Consultant(s) for Ex-post Evaluation of the Project

CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: EX-POST EVALUATION OF THE PROJET “Support to the People’s Credit Funds network for the financing of the private sector”

1 – The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has set up a new ex-post evaluation tool in order to systematically evaluate all AFD-funded projects and programmes once they have been completed. This approach responds to AFD’s concern not only to ensure objective information on the proper use of the public funds for which the agency is accountable, but also to its firm wish to gain an in-depth understanding of the results of its activities, learn lessons from past interventions and foster greater dialogue with its partners.

2 - These evaluations will be financed and managed by AFD, entrusted to external consultants (from the OECD or from developing countries) and shared with its partners, the contracting authorities for the projects concerned. They will involve examining the performance of the projects and programmes in line with the five criteria recommended by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), namely: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability.

3 - In this context, AFD wishes to hire a consultancy firm or one or more individual consultant(s) to conduct the ex-post evaluation of the project “Support to the People’s Credit Funds network for the financing of the private sector”, initiated in the end of 2009. The People’s Credit Funds (PCFs) network has been providing social banking services to populations – mainly rural ones – since 1993 and has expanded to almost all Vietnam provinces, being headed by the Central Credit Fund (CCF), renamed Co-opBank in 2013.
The overall objective of the project was to develop and facilitate investments made by private entrepreneurs of the rural sector, one of Vietnam’s key productive sectors for economic growth. Specific objectives of the project were hence to support the rapid activity increase of PCFs, to expand their medium to long-term credit offer capabilities and to participate in the capacity improvement of its overall network. Those objectives were carried out through a soft loan guaranteed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and a grant financing a Technical Assistance.

4 – The interested consultancy or individual consultants are required to have:
- well-grounded experience in development co-operation;
- sound knowledge in evaluating projects or programmes;
- technical and sector expertise in the field of microfinance, social finance, Vietnamese public sector;
- professional experience ideally in Vietnam, or in similar countries;
- excellent command of English and ideally Vietnamese.

5 – AFD invites the consultants and/or consultancy firms to provide the services described hereabove. The interested consultancy firms interested must furnish the information evidencing that they are qualified to carry out the expected services (brochures, references concerning the performance of similar contracts, experiences acquired in similar conditions, availability of required knowledge and qualifications among its staff or expert network, staff and financial resources, etc.).

6 – AFD will shortlist a number of consultancy firms and/or consultants on the basis of the replies to the present call for expression of interest. AFD will then contact the candidates that match the required profile. The final selection will be made on the basis of a restricted invitation of the shortlisted consultancy firms or individual consultants, in accordance with AFD procedures.

7 – The expressions of interest must be delivered no later than 30 October 2015, to the below address:
Mr. Haroun El Mdaghri
Finance and Partnerships Department
French Development Agency in Hanoi
6-8 Ton That Thiep, Ba Dinh, Ha Noi
Tel: (04) 38 23 67 64 – Ext.121- email: [email protected]