Result of Service
Under the supervision of the Programme Management Officer, Finance Unit, Mitigation Branch, Climate Change Division, the consultant will deliver the specific outputs as follows: I. Conduct initial consultations with UN Women and UNEP to align on project objectives and methodology. II. Review EmPower documents, existing literature, and practitioner reports. III. Identify known business accelerators / initiatives / facilities in the global south, with a focus on Asia and Africa. IV. Identify known financial mechanisms and loan schemes offered by commercial banks to MSMEs. V. Conduct a detailed analysis of the following and provide actionable recommendations: a. identified business accelerator / initiatives / facilities. b. different financial mechanisms offered by commercial banks. c. public policies on business accelerator / initiatives / facilities and commercial banks ecosystems. VI. Incorporate feedback from UN Women/UNEP to finalize the analysis & recommendation report. VII. Prepare Powerpoint presentation to present findings to UNEP and UN Women. Performance indicators: Efficient completion of the deliverables as stipulated and evaluated by UNEP for completeness and quality.
Duties and Responsibilities
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Building on its institutional policy, guided by Member States, UNEP’s Mid-Term-Strategy for 2022-2025 states that “gender equality and a rights-based approach are key to ending all forms of discrimination and ensuring progress towards environmental sustainability” and explains how UNEP will increase responsiveness to gender equality and human rights and gather good practices within the organization. UNEP’s strategic objectives comprise: “Climate stability: Countries increasingly transition to low-emission economic development pathways and enhance their adaptation and resilience to climate change”. Under this objective, UNEP works to contribute to Programme of Work Outcome 1B: “Countries and stakeholders have increased capacity, finance, and access to technologies to deliver on the adaptation and mitigation goals”. Through the EmPower programme, UNEP supports access to low carbon technologies for decarbonization, enhance resilience and increase access to climate finance. The EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies Programme seeks to accelerate gender-responsive and human rights-based climate action across Asia and the Pacific with a focus on Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Viet Nam. Building on the first phase of the project, UNEP and UN Women are scaling up the work in its second phase which started in 2023. EmPower Phase II leverages a variety of tools, methodologies, and empirical data to implement existing plans and policies for gender-responsive, human rights-based climate action. The project expands the scope for women and other marginalized and gender-diverse groups to shape decisions and build resilience, including through new access to finance, technology and renewable energy as a driver of better livelihoods. For this, further support is needed to unlock finance for low caron technologies for women-led as well as other socially inclusive enterprises to build climate-resilient livelihoods, and to bring women’s leadership to the forefront of climate action and the just energy transition. The programme aims to contribute to the following long-term impact – people in Asia-Pacific experience greater gender equality and the full enjoyment of their rights, including equal access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, reducing their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. The purpose of the consultancy is to work with the regional and country team members of UN Women and UNEP under the “EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies” programme to develop a review and analysis of existing business accelerators and other initiatives and facilities focusing on connecting capital and enterprises. This study will identify the different types of business accelerators / initiatives / facilities operating in the global south with a focus on Asia and Africa as well as their respective business models, and evaluate the challenges and potentialities for these business models to address the financing and capacity building needs of MSMEs via a sustainable / self-sustaining business model that does not require grant support. The study will also look at financial mechanisms from commercial banks and identify constraints and challenges preventing or limiting MSMEs’ access to loans and other commercial financial mechanisms, including public policies that may support or hinder them; the study will explore possible avenues to address those constraints and limitations that could sustainably unlock financing to MSMEs at scale. Considering this, the Consultant will perform the following tasks: Conduct a study and prepare an analytical report that includes actionable insights, case studies, and recommendations on the potential for business accelerators / initiatives / facilities to address the capacity building and financing needs of MSMEs to access clean / renewable energy technologies through the implementation of a sustainable business model: Business Accelerators / initiatives / facilities: • Review and list all known existing business accelerators / initiatives / facilities in the global south with a focus on Asia and Africa, detailing their type, their business model, their target audience (both entrepreneurs and financers in terms of type, size, economic sector), their target geography, their known performance, their known failures, their strengths and weaknesses. • Undertake an analysis of the different business models implemented by the different business accelerators / initiatives / facilities, especially highlighting their mode of financing and their financial performance. • Identify and detail potential business models that would sustainably target MSMEs willing to purchase or / in the clean energy / renewable energy sector and connect them with commercial banks for financing. Details provided should include, but not limited to: MSMEs identification, capacity gap assessment, capacity building delivery modalities, adequate financial mechanisms. • Provide recommendations regarding the business model(s) of business accelerator / initiatives / facilities that is/are the most appropriate to achieve the objective of accelerating MSMEs in terms of capacity building and access to finance through commercial loans offered by commercial banks. The recommendations must consider the financial sustainability of the business model(s), ensuring that those business models can self-sustain their operations without support from grants, public funds, charity of philanthropy contribution while also ensuring that MSMEs and banks remain financially competitive in their offering and their operations. Commercial Banks: • Review and list all known existing financial mechanisms and loan schemes offered by commercial banks to MSMEs. • Undertake an analysis of the different financial mechanisms offered by commercial banks, especially highlighting their uptake, their costs on MSMEs, the required collaterals and other risk mitigating measures. • Provide recommendations on how commercial banks could align with MSMEs for the provision of affordable and executable loans, through the support of relevant business accelerators / initiatives / facilities. Public Policies on the Business Accelerator / initiatives / facilities and Commercial Banks Ecosystems: • Analyse the policy environment of business accelerators / initiatives / facilities and of commercial banks, and highlight enabling or constraining policies to their existing business models. • Provide policy recommendations that would facilitate the adoption and development of the recommended sustainable business models for business accelerators / initiatives / facilities to target MSMEs and for commercial banks to lend to MSMEs. • Prepare a final report including all the above elements. • Prepare a Powerpoint presentation and present the results to UNEP and UN Women
Qualifications/special skills
• Master’s degree or certification equivalent in social sciences, economics, business administration, statistics, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with five additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. • At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in business analysis. • Experience in reviewing policy environments and providing policy recommendations. • Experience in designing tools and strategies for data collection, analysis and production of reports. • Knowledge about gender equality, the empowerment of women and violence against women. • Experience working with UN bodies / international organizations / non-profit sector highly desirable. • Strong communication skills. • Knowledge about climate finance, SME sector understanding.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.