eC2: Insights in the business case for non-financial services to Women-owned SMEs – FMO -IFC Research

Deadline: 17-Jan-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)women-finance-blogpost

Assignment Description

1. Gain insights into the banks business case for offering non-financial services (NFS) to SMEs broadly and in particular to women-SMEs and its impact on FI business growth and sustainability.

2. Understand how entrepreneurs usage of non-financial services offered by financial institutions (i) have an impact on the businesses as well as on family in the case of women entrepreneurs and (ii) how it translates into portfolio expansion and enhanced quality, business growth and profitability for the financial institution.

3. The study will include review of a broad set of banks and financial institutions that serve SMEs to capture practices that have been successful for SMEs in general which can be adapted and applied to benefit women SMEs/womens markets.

Continue reading

eC2: SME support for promoting climate resilience

climateDeadline:  26-Oct-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

Objective:  IFC is currently implementing the Pilot Project for Climate Resilience in Bangladesh focused on the southern, coastal, polder regions. Under the project, IFC is supporting development an eco-system of private sector enterprises, including SMEs, to promote climate smart technologies and practices. IFC is seeking to recruit a specialized agency in Bangladesh to support capacity building of growth-oriented SMEs and make them climate smart and investor ready to link them with potential impact investors for growth and expansion.

Continue reading

eC2: SME Ventures Knowledge Product

Deadline: 18-Jul-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

IFCs SME Ventures supports local entrepreneurship in FCS, IDA and frontier markets by logo_ifcproviding risk capital/ patient capital that are otherwise extremely scarce. Established in 2008, the successful raise of a follow-on fund by the Central Africa SME Fund validated IFCs pioneering role, and IFC secured Boards approval to expand the program globally in 2015.

Building on its decades experience, the SME Ventures, by working with the FCS Africa team, (the project team, hereafter) intends to develop a knowledge product that provides a practical and relevant information and guidance to GPs and LPs. The knowledge product will capture the SME Ventures and its partners experience and provide insights and solutions to day to day challenges that GPs and LPs face. The final report will be launched during the fourth SME Ventures Forum in March 2018.

Continue reading

Private Sector Development: Rabobank Foundation

­

Rabobank Foundation and the World Bank team up to strengthen financial rabobank-blogcooperatives for agrifinance.

The World Bank and Rabobank Foundation are teaming up to strengthen financial cooperatives in rural areas to improve financial services for smallholder farmers and agricultural SMEs.

Continue reading