Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2023-05-10
Buyer: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Country: DE
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 66111000 | 75211200 | 79411100
Submission deadline: 2023-06-06
Award criteria: The most economic tender
EU fund: EU Fund

Technical requirements: 81295344-Financial Inclusion for Economic Restart and Integration in Iraq - Development of inclusive financial services
The Multi-Donor Action "Financial Inclusion for Economic Restart and Integration in Iraq" is jointly co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The national partners are the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and the Central Bank of Iraq.
The project aims to sustainably improve financial inclusion and access to inclusive financial services for vulnerable target groups such as women, youth, people affected by poverty, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, refugees and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The project has four Outputs, (1) Developing inclusive financial services, (2) Enhancing awareness about inclusive financial services and the financing of renewable energies, (3) Strengthening the capacities of the Central Bank of Iraq to promote and regulate inclusive financial services, and (4) Improving conditions for women-led businesses to access financial services.
The overall project duration lasts from December 2021 to November 2024 with a total commissioning value of EUR 16.050.000 (EU contribution EUR 11.000.000) and BMZ contribution EUR 5.050.000; BMZ"s total funding for the BMZ project "Finanzielle Inklusion für wirtschaftlichen Neubeginn im Irak" is EUR 7.000.000).
The Action is part of and contributes to the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) `Sustainable and inclusive socio-economic perspectives for Iraq´ (2021-2026); the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Special Initiative `Tackling the root causes of dis-placement, reintegrating refugees´and the two EU Special Measures: First, the EU Special Measure 2019/2020 `Support to Governance and Sustainable Job Creation in Iraq´ (MIDEAST/2020/042-211 and MIDEAST/2019/041-827), which aims to support economic governance, vocational training, migration management, and job creation through sustainable agriculture and diversification of economic opportunities. Second, the EU Special Measure `Support to the Energy Sector Reform in Iraq´ (MIDEAST/2018/ 41-106), which aims to enhance the availability of sustainable, affordable energy and limit the environmental impact of hydrocarbon combustion.
In order to improve the insufficient access to finance for MSMEs, the project has designed the following outputs:
Output 1 to support the provision of needs-based inclusive financial services such as sustainably accessible accounts, cashless payment transactions and credits geared towards MSMEs in urban and rural areas.
Output 2 aims at providing awareness-raising and information offers on inclusive financial services for vulnerable target groups.
Output 3 aims to align the central bank's regulations and monitoring practices more closely to market developments and financial inclusion.
Output 4 4 aims to improve the institutional conditions for women-led businesses to gain access to financial services.
The assignment is embedded in the overall activities of the project. The contractor will carry out activities related to Output 1 and Output 4 and provide selective inputs for the other Outputs. GIZ as well as the selected contractor will work jointly on achieving the goals and objectives of the project.
GIZ seeks a qualified consultancy company with a proven track record in providing technical assistance to financial institutions in MSME Finance and experience in implementing projects the Middle East and North Africa (MENA Region). The focus of the contractor"s work is to directly support selected financial service providers (FSP) in developing new or adapting existing inclusive financial services tailored to the needs of vulnerable populations and MSMEs. The target group of the assignment are the selected partner FSP. Financial service providers are understood to include, but are not limited to banks, microfinance institutions, digital payment service providers, government led loan programs as well as specialised lending firms and Fintechs involved in MSME financing or remittances.
FSP are advised on the development of new or the adaptation of existing financial services for the target groups based on market analyses of the existing range of financial services available in Iraq as well as needs assessments and related studies of the target group. Product developments or adaptations include changes to product conditions or terms of use, changed sales structures or distribution channels for a better outreach of FSP, in particular in rural areas, or innovative new market segments (for example, loans for renewable energy investments). Women specific financial services are tailored to the needs of women-led businesses and may include e.g. special collateral requirements, a different risk assessment, a special customer approach or outreach strategy.
A: Partner financial service providers have piloted and launched a minimum of 3 inclusive financial services which were newly developed or adapted to the needs of vulnerable groups and MSMEs, of which at least 2 financial services tailored to the needs of women-led businesses and desirably 1 financial service with digital approach and 1 financial service for green energy solutions.
B: At least 2,000 users of financial services among the target group and MSMEs (including at least 150 women-led businesses) have used the newly developed or adapted inclusive financial services.

Eligibility requirements: 1. Trading name and address, commercial register number and extract from the commercial register and evidence of creditworthiness. 2. Eligibility declaration that no grounds for exclusion in Section 123, 124 of the German Act Against Restraints of Competition (GWB) apply. 3. Eligibility declaration subcontractors if applicable. 4. Association clause if applicable.