AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

BANQUE AFRICAINE DE DEVELOPPEMENT

Expression of Interest (EOI)

Division: Microeconomics, Institutional and Development Impact Division (ECMR2)

Title of the assignment : Research Firm for Trade Finance in Africa Research Project

Department making the request : Microeconomic, Institutional and Development Impact

Division (ECMR.2)

Place of assignment : Kenya and Tanzania

Period of assignment : April 20, 2021 to August 20, 2021

Expected start date of the assignment : April 20, 2021

Last date for expressing interest : March 30, 2021

Expression of interest to be submitted to : Alesse Allaba Lucette: [email protected]

 

  1. Background : 
  • The African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. The Bank’s development agenda entails delivering financial and technical support to transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten-Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas of focus (High 5), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely, light up and power Africa (energy), feed Africa (agriculture and nutrition), industrialize Africa (industrialization), integrate Africa (regional integration and intra-regional trade) and improve the quality of life for Africans (sustainable socio-economic development) ;
  • The Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management (ECVP) is responsible for (i) providing leadership and visibility for the Bank on economic, finance, financial governance and socio economic development issues; and coordinate the generation of analytical work to inform operational policy; and (ii) systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on sustainable and inclusive transformation of African economies ;
  • The  Macroeconomics  Policy,  Forecasting  and  Research  Department  (ECMR)  is dedicated to the generation of high-quality knowledge in the area of development in Africa. ECMR comprises of two divisions, one of which is the Microeconomics, Institutional  and  Development  Impact  Division  (ECMR.2)  which  serves  as  the institutional  anchor  of  the  ex-ante  Additionality  and  Development  Outcome. Assessment (ADOA) of the Bank’s private sector operations. As such, it is a key element of the Results Measurement Framework and the primary tool for mainstreaming Development Outcomes into the Bank’s operations ;
  • ECMR.2 also undertakes microeconomic-related research and knowledge generation activities to inform its additionality and development outcomes assessments and more broadly the Bank’s operations. These activities cover a wide range of areas, such as development finance, infrastructure development, private sector development, industrial organizations, governance, competitiveness & investment climate, agriculture, institutions, and regional integration, which are relevant to the Bank’s High 5 priorities ;
  • Since 2014, ECMR.2 has initiated and produced the periodic survey of the trade finance market in Africa. The first three rounds of surveys focused on the supply of trade finance by commercial banks in Africa and have generated reports that summarize the main findings and trends, helping to fill the knowledge gap on trade finance in Africa and have attracted global interest. ECMR.2 is now launching an ambitious initiative to conduct surveys on trade finance demand by enterprises in Africa, using Kenya and Tanzania as a pilot case study. The aim is to evaluate how access to trade finance impacts firm export and productivity performance as well as the challenges faced by firms in accessing trade finance.
  1. Scope of assignment and objective of the survey : 
  • ECMR.2 is currently seeking to recruit a survey/research firm with the primary objective of collecting high quality data on trade finance activities of enterprises in Kenya and Tanzania. Preference will be given to survey/research firms with strong track-record of primary data collection and footprint in both countries. To achieve the main objective, the survey/research firm will collaborate with researchers at the African Development Bank on all activities including planning, hiring & training of enumerators and supervisors, monitoring and supervision, quality assurance of data collection and entry ;
  • The data collected will be used to assess the impact of trade finance on firm’s performance and productivity. Thus, the questionnaire will encompass various modules including basic firm characteristics, access to finance, trade, competition, obstacles to growth, performance measures, costs of inputs and labor, gender participation, etc. The expected sample population is 800 firms equally distributed between the two countries. 
  1. Tasks and Responsibilities of the Survey/research Firm : 
  • The key responsibilities of the survey/research firm will include survey questionnaire formatting and revision to account for within country context and ease of administration, designing and presentation of field plan for data collection, hiring and training of enumerators and supervisions, pilot of questionnaire in both countries, data collection, supervision, data entry, storage and transmission. The survey/research firm will report to ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team and perform the expected tasks below :
  1. Participate in questionnaire development : the survey/research firm is expected to participate in the questionnaire development and provide comments to ensure that questionnaire reflects local conditions and business operations environment for the respective countries and for contextual understanding with approval from the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team. ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team will provide the initial draft of the survey questionnaire ;
  2. The survey firm will have the responsibility to adapt the survey questionnaire in tele form format that allows for easy electronic transmission and administration, skips, standardized coding rules and point out terminology that needs more clarification ;
  3. Develop and present interview guide and instruction for survey administration : the survey/research firm will also have the responsibility of developing an interviewer’s guide manual to standardized and guide the administration of questionnaire across enumerators and supervisors. The guide should be used to train enumerators and survey supervisors on survey administration and provide definition on coding rules (including rules for coding missing values, preference not to answer, and don’t know), skips and definition of terminology that may need clarification. ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team will provide clear definition of technical terminology that are highlighted during questionnaire development stage as needed. The survey guide should be provided to ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team for comments one week in advance of training for enumerators and research supervisors, and feedback will be discussed with survey/research firm and changes incorporated. ;
  4. Plan for data collection : the survey/research firm will be expected to produce a “field plan for survey administration” that outlines the details of the various aspects of the data collection exercise to be conducted by the firm, including the potential for virtual administration of the questionnaire given the current operational environment. The plan will be shared with ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team for discussion and comments will be incorporated in the plan prior to approval: At the minimum the plan should include detailed information on: composition of the survey team, qualification and training plan; number of enumerators; number of field-supervisors; expected task and responsibilities of each member; number of visits per firm (a minimum of two visits will be required to ensure revision of incomplete or inconsistent information, quality assurance and address concerns); calendar of activities; information reporting tool for tracking progress both for consulting firm and ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team; supervision protocol for quality assurance of data; data entry and submission plan ;
  5. Identify and select sampled firms : the survey/research firm will be expected to identify firms based on criteria defined by the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team, including firms with access to trade finance support facilities and firms without access to trade finance support facilities. The list of firms should be communicated to the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team after selection before the piloting phase in task 3.1.5 below. The ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team will support the selection process by providing a list of firms that have benefited from DFI trade finance programs. The final list of firms should be vetted by the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team before piloting and adjustments may be made after the pilot ;
  6. Pilot survey and questionnaire administration : the survey/research firm will be required to pilot the questionnaire administration to help identify necessary modifications and challenges that may be forthcoming and incorporate lessons learned into the electronic questionnaire in consultation with the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team ;
  7. Oversee successful data collection exercise : the survey/research firm will ensure that all aspects of the project are implemented successfully to facilitate the submission of high-quality data to the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team. Any notable deviation from the approved plan for data collection should be communicated and remedied in a timely fashion so as to ensure that data quality is not compromised ;
  8. Weekly progress report : the survey/research firm will submit weekly progress report and participate in weekly conference calls with the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team regarding the achievement of deliverables and plans for the implementation of next steps. The progress report will be submitted one day ahead of the planned conference call ;
  9. Data entry: the survey/research firm must establish robust data entry standards to be discussed and approved by the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team. The data process should meet the following required standards :
  • Variable names should correspond to that in the questionnaire in a logical and consistent manner ;
  • Missing, unknown and prefer not to answer options should be appropriately coded with the right convention standard developed in the interview guide manual ;
  • Establish a unique identifier for firm and sector of operation ;
  • Conduct range and consistency check during transmission of questionnaire into electronic format. Check for ease of questionnaire flow(including rules for coding missing values, preference not to answer, and don’t know, skip, specify, refer to, block, drop down list, etc.) ;
  • Establish a protocol for data quality assurance, data storage security, and data transmission to ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team ;
  • Documentary evidence of any deviation from established guidelines ;
  • Codebooks that explains variables, coding rules and basic summary of the data.
  1. Expected deliverables and specific output : 

Based on the tasked to be performed, the following deliverables are expected from the survey/research firms.

Task 1: Questionnaire development :

  • Deliverables: provide comments on questionnaires, present and demonstrate tele form questionnaire that demonstrate coding rules, skip format etc. ;
  • Acceptance criteria: revised questionnaire from ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team and approval of tele form questionnaire.

Task 2: Interview guide  :

  • Deliverables: submission of interview guide and instruction for survey administration in word format for ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team AfDB comments and approval ;
  • Acceptance criteria: ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team AfDB approval of interview guide and training of supervisors and enumerators.

Task 3: Plan for data collection :

  • Deliverables: submission of field work plan including all components as listed above ;
  • Acceptance criteria: discussion and approval by ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team AfDB.

Task 4: Identification and selection of firms :

  • Deliverables: spreadsheet of list of firms that have agreed to participate in the survey, including contact information, industry of operation and location ;
  • Acceptance criteria: ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team AfDB approval of final list of selected firms (treated and control group).

Task 5: Pilot survey :

  • Deliverables: present survey results of pilot initiative from selected firms (treated and uncontrol firms) with report and short presentation on areas for improvement ;
  • Acceptance criteria: review and approval of revised questionnaire and suggested improvements.

Task 6 and 8: Data collection :

  • Deliverables: weekly meeting with progress report and submission of dataset in xlsx, dta or RData with clear data labels and codebook that explains each variable, coding rules and other important information ;
  • Acceptance criteria: review and approval of final data by ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team AfDB.

Task 7: Weekly meeting: This will be expected throughout the consultation at an agreed time and date between the ECMR.2 Trade Finance Research Team AfDB and contact persons of the research firm.

  1. The AfDB will be the exclusive owner of the final data and any output from the data ; 
  1. Application process: Please submit an expression of interest that includes a cover letter, portfolio of experiences (preferably in regional member country) and cv of expected project leaders electronically to [email protected]. All questions related to this expression of interest should be addressed to Eugene Bempong Nyantakyi at [email protected] and Francis Hypolite Kemeze at [email protected].