Universal Postal Union

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1 Universal Postal Union Request for Expressions of Interest UPU Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility Programme (FITAF) 10/11/2017 Dae

2 1 Request for Expressions of Interest UPU Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility Programme (FITAF) 1. Profile of the UPU The Universal Postal Union (UPU) was founded in 1874 in Berne, Switzerland, with the main goal of establishing a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of letter-post items and adopting common principles for the international postal service in a non-discriminatory manner. Currently comprising 192 member countries, the UPU became a specialized agency of the United Nations in The main mission of the UPU is to stimulate the lasting development of efficient and accessible universal postal services of quality, in order to facilitate communication between the inhabitants of the world. This encompasses the commitment towards free circulation of postal items over a single postal territory composed of interconnected networks, adoption of fair common standards and use of technology, cooperation and interaction among stakeholders, promotion of effective technical cooperation, and satisfaction of customers' changing needs. 2. Scope of the RFI The Request for Expressions of Interest (RFI) concerns the delivery of technical assistance to Universal Postal Union (UPU) member countries in the field of financial inclusion, and more specifically the digitization of financial services offered by Posts, through external consultancy services. In this context, the UPU aims to create a pool of UPU-certified consultants. From this pool, selected consultants will be recruited to deliver the technical assistance within the framework of the UPU Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF). The FITAF has been set up to provide technical assistance to Posts that are willing and able to digitize postal financial services, with the ultimate goal of advancing financial inclusion. Being part of this pool of consultants will open up unique opportunities to access a new market for consultancy services on digital financial services (DFS). 3. Objectives Within the UPU, the main objective of technical assistance interventions in the field of financial inclusion is to help UPU member countries and their designated operators develop business models for postal financial services that increase outreach and impact by including all segments of the population. Technical assistance will be offered to postal financial institutions to: improve the performance and productivity of current postal financial services; stimulate and support business transformation processes (i.e. creation of new pro ducts, development of partnerships, design and implementation of new business models, etc.); facilitate the achievement of social and other public policy objectives in the area of financial inclusion. The FITAF was established at the end of 2016 and is financed by grants from various sources, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Visa. The technical assistance assignments that could potentially fall within the scope of the facility are projects that would support the digitization of existing postal financial services or the adoption of new financial services by digital means, either directly by Posts or in partnership with other entities. At this stage, the UPU is willing to adopt an open approach to define the scope of the activities to be supported by the FITAF. The only two criteria that will be applied to test whether a project is part of the intended scope are the following: The project will improve the level of digitization of the financial services offered by the Post (with or without a partner);

3 2 These financial services will allow the Post to serve more unbanked/underbanked people or to better serve people who are already clients but who do not have access (or who have limited access) to other financial institutions' services (poor and/or rural populations, women, the elderly, etc.). Five categories of activities have been identified as part of the proposed scope: Digitize postal operations; Assist a Post in offering its own DFS; Support the development of a digital ecosystem (with the Post as an agent); Assist a Post in offering DFS in partnership with another institution; Improve performance of existing DFS. The UPU technical assistance methodology is based on a process called SCAN+3A (appraise, assess, assist). These four phases consist of the following project elements: i ii iii iv Scan: general analysis of the financial sector within which a potential recipient Post is operating, the financial inclusion context, and the challenges and opportunities for postal financial services in this landscape. Appraise: implement a due-diligence exercise of all postal financial products offered by the potential recipient Post, including an identification of new potential financial products, to identify and appraise the financial advantages/disadvantages of current and potential business partnerships available to that Post. Assess: identify and prioritize the institutional/operational weaknesses in the postal financial services of the potential recipient Post, and translate these into a clear technical assistance assignment. Assist: deliver the technical assistance as agreed upon with the recipient Post. 4. Functioning of the FITAF A call for projects will be launched by the UPU yearly, with a minimum of 20 projects to be implemented by The calls for projects will be global, i.e. they will not have a specific regional focus. Using a set of selection criteria, a selection committee will meet after the deadline established in each call for projects to identify the projects which will be supported by the FITAF. 5. Role of the consultants In order to implement the technical assistance assignments, the UPU is looking to create a pool of DFS consultants. From this pool, consultants will be selected to carry out the different identified phases of the technical assistance projects financed by the FITAF. Those consultants will be trained on postal financial services and certified by the UPU. After a tender process, the UPU-certified consultants will be recruited to lead phases 1, 2 and 4 of the technical assistance methodology. The FITAF represents a unique opportunity for consultants to work with postal institutions all over the world to support and guide them in efforts towards diversification, digitization and business development while contributing to the important global public policy objective of financial inclusion. 6. UPU general requirements Consultants with significant and proven experience in: financial inclusion, with a focus on digitization of financial services; micro-finance, banking services, fintechs;

4 technical assistance at country level in developing or least developed countries; management of international projects; / are invited to submit an expression of interest to the UPU contact person using the form in Annex A by no later than (CET), 31 December Any inquiries relating to this RFI may also be addressed to the UPU contact person: olivier.boussard@upu.int. RFI: UPU FITAF Programme 3

5 4 ANNEX A - Contact form Request for Interest (RFI) Please return a completed form by no later than to the following person: Mr Olivier Boussard Coordinator USO, Regulatory Affairs and Secretary of the Council of Administration a.i. Coordinator Financial Inclusion and Sustainable Development Tel: Fax: olivier.boussard@upu.int Contact details Country Organization Family name Position/title Given name Ms Mr Address Tel. Fax Date Signature Information requested 1. Full CV 2. Details on experience in the related fields: financial inclusion, with a focus on digitization of financial services; micro-finance, banking services, fintechs; technical assistance at country level in developing or least-developed countries; management of international projects