TERMS OF REFERENCE TO UNDERTAKE COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING AND APPROACHES ON CLIMATE FINANCE EDUCATION TO MFIs/SACCOs 

1. About Cordaid 

CORDAID is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization. We stand with those who are hit hardest by poverty and conflict by supporting them in their struggle to move beyond survival and to fully participate in equitable and resilient societies. CORDAID Rwanda works in the fields of food and income, private sector development, and climate resilience. We pioneer in establishing pro-poor growth through the market system and value chain development, agri-business development services for SMEs and cooperatives, and improving access to financial services.  

2. Project Background 

TREPA is a six-year Project coordinated by IUCN from 2022 through 2027 and is being implemented in all districts of the Eastern Province. The Project is funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and intends to restore 60,000 ha of drought-degraded landscapes into climate-resilient ecosystems through re-forestation, agroforestry, restoration of pasturelands, and soil erosion control measures in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. In addition, the TREPA Project will promote improved clean and efficient cooking energy technologies to more than 100,000 households in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. The Project will also develop value chains of climate-resilient agricultural and agroforestry products to incentivize public and private investments in forests, rangelands, and agroforestry. Targeted value chains include those of tree crops, bee products, and fodder. Value chain actors will be supported in overcoming identified bottlenecks and constraints along the nodes of the value chains. The project will finally support the national and local institutions to effectively plan, manage and monitor climate adaptation outcomes from improved land use at national and decentralized levels. The TREPA Project implementing partners are IUCN (Accredited Entity), the Rwanda Forestry Authority and ENABEL CIFOR- ICRAF, World Vision, and Cordaid.  

3. Cordaid intervention 

Cordaid is tasked to promote access to finance for smallholder farmers and other actors in the context of value chains in the target area. Specifically, Cordaid will intervene to: 

• Develop training materials on climate resilience, Agri-finance/products, train MFIs/SACCOs staff, evaluate training
• Training MFI/SACCOs staff
• Enhance climate resilience and livelihood at the household level by stimulating savings groups, particularly for women.
• Reduce the risks of the effects of sudden changes in climate such as drought or flooding by linking agricultural credit risk assessment tool scoring to indicators on improved erosion control and land management practices and to early warning messages on drought and rainfall, also for loan officers who are in regular contacts with clients.  
• Encourage farmers to use climate-resilient production methods by enabling better access to credit and by reducing credit barriers for repeat loans when climate-resilient production methods are successfully implemented. 
• Improve pre-and post-harvest losses through better handling and storage of produce e.g. honey, fruit trees, and fodder products. This will have an immediate positive effect on farmers’ income as well as a long-term effect on climate-resilient through drastic reduction of wastage. 
• Facilitate widespread usage of improved cooking stoves and alternative energy sources (solar power, biogas) by providing financial services for such equipment side by side with productive investments and looking at youth as potential clients. 
• Facilitate impact investors to engage in investment for SMEs in the relevant value chains and connect to insurance companies. 

General Objective

The general objective of this assignment is to enhance the capacity of SACCOs, MFIs, and Cordaid partners operating in the Eastern Province of Rwanda to effectively integrate climate finance principles into their operations. By doing so, we aim to promote climate resilience, sustainable financial services, and community well-being. 

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this assignment are as follows:

• Develop a comprehensive climate training program tailored to SACCOs and MFIs.
• Deliver training sessions to 95 SACCOs, and 4 MFIs, empowering them with climate finance knowledge and skills.
• Assess and report on the impact of climate finance training on SACCOs and MFIs' operations and their ability to serve climate-resilient solutions to their clients. 

4. Scope of the assignment 

Cordaid has developed a curriculum on climate finance education and training modules with the aim of equipping SACCO/MFIs with knowledge, skills, and the right attitude on climate financing initiatives. It is in that spirit that Cordaid would like to hire a competent firm to train 95 SACCOs and 4 MFIs operating in Eastern Province and assess the impact of the training on participating MFIs and SACCOs. 

5. Expected Deliverables 

The firm is expected to deliver the following:

• A comprehensive training program and approaches to climate finance education.
• Training sessions conducted for 95 SACCOs, 4 MFIs, in the Eastern Province of Rwanda, resulting in improved knowledge and skills leading to sustainable climate finance in the sector.
• Demonstrate the new attitude of the trained SACCOs and MFIs towards sustainable climate finance.
• Training reports outlining the progress, participation, and outcomes of each training session, along with recommendations for further improvement.
• A post-training assessment of the SACCOs and MFIs' ability to integrate climate finance concepts into their operations.
• Documentation of success stories or case studies highlighting how climate finance training has positively impacted SACCOs, MFIs, and their clients.
• Social inclusion in climate resilience activities

A final comprehensive report summarizing the entire training process, including lessons learned and recommendations for future capacity-building efforts.

6. Duration

Suggest the tentative period the activities of the consultant would take from the signing of the contract.   

6. Selection criteria 

The firm will be selected according to the following criteria: 

• Understanding of the Terms of Reference.
• Proposed methodology and planning of the assignment.
• Be a firm certified or regulated by BNR for Microfinance institutions
• Proven experience in Strengthening Capacities through training and coaching for SACCO and MFI.
• Proven experience with SACCO and MFI operations and understanding of the Climate finance landscape
• Overall quality of the technical proposal; and Financial proposal. 
• Trainers must demonstrate that they have qualifications in Climate Finance.
• The firm should be a local operating company. 

7. Submission

Interested firms should submit their proposals via email to apollinaire.nshimiyimana@cordaid.org and copy to jacques.dusabebaziga@cordaid.org. The email subject should be “Training on climate Finance for MFI and SACCO”.

The proposal should include the following:

• Technical bid showing a clear understanding of the scope of the assignment and methodology
• Financial bid with a clear breakdown of costs in RWF.
• VAT Registration and Tax Clearance Certificate.
• Payment terms and pricing structure.
• Proposed timeline of the assignment 

8. Submission deadline 

The deadline for the receipt of bids is 5:00 p.m. on October 20, 2023. For inquiries related to this Request for Bids, please contact victoire.umutesi@cordaid.org 

Only suitably qualified local consulting firms will be contacted for further engagement. 

Patrick BIRASA

Rwanda Country Manager

Cordaid