Objective and anticipated results of the assignment

General objective

The objective of this assignment is to produce a practical, implementation-oriented Consolidated Access to Finance (A2F) approach for the PSD Liberia Project that identifies the financing instruments and the financial-sector partners the project should support to improve access to appropriate finance for MSMEs and producers across the cassava, aquaculture, and wood processing value chains.

Note: A PSD and MSD lens is critical to this assignment and non-negotiable. Therefore, the consultant must execute the tasks ensuring that a MSD lens is utilized and should refrain from a drift towards a pure supply-side approach. This must be clearly reflected in the methodology section of the inception report.

Specific objectives

The assignment is organised around the following analytical tasks:

1. Financial ecosystem mapping (building on existing literature).

Drawing as far as possible on existing studies and sector studies currently conducted by Expertise France, map the actors relevant to MSME and value chain finance, including commercial banks, microfinance institutions, rural finance providers, Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs), mobile money and fintech platforms, equipment leasing and hire-purchase providers, agricultural lenders, and donor-supported finance programmes. Include relevant Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), impact investors, venture and angel networks, blended finance facilities, and challenge funds active or potentially active in Liberia, with particular attention to food systems, agriculture, and sustainable enterprise. To the extent possible, assess their products, pricing, eligibility criteria, outreach, target client segments, capital constraints, governance, risk appetite, and current engagement with MSMEs and agricultural value chains.

2. Financing gap, demand and supply analysis across the three value chains.

• Assess financing gaps in the cassava, aquaculture, and wood processing value chains, drawing on enterprise-level data and consultations. Identify key constraints, including working capital shortages, equipment financing needs, informality, geographic disparities, barriers faced by women and youth, seasonal financing requirements, and differences across micro, small, medium, and growth-stage enterprises.
• Assess financing demand across the main enterprise types (microenterprises, SMEs, cooperatives, aggregators, processors, exporters, start-ups, and growth-stage firms), with attention to their differing needs for working capital, equipment finance, trade finance, investment and patient capital, structured debt, equity, or grant co-financing.
• Assess the supply of finance available to the three value chains, including products offered by banks, MFIs, SACCOs, leasing companies, and guarantee providers. Examine product terms, collateral and eligibility requirements, agricultural and SME lending practices, portfolio performance where available, sectoral lending trends, and the extent to which existing products match enterprise needs.

3. Stakeholder consultations.

Conduct targeted consultations, including key informant interviews and focus group discussions, with 

•  Public sector institutions such as the central bank 
• Commercial banks,
• Microfinance institutions and SACCOs
• Value chain stakeholders across the three value chains,
• Fintech institutions,
• Women and youth civil society institutions
• These will be critical to ground and validate the analysis above. Consultations may be conducted partly remotely.

4. Recommended financing instruments.

Based on the consultations and desk research, identify and recommend the financing instruments the project should support during implementation, based on their relevance to the three value chains, financial institution appetite, enterprise capacity, and feasibility within available blended finance structures. Instruments to consider include value chain finance, embedded finance, warehouse receipt finance, matching grants, revolving funds, partial credit guarantees, risk-sharing mechanisms, blended finance structures, revenue-based finance, equity and quasi-equity, green finance, equipment leasing, digital financial services and mobile money-enabled solutions, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), community-based savings and credit mechanisms, and linkages between VSLAs and formal financial institutions. Particular attention should be paid to identifying financing solutions that can effectively reach women-led MSMEs, youth entrepreneurs, and persons with disabilities (PWDs), who often face additional barriers to accessing formal finance. For each recommended instrument, indicate its practical use case, target enterprise segment, implementation requirements, scalability, inclusion potential, and likely fit with project objectives and timeframe.

5. Partnerships and engagement framework.

Identify specific financial institutions and ecosystem actors with whom the project could establish strategic partnerships and operational collaboration during implementation, including named commercial banks, MFIs, DFIs, fintech and mobile finance providers, SACCOs, cooperatives, farmer organisations, chambers of commerce, business associations, agribusinesses, anchor firms, impact investors, and development partners relevant to the three value chains. For each, indicate the potential role, institutional fit, geographic reach, appetite for MSME or value chain finance, and suitability for collaboration on blended finance, guarantees, embedded finance, digital delivery, group lending, equipment finance, or investment mobilisation. Propose a practical engagement framework for prioritising and structuring these partnerships over the project timeframe.

6. Risk assessment register.

Develop a risk assessment register identifying the key risks of engaging with the identified partners and financing instruments, presented in a table with the following columns: Risk Description, Likelihood, Impact Severity, and Potential Mitigation Measures.

II.      Expected results and deliverables

The assignment will produce three consolidated deliverables, designed to be focused and immediately actionable by the project.

Indicative annexes: financial actor map, partner long-list, and a bibliography of consultations and documents reviewed. All deliverables require validation by Expertise France.

III.      Timeline and level of effort

The assignment is to be delivered within an overall envelope of up to 25 working days, indicatively phased as follows.

IV.      Budget

The maximum available budget for this assignment is EUR 25,000, inclusive of all professional fees, travel costs, daily subsistence allowance, taxes, communications, and any other related expenses. Bidders are expected to propose a budget structure that fits within this ceiling. Subject to compliance with the technical requirements and qualifications outlined in these Terms of Reference, the expert presenting the most competitive financial offer will be selected.