Expression of Interest are invited for Consultancy to Strengthen the Sex-Disaggregated Data Capabilities of Latin America and Caribbean Fin The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is a global leader, investor, and advisor dedicated to reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in developing member countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, enhances clients social and environmental sustainability, and provides advisory services to businesses and governments in the developing world. Private sector financial development is crucial for promoting successful and sustainable economies in low- and middle-income countries worldwide. Efficient financial markets ensure resources are allocated productively, aiding job creation and economic growth. IFC prioritizes investment in the financial sector as it promotes development in all other sectors. The Financial Institutions Group (FIG) at IFC has three main objectives: financial inclusion, servicing the real economy, and mobilizing third-party resources. FIG engages in various sub-sectors, including Microfinance, SME, Gender, Climate, Insurance, Capital Markets, Housing, and Distressed Assets, providing investment and advisory services globally through IFCs network. IFC FIG Advisory Services in Latin America and the Caribbean focuses on financial inclusion to enhance the availability and affordability of financial services for both corporate entities and individuals. By collaborating with local financial institutions, FIG develops innovative products and services tailored to the needs of underserved populations. These initiatives include expanding microfinance for small businesses, promoting digital banking solutions in remote areas, and supporting gender-focused programs to empower women entrepreneurs. Through these efforts, FIG integrates more people into the formal financial system and stimulates regional economic growth and development. One of the key solutions under FIG is the Banking on Women initiative. This program supports financial institutions in emerging markets by providing investment, advisory services, and data to enhance financial services for women and women-owned businesses. It helps develop tailored financial products and offers strategic advisory services to serve women customers effectively. The initiative also conducts market research and addresses barriers through training and mentorship. IFC aims to continue growing its gender-inclusive finance efforts through various partner institutions and key investors. 2. PROJECT BACKGROUND Women entrepreneurs are essential in developing economies, but their contribution is hampered by poor access to finance. Women own about 28 percent of all micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME), key for creating jobs, stabilizing communities, and strengthening society overall. Yet, women MSMEs face significant financial challenges, with over a 30 percent gender gap in access to financial services (approximately $1.5 trillion globally). To amplify their impact, these entrepreneurs require a range of quality financial services currently unavailable to whole segments of women business owners in developing economies. Sex disaggregated data (SDD), despite its importance in financing women MSMEs, is still a challenge for financial sector players in the LAC Region. SDD is crucial for increasing the support of financial service providers (FSPs), central bankers, and policymakers for women MSMEs. In particular, the lack of SDD is a significant barrier to (i) identifying profitable, underserved business niches and assessing customer risk, (ii) sizing the gap for the provision of financial services to men vs. women-owned/led businesses, (iii) design and monitor financial sector initiatives that target women entrepreneurs, (iv) tap into concessional funds targeting lenders and investors in enterprises owned and/or operated by women. In May 2023, IFC launched a global initiative to strengthen financial institutions SDD capabilities. The initiatives first phase, which concluded in late 2024, involved a global pilot with a diverse set of FSPs from 12 countries. This pilot showed that many financial institutions overestimated their ability to handle sex-disaggregated data (SDD), did not collect the needed data to identify women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and had trouble reporting sex-disaggregated MSME data. Still, some found new ways to use SDD after working with IFC in the pilot. 3. SCOPE OF WORK Building on the SDD program pilot phase, IFC seeks to contract a consulting firm to assess and enhance FSPs capabilities in collecting, processing, validating, analyzing, and reporting data using SDD. The consultancy aims to improve the practical implementation of SDD procedures within the Latin American financial sector. To achieve project-specific goals, the contracted firm is expected to: · Validate or refine the pilots methodology to systematically assess SDD capabilities throughout the data cycle, from collection to reporting and usage. · Asses SDD capabilities, data quality, and bottlenecks of both existing and newly selected participating financial institutions (PFIs). · Provide actionable recommendations and ongoing support to the selected PFIs to: o build their capacity to collect, process, validate, analyze, and use high-quality SDD. o accurately report to IFC on key indicators, disaggregated by sex and enterprise size (see Appendix 1). · Support regional financial sector learning by training PFIs, IFC staff, and other key stakeholders in SDD best practices and common challenges. · Codifying and disseminating engagement lessons learned, innovations, and areas of opportunity. By project completion, the consulting firm and the IFC project team will codify the lessons learned to inform the rollout phase. Tender Link : https://wbgeprocure-rfxnow.worldbank.org/rfxnow/public/advertisement/5257/view.html
