applicable EBRD teams in the context of the ‘Gender-responsive Investment Climate Reform.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

To achieve the objectives of the Assignment, the Consultant shall implement the following activities. The knowledge and experience of the EBRD project team, including the locally-based team, should be engaged in the review of design and delivery of all deliverables, including trainings to Bank of Palestine on gender, design of visibility activities et al.

3.1 Baseline Assessment

A baseline assessment of Bank of Palestine is the first phase of the support provided to Bank of Palestine. It will guide the design of the specific technical cooperation package for Bank of Palestine and will therefore take place at the beginning of the process of technical support to be provided. The objective of the baseline assessments is to 1) systematically describe patterns in women and men-led MSMEs’ use and access to credit or lack thereof and on this basis recommend how Bank of Palestine can improve its delivery of financial and non-financial products and services to women-led MSMEs, and 2) explain the reasons behind gender gaps in the use and access to credit and non-financial services.

In order to validate a hypothesis that men and women access finance and non-financial services differently and to understand how any changes to the current lending practices would impact on female entrepreneurs seeking access to finance, the assessment should understand and document the challenges that women as well as men face seeking finance and non-financial services; understand if and what the challenges that they face are common across gender, what challenges are specific to them and why.

To achieve this objective, the baseline assessments will analyse both supply and demand factors influencing women-led MSMEs’ access to finance. Initial focus groups will be conducted as part of the baseline assessment with Bank of Palestine in the first phase of the support. The results of the baseline will guide the design of a specific technical cooperation package for Bank of Palestine. The baseline assessment will analyse the existing supply and demand factors influencing women-led SMEs’ access to finance. The baseline should cover the following areas at Bank of Palestine.

1. Gender analysis of Bank of Palestine’s portfolio

3OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

The consultant will access Bank of Palestine’s data to characterise male- and women-owned MSME’s access to finance. The consultant should make every effort to provide gender-disaggregated information in line with the Women in Business definition of women-led MSMEs under the Programme. The assessment should:

Determine and record if/how Bank of Palestine defines firm ownership and the gender of the owner.

Determine whether and if/how Bank of Palestine collects information on firm ownership and/or managerial responsibility by sex.

Identify women-led MSMEs patterns of use of financial services and products of Bank of Palestine as compared to other (non-women-led) MSMEs, including a sex-disaggregated breakdown of Bank of Palestine’s MSME portfolio, product types, profile of women-led clients (size, sector, etc.), and other indicators deemed relevant during the portfolio analysis.

Identify specific obstacles that women- and men-led MSMEs find to access credit, compared both at the market level and at Bank of Palestine level, including but not limited to, an analysis of loan applications and rejections (if rejections are recorded), and qualitative descriptions of female and male clients’ views of obstacles to access credit.

Assess impact of existing design features of financial and any non-financial products which may be offered by Bank of Palestine on women-led MSME’s ability to access them in particular regarding length of tenure, collateral level, targeted marketing and other critical aspects identified in the literature as impacting women’s ability to secure commercial loans at different stages of their development and growth, including start-up and micro level.

Analyse and compare demand-side constraints to the growth of women- and men-led MSMEs, including access to business education and training and their level of financial literacy, access to business development services, and access to markets and networking opportunities, both for existing MSMEs bank clients and MSMEs in general.

Fully utilise the opportunity of focus groups and face-to-face meetings with both men and women entrepreneurs in order to draw upon their attitudes, beliefs, views and experiences of the challenges that they face in seeking finance and non-financial services and to identify and document the reasons for the gender gap in their access to and use of finance and non-financial services.

The baseline assessment should be based on existing data available. The collection of primary data and surveys is not being specifically requested.

2. Assessment of business models and delivery mechanisms

Perform an organisational analysis and institutional assessment for Bank of Palestine to identify existing business model/s, lending mechanisms, practices and procedures and their impact in delivering financial and non-financial products and services to women-led MSMEs. Suggested methodology: desk reviews of organisational documents, interviews with Bank of Palestine’s staff.

Perform organisational culture and attitudinal assessments for Bank of Palestine to identify how the existing organisational culture and individual behaviour of staff influences female beneficiaries’ access to the products and services of Bank of Palestine (test for gender biases). Suggested methodology: Interviews with

4OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

Bank of Palestine staff (both women and men), attitudinal surveys, and experiments.

Perform a capacity needs assessment for Bank of Palestine to identify critical capacity gaps in staff skills and capabilities to implement and roll out women in business initiatives at Bank of Palestine, as well as critical capacity gaps in MIS system to design and implement women in businesses initiatives.

Provide recommendations in line with assessments to guide implementation of technical cooperation activities under the Assignment. The recommendations should be as tailored Bank of Palestine as possible as well as costed.

See detailed information requirements for this block in Annex I.

3.2 Capacity Building

3.2.1 Institutional strengthening for WiB business model

Capacity building and other measures will generally encompass some or all of the below elements and the specific work plans of capacity building measures will be designed in coordination with and tailored to the needs of Bank of Palestine.

Based on the assessment above, design and develop appropriate organisational structures, business models and strategies, and procedures to assist Bank of Palestine to efficiently start or continue and expand lending to the target women-led MSMEs segment. This includes, among others, establishment of dedicated departments/groups in Bank of Palestine’s HQ and branches with staff trained to specifically address the needs of the target women-led MSMEs group, strengthening of credit underwriting, risk management, sales and marketing functions of Bank of Palestine, and the implementation of any other measures identified as international best practices in this area.

Develop and deliver capacity building strategies and tools for Bank of Palestine to help it provide gender responsive financial products and services to the target women-led MSMEs segment, addressing their specific needs (new and existing clients). This will include but not be limited to training, including Training of Trainers capacity building measures.

As necessary (and as advised by EBRD), make recommendations to the credit committee of Bank of Palestine on the terms and conditions of sub-loans (within the guidelines of a policy statement committed to as part of the loan agreement between EBRD and Bank of Palestine), oversee credit analysis of the end-borrowers and underwriting process (including verification of eligibility criteria), administration and monitoring of sub-loans; assist with problem loan analysis, administration of collection efforts, and administration of write-offs.

Develop a monitoring system for Bank of Palestine to supervise their lending operations and monitor the implementation and application of the techniques transferred as part of the Assignment.

Within the domain of existing IT/MIS infrastructure of Bank of Palestine, review and, as necessary, propose solutions to develop, adjust, and enhance specific MIS elements (e.g. application processing systems, portfolio reporting systems, etc.), supporting decision-making, documentation and the monitoring of respective operations. All systems will need to cater to the specific requirements of the operations, including (i) tracking sub-borrower level information on the performance of women-led MSMEs (including turnover and

5OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

employment, disaggregated by gender as appropriate) at the time of the loan application and at the time of repayment, and (ii) overall gender-disaggregated data including loan applications, loan rejection rats and their determinants.

Graduation: By the end of the Assignment implementation period, Bank of Palestine’s centralised functions and/or lending departments established in the new (or pilot) branches are expected to be able to operate without further guidance and advice from the Consultant. This will include ensuring that lending to the target women-led MSMEs group is incorporated into their daily operations, that Bank of Palestine’s senior management is made aware of their impact and profitability, and advising Bank of Palestine on how to best provision and fund lending to the target women-led MSMEs group.

3.1.3 Product development

The Consultant shall develop, test, and roll out new products/adjust existing products to tailor them to the women-led MSMEs target group, taking account of specific barriers faced by women to access to finance identified by the baseline assessment. Consideration will be given to adoption of international best practices in co-operation with local / regional associations and agencies.

3.1.4 Awareness-raising, Business Lens and the Women in Business Seminars

The Consultant shall deliver the following activities in close coordination with the EBRD Advice for Small Businesses team:

1) Awareness-raising Assist Bank of Palestine to build awareness of demand of target women-led

MSMEs group for finance and in the design and adoption of effective delivery strategies and mechanisms to specifically target the women-led MSMEs.

2) Women in Business Seminars Develop and organise a series of seminars (the “Women in Business Seminars”

or the “Seminars”), drawing on and adapting the concept of the Women in Business Seminars provided by the EBRD to the local context and identifying topics of interest to the target group. These Seminars, often undertaken in partnership with local Chambers of Commerce, women’s business associations and partner financial institutions, serve to bring together women entrepreneurs to learn about the full offer of the Programme (both financial and non-financial services) and strengthen their business network, as well as providing an introductory training on topics relevant to the target group such as ‘My business in numbers’, ‘What are banks looking for?’ and ‘Leadership in action’. The Seminars are organised in coordination with the EBRD Advice for Small Businesses team. The Consultant will be expected to source appropriate trainers and speakers (e.g. successful local women entrepreneurs as keynote speakers to present their experience). Bank of Palestine is engaged as part of a ‘smart marketing’ approach under the Programme.

3) Business Lens Promote Business Lens, a unique online self-diagnostic tool available to women

entrepreneurs under the Programme, which enables women-led MSMEs to better understand their business operations and to evaluate their managerial capacity based on a number of areas such as financial management, operations, strategic management, risk management etc., connecting users to the appropriate tools

6OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

available under the Programme and also providing a source of information on women entrepreneurs’ banking habits in West Bank and Gaza.

Translate existing Business Lens content into Arabic for the West Bank and Gaza market in conjunction with EBRD’s Advice for Small Businesses team.

Source and translate relevant data for the adaptation of Business Lens to the West Bank and Gaza’s market, namely lists of legal business entities; administrative regions; and financial institutions active in West Bank and Gaza.

Provide information to update the Programme website (www.ebrdwomeninbusiness.com) with information on upcoming events and Seminars and links to key news coverage.

Ensure the agreed targets in terms of uptake of Business Lens. The Seminars are a primary mechanism for promoting Business Lens, however the Consultant should also consider appropriate additional mechanisms for marketing Business Lens to women entrepreneurs, including through local women’s business associations and Chambers of Commerce, web banners and online marketing, and synergies with Bank of Palestine’s own marketing efforts. The Consultant is expected to report on a monthly basis on progress against the target for Business Lens completions as well as seminars held and participant numbers (see template report in Annex II).

Analyse and report on the Business Lens data from West Bank and Gaza as part of an aggregated report provided to Bank of Palestine and EBRD on a semi-annual basis (to begin once a sufficient mass of user data has been obtained), within a format to be agreed with the EBRD.

Market Business Lens and the Programme website to Bank of Palestine, partner institutions and other stakeholders.

3.2 Programme Support

3.2.1 Overall project management

The Consultant will design an effective and efficient project management taking account of the specific situation of Bank of Palestine (e.g. business environment, cultural/social norms by region and the barriers for women entrepreneurs to access to finance identified by the baseline assessment). The expected roles of the Consultant include but are not limited to the following:

Reporting management: The Consultant will work with Bank of Palestine and other Programme stakeholders to establish standardised reporting and monitoring procedures. This will include designing templates, loan application forms, APS interfaces to support Bank of Palestine with analysing women-led MSMEs’ loan applications, compliance of the women-led MSMEs’ with eligibility criteria, capturing and recording baseline data, and then collection at the time of loan repayment, consolidation and analysis of the outcome data. The Consultant will also be required to assist Bank of Palestine in substantiating and submitting proof of client contributions (in-kind, parallel and/or cash) as defined in the policy statement annexed to the loan agreement, which will define exact parameters and types of information required.

First-loss risk cover administration: West Bank and Gaza WiB includes a credit enhancement provided to Bank of Palestine in the form of a first-loss risk cover for sub-loans funded from the proceeds of the Financing Facility. Applicability of the instrument and claims procedures will be defined in the loan agreement EBRD signs with Bank of Palestine. The Consultant may be required to assist Bank of Palestine

7OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

with setting up necessary compliance and documentary procedures for portfolio and claims management. The Consultant may also be required to assist EBRD with claims administration.

Coordination with other consultants and stakeholders related to the Programme: Close cooperation and coordination of the Consultant with the WiB Advice for Small Businesses component, in particular, is vital to achieve the Assignment’s objectives. Cross-referrals from/to the EBRD and Bank of Palestine will help to ensure that women-led MSMEs are provided with the necessary know-how and finance to grow their businesses. It is important to stress out that flexibility in product choice and sequencing is key to better reaching and servicing MSMEs according to their needs and that the Programme design does not intend to necessarily bundle or cross-sell the use of financial tools with advisory ones. The link foreseen between advisory and financing components has been designed from the outset as complementary and not one in which one component is a pre-requisite or a necessary outcome of the other. The Consultant will ensure cooperation and coordination with other Consultants active under the Programme as appropriate and will also include key outcomes shared into consolidated reports to EBRD.

Visibility: The Consultant will be required to contribute to the design and implementation of the Programme’s visibility plan. The Consultant must also comply with the donor’s and Programme’s visibility plans and thereby ensure appropriate donor and Programme visibility throughout the implementation of the Assignment.

The Consultant shall properly illustrate donor support during the Assignment and collect evidence of donor visibility, such as proper presentation of donor support at workshops, in media coverage, official notices and press releases, reports and publications referring to the Project. This could entail evidence of the donor logo showcased on banners used during events, on training certificates for participants in training courses, on presentations, on press releases, etc.

The visibility activities shall include but are not limited to the following:

The Women in Business Seminars, providing a platform for the Programme’s visibility.

Delivery of training materials, manuals, presentations, instruction, brochures, factsheets and other materials produced for the benefit of Bank of Palestine must contain proper visibility references, as well as appropriate disclaimers. The Consultant must timely seek EBRD guidance on appropriate visibility and disclaimer requirements.

Delivery of case studies showcasing success stories from Bank of Palestine, in line with the Programme’s visibility plan, including a profile description of Bank of Palestine, a presentation of the progress achieved under the Assignment (describing the systemic change impact of the Assignment in Bank of Palestine) and a success story from one of the women-led MSME sub-borrowers supported under the Programme.

Coordination of activities with a separate Website Consultant assisting with the development of an online solution to host both Business Lens and www.ebrdwomeninbusiness.com The Consultant will not be required to develop a separate website. However, the Consultant will:

8OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

o Translate and customise specific web and Business Lens content (list of regions, PFIs, etc.) for West Bank and Gaza in Arabic.

o Market Business Lens and the website to partner institutions and stakeholders to ensure the agreed targets in terms of uptake of Business Lens and other Programme deliverables.

o Analyse and report on Business Lens data concerning West Bank and Gaza including in support of the Assignment with Bank of Palestine.

o Provide relevant translations, content and updates on the Programme to the EBRD team coordinator liaising with the Website Consultant.

It is important to note that EBRD has designed standard visibility and communications guidelines which will be applicable to all Technical Cooperation Women in Business Programmes in its Countries of Operations. Also, stemming from such general guidelines, a specific West Bank and Gaza WiB Visibility and Communications Plan will be designed. The Plan will be shared with the Consultant and the Consultant shall adhere to provisions of the Plan. The EBRD’s guidance shall be requested and approvals obtained in specific cases, e.g., for activities not covered in the visibility plan.

3.2.2 Impact assessment assistance

The Consultant will assist EBRD’s results framework assessment process by regular measuring and tracking of key indicators. The EBRD’s loan agreement with Bank of Palestine carries conditions that require Bank of Palestine to direct funding to desirable (i.e. oriented towards sustainable growth) or under-served populations (identifiable by sector, geography, size, product et al.). The Consultant will assist Bank of Palestine to collect and track accurate data on sub-borrower financial performance changes as well as other information pertaining to women-led MSMEs as advised by EBRD.

4.         IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS The estimated Assignment duration is 18 months, during which the TC capacity building activities in support of Bank of Palestine and other Assignment measures will be implemented. The Assignment horizon may be extended for implementation and continuation of particular functions, such as assistance with monitoring, recoveries, and reporting – on a limited scale.

The Consultant will report to the EBRD Project team led by the designated Operation Leader (“OL”). The Assignment will be closely monitored by the EBRD Project team which will be in regular contact with the Consultant and Bank of Palestine through regular electronic communications, field visits, and thematic events.

Close cooperation and coordination of the Consultant with the WiB Advice for Small Businesses component shall be assured and the Consultant may consider the Advice for Small Businesses team as a potential pool of expertise on provision of non-financial services to MSMEs, including a wide pool of proven trainers both local and international and experience in conducting awareness-raising events within the local context.

Bank of Palestine will ensure full management buy-in and designate staff to work in close cooperation with the EBRD and the Consultant to oversee the implementation of the Assignment activities and underlying financing operations. Bank of Palestine may also decide to establish a working group comprised of representatives from respective

9OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

teams within the organisation (e.g. risk, sales, marketing, IT, HR training, etc.). Bank of Palestine will be requested to allocate necessary human resources, time and other needed resources to fully benefit from the Assignment activities. If Bank of Palestine fails to fulfil its part of the Assignment implementation, its participation may be reconsidered.

The Consultant may be required to have a permanent presence in Ramallah, West Bank and Gaza to oversee the overall project implementation for the entire duration of the Assignment unless this requirement is waived by the EBRD depending on operational priorities. The Consultant must maintain flexibility and be prepared to move at the discretion of the EBRD to the location where there is the greatest demand for Assignment support. To reflect the Assignment needs, the Consultant must also be available to scale up or scale down the level of its engagement, e.g. the number of experts involved in the Assignment implementation during the lifetime of the Assignment.

It is expected that the Consultant will designate co-ordinators (bank advisers) and key staff assigned to implement tasks with Bank of Palestine, who will be available for the entire period of respective (sub-) assignments. The EBRD reserves the right to accept or reject substitutes offered and/or to reduce the contract amount accordingly should the Consultant’s staff not remain throughout the agreed period.

Bank of Palestine will provide the Consultant access to its site and information. It will be expected that Bank of Palestine will contribute “in-kind” to optimise TC Assignment costs, where possible, by providing working/office space to the Consultant, access of the Consultant to communications, printing/photocopying facilities, support with local transportation and accommodations, etc. for fulfilment of the Assignment duties by the Consultant – particularly when the Consultant will be temporarily based in locations outside their main base, working at Bank of Palestine’s branches for example. “In-kind” contribution will also ensure the clients’ buy-in. A “cash” and/or “parallel” contribution(s) from Bank of Palestine will also be requested. The EBRD project team shall specifically agree with Bank of Palestine on the form and level of contribution (“client cost-sharing”).

Any equipment and furniture purchase will be done in accordance with Section 3.10 of the EBRD Procurement Policies and Rules (2017). The Consultant will ensure that the documentary proof of those transfers is kept for verification for the duration of the implementation period and for a period of five years from the end date of the Assignment. All equipment and furniture financed by technical assistance funds shall display appropriate donor acknowledgement, in a manner that shall not create any confusion regarding the identification of the donor, in accordance with the Programme’s visibility guidelines. All equipment and furniture financed by technical assistance funds will be kept by the Bank and may, at the Bank’s discretion, be handed over to Bank of Palestine at the end of the Assignment. The Consultant is required to ensure proper title of the beneficiary to all equipment, furniture, software, after-sales service and warranty engagements by suppliers, etc.

The Consultant shall preserve the confidentiality of any document, information or other material directly related to the implementation of the Assignment that is communicated as confidential, during the implementation period and for five years after the end of the implementation period. The Consultant shall also ensure appropriate protection of personal data. Personal data means any information relating

10OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

to an identified or identifiable natural person. Any operation involving the processing of personal data, such as collection, recording, organisation, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure, erasure or destruction, shall be done in accordance with the confidentiality clause and shall only be done as far as necessary for the purpose of the Assignment.

The Consultant must demonstrate internal capacity to oversee the assignment and provide a strategic input as and when needed.

The Consultant will become familiar with and take into account the “EBRD Environmental and Social Policy and Performance Requirements”http://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/policies/esp-final.pdf

6.         DELIVERABLES  The Consultant shall be aware of the West Bank and Gaza WiB Programme context and expected results.

The Consultant will address all areas specified in the Scope of Work in line with other provisions, e.g., Implementation Arrangements, set forth herein and, as a minimum, deliver the following (quantifiable indicators):

Baseline assessment for Bank of Palestine. Based on the findings and recommendations from the baseline assessment,

develop a work plan for the technical support for discussion with Bank of Palestine and approval by EBRD.

Conduct a Strategic WiB Planning session with Bank of Palestine management and staff from SME department to discuss findings of the baseline and support the bank in planning a women’s banking strategy.

Others to be determined based on baseline and action plan, including but not limited to:

Improve the Bank of Palestine’s MIS to track/account for gender-disaggregated data.

Develop and introduce specific products and/or processes targeting women-led MSMEs at Bank of Palestine, as well as monitoring and reporting procedures.

Support Bank of Palestine in developing the necessary institutional capacity for the implementation of the WIB (department/staff assigned to the WiB).

Train at least 20 staff at Bank of Palestine, including 15 trainers, with demonstrated capacity to implement necessary knowledge-replication functions within their organisation.

Organise a series of Women in Business Seminars in cooperation with Bank of Palestine and the EBRD Advice for Small Businesses team and provide basic diagnostic services (Business Lens) to at least 60 women-led MSMEs including Sub-borrowers and potential sub-borrowers.

Organise a launch event in coordination with the PFI and EBRD Organise at least one thematic conference for West Bank and Gaza WiB

stakeholders and broader audiences. Produce case studies documenting experience and lessons learned based on

implementation for the Assignment (template to be agreed with EBRD), including a description of systemic change impact in Bank of Palestine as a result of the TC support received through the Assignment.

11OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

7. REPORTING

The Consultant reports will serve as a monitoring and management tool for EBRD, but also represent the material to build respective parts of the EBRD reports to the relevant donors.

Reporting will include specific reports (inception and final reports) and regular reports (monthly and quarterly/semi-annual reports) to cover the whole spectrum of activities throughout the Assignment and ensure proper monitoring and steering of the implementation, as follows:

(a) Baseline exercise should include the following deliverables and schedules:Deliverables Deadline Deliverable 1 Inception report including

methodology for the assessment and work plan

1 week after starting assignment based primarily on desktop research

Deliverable 2 Draft baseline assessment following outline provided by EBRD, including completed Annex I

4 weeks after starting assignment

Deliverable 3 Final report including feedback from EBRD and Bank of Palestine

3 working days following the receipt of EBRD’s feedback

Deliverable 4 Power point presentation on report findings

3 working days following the receipt of EBRD’s feedback

(b) An Inception Report reflecting results of a field mission and discussions with relevant stakeholders five weeks following the start of the Assignment. The Report will also propose the concrete plan of actions for Bank of Palestine (as indicated by EBRD) for the first half year of Assignment implementation (to be subsequently reviewed on a semi-annual basis).

(c) Depending on the condition that Bank of Palestine provides sufficient loan portfolio data to the Consultant, quarterly lending statistics recording activity in the previous period plus aggregate figures to date. This should include the amount and number of eligible sub-loans disbursed broken down by categories compatible with Bank of Palestine’s WiB’s indicators of achievement.

(d) A quarterly performance report with the following information:

i. Brief overview of the economic situation, changes in the regulatory landscape and other such factors directly affecting the financial sector and performance or operational modalities of Bank of Palestine.

ii. A comparison of actual results with the expected results including the deliverables noted above.

iii. Reasons why established goals were not met, if appropriate.iv. An analysis of the adoption of procedures and the ability of Bank of

Palestine’s personnel to continue best practice lending, expand client base, introduce new products/services, effectively implement portfolio analysis, reporting, recovery procedures as compared to the baseline report.

v. A review of how many trainers have been fully trained and are playing the role of trainers, under and without supervision.

12OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

vi. Outline of main objectives for next quarter. More detailed work plan and HR allocation matrix may also be required by the OL.

vii. Assessment of supervisory and control procedures and implementation; Evaluation of risk management procedures.

viii. Evidence of the ways in which the donor's visibility requirements were adhered to.

(e) A semi-annual report summarising results of the past six months of implementation of the Assignment and providing an outline of activities for the next six months. Each second quarterly report will complement the semi-annual report. Each semi-annual report will have the following structure:

i. Executive Summary.ii. Description of cumulative results achieved by end of the reporting period,

including current situation on key Assignment indicators (see Section “Deliverables” above).

iii. Detailed information on activities undertaken during the reporting periodiv. List of Sub-borrowers and summary of tracking data of Beneficiaries

including financial performance (turnover, profit) and other indicators (as appropriate).

v. Project as a whole, a portfolio review including quality analysis (including the list of all problem loans, and an analysis of arrears) and an analysis of sub-loan sector distribution, tenor, collaterals (nature of collateral and coverage ratio).

vi. Financial and budget breakdown both on the level of Bank of Palestine and credit borrowers.

vii. Supporting documents.viii. Evidence of the ways in which the donor's visibility requirements were

adhered to, as detailed in the Visibility section in 3.2.1 here above.ix. If available, case study examples as indicated above.

A semi-annual report will also have a summary of cumulative achievements under the TC Assignment from its commencement, particularly the results achieved and status of indicators.

(f) A final report within sixty (60) calendar days after the end of the Assignment, containing the following information:

i. A comparison of actual cumulative results achieved with expected results (see Section “Deliverables” above).

ii. An updated Annex I to the Baseline Assessment, providing updated figures for the indicators as at the time of the Final Report.

iii. Where applicable, reasons why expected results were not met.iv. Reports covering lending and operating activity for the whole period of the

Assignment, broken down by quarter.v. An analysis of the adoption of procedures and the ability of Bank of

Palestine’s personnel to continue best practice lending, expand client base, introduce new products/services, effectively implement portfolio analysis, reporting, recovery procedures as compared to the baseline report – describing the systemic change impact within Bank of Palestine.

13OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

vi. An analysis of the adoption of procedures and the ability of Bank of Palestine’s personnel to continue best practice lending to target groups, portfolio analysis, reporting, and recoveries.

vii. A portfolio review by the Assignment as a whole with sub-loan portfolio analysis. The analysis must include quality analysis (analysis of arrears and the list of all problem loans) and an analysis of sub-loan sector distribution, tenor and collateral (nature of collateral and coverage ratio). The final report also requires comparative analysis from the project implementation stage to the completion stage.

viii. An analysis of the women-led MSMEs’ financial performance (turnover, profit) and other indicators, as agreed and in close coordination with the EBRD, including the comparison between the time of sub-loan application and the time of sub-loan repayment/the time of the end of the Assignment.

ix. Assessment of supervisory and control procedures and implementation.x. A final overall assessment of the Assignment. The report should include a

description of any issues/problems that have arisen that require resolution and any other points the Consultant would like to bring to the attention of the EBRD project team.

xi. Evidence of the ways in which the donor's visibility requirements were adhered to, as detailed in the Visibility section in 3.2.1 here above.

xii. If available, case study examples as indicated above.

The Consultant shall in a timely manner request the EBRD to provide additional guidance on the format and scope of the semi-annual and final reports to ensure compatibility with the Assignment’s reporting requirements.

Quarterly, semi-annual and final reports on TC measures should be specific about the results achieved and tasks performed during the reporting period and also contain cumulative data summarising results from the beginning of the period/project. The reports shall contain a balanced mix of textual information, tables and charts suitable for analysis and management decision making. All reports shall be presented in electronic formats without password and copy protection. Standard formats include Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Adobe PDF. Paper or digital copies on CDs may also be requested.

Results of market surveys and researches will be provided separately or as annexes to respective periodic/final reports.

The Consultant will be required to include in its quarterly report a summary of disbursements by area of activity.

Additional ad-hoc reports may be requested by EBRD. Certain deliverables under the Assignment may need to be produced in Arabic language. All reports to EBRD shall be in English.

14OFFICIAL USE

OFFICIAL USE

Annexes

Annex I: List of indicators/information needs to be gathered as part of the baseline exercise

(Please refer to the attached Excel document as an integral part of these terms of reference)

Annex II: Template report on WiB seminars and Business Lens

(Please refer to the attached Excel document as an integral part of these terms of reference)

15OFFICIAL USE