Central Bank of Sudan Microfinance Strategy Evaluation

Description

The Development and Expansion of the Microfinance Sector in Sudan is a project commissioned by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBS) in recognition of the important role that a vibrant microfinance (MF) sector can play in the economic development of the country, particularly in terms of poverty reduction. In commissioning the work, the Central Bank has chosen UNICONS Consultancy Ltd (Unicons), a Sudanese Consultancy firm, to undertake the formulation of the strategy. While playing the lead role in the implementation of the project, Unicons has collaborated with Environmental Quality International (EQI), one of the leading firms in microfinance, and environmental and management consulting in the Middle East and North Africa. The team spirit created in implementing the project combined Sudanese expertise with regional and international experience, ensuring that maximum benefit was made from adopting best practices, and adapting regional success stories to the Sudanese context.

The primary objective of the project is to formulate a strategic framework that would enable the MF sector to play a lead role in:

• Supporting sustainable livelihoods by alleviating poverty and building assets that can minimize vulnerability and exclusion.
• Augmenting productive investment for job creation.
• Contributing to financial development by integrating informal microfinance into the formal sector.

The Bank of Sudan adapted the Five-Year Vision/Strategy for the Development of the Micro-Finance (MF) Sector in Sudan. Given the importance of the success of this strategy, the Bank of Sudan recognizes the importance of undertaking period reviews and evaluations of the progress made on the plan. The Bank of Sudan, represented by its MF Unit, has requested UNICONS Consultancy Firm to undertake a formal review and evaluation of the progress made on the Strategy implementation to date. NSCE was sub contracted by UNICONS to develop a formal Monitoring & Evaluation System (M&E plan) for the remaining 4 years of the strategy.

Services

The services involves the timely and efficient implementation of the following tasks and duties:

• Review Analysis of secondary sources
• Formulation of evaluation questions & plan
• Internal discussion on fieldwork findings & desk review
• De-briefing meeting with MFU
• Preparation for workshop and M&E planning
• M&E Workshop with MFU staff
• Formulation of preliminary M&E Plan Strategy Discussion of draft M&E plan with MFU staff
• Drafting of M&E strategy incl. plan – Chapter 3
• Incorporate input from Seminar

Approach implemented by the consultants in the three phases:

• Desk Phase:
  • formulating evaluation questions, specifying appropriate assessment criterion; and selecting relevant quantitative and
    qualitative indicators;
  • Propose suitable methods of data and information collection, interviews both structured and open, questionnaires,
    seminars or workshops, case studies, etc. indicating any limitations and describing how the data should be cross-checked to validate the analysis;
  • Present appropriate methods of analysis of the information and data collected, again indicating any limitations;
• Field Phase
• Final Report-Writing Phase
  • Develop a formal Monitoring & Evaluation System (M&E plan) for the remaining 4 years of the strategy.
  • M&E report at seminar for stakeholders
  • Contribution to the annual report on the vision/strategy