Human Centered Design and Inclusive Finance Experts
1. Background and Context
Zambian Financial Sector Deepening Limited (FSDZ) is a national non-profit company providing information, innovation, and impact to increase financial inclusion in Zambia. We seek to expand and deepen the financial market so that all Zambians can benefit from financial services. Using a Making Markets Work for the Poor approach, FSDZ strives to make Zambia’s financial sector more robust, efficient and, above all, inclusive. FSDZ supports both public and private sector efforts to develop a vibrant financial sector that offers a wider range of financial services through diverse channels to significantly more households and enterprises. We concentrate on the financially excluded or under-served – women, youth, rural households and farmers, small businesses and microenterprises, and low-income families. We facilitate linkages and coordination among consumers, financial service providers, civil society organisations, government, and other key stakeholders. FSDZ does not provide services directly but provides temporary and catalytic support to market actors. FSDZ is currently financially supported by UKAID and Sida.
FSDZ recently launched a new innovation facility - the FinClient Centric Cycle (F3C)- which focuses on providing technical and co-financing support to financial service providers in Zambia in the design and delivery of inclusive and customer centric financial services. The FinClient Centric Cycle (F3C) is a response to market failure resulting from mismatch between demand and supply of financial services which accounts for financial exclusion of most of the low-middle income market segments. While most financial institutions in Zambia are interested in moving down-market to increase their financial services depth and market penetration, lack of capacity and adequate investments in market research and client-centered product development processes often hinders them from effectively address the opportunities presented by underserved or unserved market segments. The F3C aims to stimulate more client-sensitive and effective financial services in Zambia. The F3C approach is based on human-centred design (HCD) – a creative approach to problem solving.
FSDZ is looking to build a database of consultants or experts on whom it can call on for short term consultancy assignments or contract arrangements to support market actors in designing and delivering customer centric products. The experts must have experience in designing and delivering inclusive financial services or application of the Human Centered Design (HCD) approach in financial product development. This call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) is aimed at pre-qualifying consultants so as to facilitate procurement for assignments that are anticipated in the near future once we have selected F3C partners. Once the experts are selected, engagement and contracting arrangements for those assignments will be done at the appropriate time.
2. Call for Experts
FSDZ is seeking experts in the following two categories:
2.1 Inclusive finance specialists: FSDZ is seeking inclusive finance experts in the following financial services, savings, credit, inclusive insurance, credit, rural and agricultural finance, micro-pensions, investment, money transfers and transaction products. Experts must have experience in any of the following areas: market research, customer centricity business modelling, pricing of financial products, innovative distribution models for financial products, value chain financing, consumer education and innovative marketing, robust customer care systems, financial product evaluation, client satisfaction surveys, embedded and bundling strategies for financial services as well as Value Added Services (VAS) for financial services.
2.2 Human Centered Design Experts: FSDZ is seeking Human Centered Design Experts with training, research and hands on experience in helping financial institutions in the design and delivery of customer centric financial services solutions. The HCD expert will conduct HCD orientation workshops to the selected F3C partners and also provide technical assistance in market segmentation, client profiling, rapid prototype testing, piloting and evaluation of new financial service solutions.
3. Desirable qualifications and experiences
• Master degree or appropriate qualification and experience (in areas of specialisation indicated under 2.1 and 2.2)
• Similar past or relevant consulting experience; in the proposals, respondents are required to provide clear evidence
of positive outcomes in respect of their previous assignments in the subject area.
• Research and training experience
Interested candidates may request detailed Expression of Interest (EOI) by sending an email to bids@fsdzambia.org or download from www.fsdzambia.org. Applicants must submit their proposals no later than Monday, 16th July 2018 at midnight (+ 2 CAT).
