1.
INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND
The International Finance Corporation (IFC),
the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is a global leader, investor,
and advisor dedicated to reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared
prosperity in developing member countries. IFC finances private sector
investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, enhances
clients' social and environmental sustainability, and provides advisory
services to businesses and governments in the developing world.
Private sector financial development is crucial
for promoting successful and sustainable economies in low- and middle-income
countries worldwide. Efficient financial markets ensure resources are allocated
productively, aiding job creation and economic growth. IFC prioritizes
investment in the financial sector as it promotes development in all other
sectors.
The Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
at IFC has three main objectives: financial inclusion, servicing the real
economy, and mobilizing third-party resources. FIG engages in various
sub-sectors, including Microfinance, SME, Gender, Climate, Insurance, Capital
Markets, Housing, and Distressed Assets, providing investment and advisory
services globally through IFC’s network.
IFC FIG Advisory Services in Latin America
and the Caribbean focuses on financial inclusion to enhance the
availability and affordability of financial services for both corporate
entities and individuals. By collaborating with local financial institutions,
FIG develops innovative products and services tailored to the needs of
underserved populations. These initiatives include expanding microfinance for
small businesses, promoting digital banking solutions in remote areas, and
supporting gender-focused programs to empower women entrepreneurs. Through
these efforts, FIG integrates more people into the formal financial system and
stimulates regional economic growth and development.
One of the key solutions under FIG is
the Banking on Women initiative. This program supports financial
institutions in emerging markets by providing investment, advisory services,
and data to enhance financial services for women and women-owned businesses. It
helps develop tailored financial products and offers strategic advisory
services to serve women customers effectively. The initiative also conducts
market research and addresses barriers through training and mentorship. IFC
aims to continue growing its gender-inclusive finance efforts through various
partner institutions and key investors.
2. PROJECT BACKGROUND
Women entrepreneurs are essential
in developing economies, but their contribution is hampered by poor access to
finance.
Women own about 28 percent of all micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME), key
for creating jobs, stabilizing communities, and strengthening society overall.
Yet, women MSMEs face significant financial challenges, with over a 30 percent
gender gap in access to financial services (approximately $1.5 trillion
globally). To amplify their impact, these entrepreneurs require a range of quality
financial services currently unavailable to whole segments of women business
owners in developing economies.
Sex disaggregated data (SDD),
despite its importance in financing women MSMEs, is still a challenge for
financial sector players in the LAC Region. SDD is crucial for increasing the support of financial
service providers (FSPs), central bankers, and policymakers for women MSMEs. In
particular, the lack of SDD is a significant barrier to (i) identifying profitable,
underserved business niches and assessing customer risk, (ii) sizing the gap
for the provision of financial services to men vs. women-owned/led businesses,
(iii) design and monitor financial sector initiatives that target women
entrepreneurs, (iv) tap into concessional funds targeting lenders and investors
in enterprises owned and/or operated by women.
In May 2023, IFC launched a
global initiative to strengthen financial institutions’ SDD capabilities. The initiative's first
phase, which concluded in late 2024, involved a global pilot with a diverse set
of FSPs from 12 countries. This pilot showed that many financial institutions
overestimated their ability to handle sex-disaggregated data (SDD), did not
collect the needed data to identify women-owned micro, small, and medium
enterprises (MSMEs), and had trouble reporting sex-disaggregated MSME data.
Still, some found new ways to use SDD after working with IFC in the pilot.
3. SCOPE OF WORK
Building on the SDD program
pilot phase, IFC seeks to contract a consulting firm to assess and enhance
FSPs' capabilities in collecting, processing, validating, analyzing, and
reporting data using SDD. The consultancy aims to improve the practical
implementation of SDD procedures within the Latin American financial sector.
To achieve project-specific goals,
the contracted firm is expected to:
· Validate or refine the
pilot’s methodology to systematically assess SDD capabilities throughout the
data cycle, from collection to reporting and usage.
·
Asses SDD capabilities, data quality, and bottlenecks of both existing and
newly selected participating financial institutions (PFIs).
·
Provide actionable recommendations and
ongoing support to the selected PFIs to:
o
build their capacity to collect, process, validate,
analyze, and use high-quality SDD.
o
accurately report to IFC on key indicators, disaggregated
by sex and enterprise size (see Appendix 1).
· Support regional financial
sector learning by training PFIs, IFC staff, and other key stakeholders in SDD
best practices and common challenges.
· Codifying and disseminating engagement
lessons learned, innovations, and areas of opportunity.
By project completion, the consulting firm and
the IFC project team will codify the lessons learned to inform the rollout
phase.
Please find more details in the ToRs attached.