Expression of Interest For Market Diagnostic Of Tourism Msmes And Access To Finance In Sri Lanka

Expression of Interest for Market Diagnostic of Tourism MSMEs and Access to Finance in Sri Lanka Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) dominate Sri Lankas tourism value chain, accounting for a large share of accommodation providers, transport operators, food and beverage enterprises, tour operators, recreation services, and destination management companies. These MSMEs are central to innovation, local job creation, and the development of sustainable and experiencebased tourism products. However, tourism MSMEs face a diverse array of supply-side and demand-side challenges that limit their ability to access finance from the formal financial sector, such as high collateral requirements, banks reluctance to provide long-term loans due to perceived risks, lack of financial literacy and business management skills, information asymmetry, bureaucratic hurdles and vulnerability to crises. In this context, IFC is undertaking this comprehensive market diagnostic of Sri Lankas tourism MSME sector. The assessment will build on global and regional best practices and align with ongoing WBG and IFC initiatives in tourism, green finance, blue finance, and gender. It will identify key gaps and challenges in access to finance for tourism MSMEs by examining both supplyside constraints within FIs and demandside constraints faced by MSMEs. The diagnostic will culminate in actionable recommendations and a phased roadmap to unlock the sectors full potential and enable scalable financing solutions that mobilize private sector participation. OBJECTIVES The overall objective is to undertake a comprehensive market diagnostic of Sri Lankas tourism sector to identify constraints and market failures affecting access to finance, and to identify scalable financing structures, instruments, and capacitybuilding solutions to catalyze private sector engagement. The outcomes will feed into existing and future World Bank Group tourism programs and help identify and present investment opportunities. Specific objectives are to: a. Assess the exposure of the financial sector to tourism MSMEs, including a detailed evaluation of the challenges encountered by FIs in extending credit to these entities; b. Examine the obstacles faced by tourism MSMEs in securing financing from the formal financial sector; c. Based on the outcomes of this diagnostic, provide recommendations for targeted interventions to foster the development of tourism MSMEs, including- · identify and recommend the best financing options (platforms, instruments, and structuressuch as FIs lending products, funds, or other investment vehicles) to enable large-scale private sector investment. · required capacitybuilding measures to enable tourism MSMEs to better access and utilize appropriate financing. Tender Link : https://wbgeprocure-rfxnow.worldbank.org/rfxnow/public/advertisement/6886/view.html

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