Credit (MSME) Consultant

About Azizi Bank

Azizi Bank (www.azizibank.af) is a commercial bank set up in Afghanistan as per the terms of the licensing policy of Da Afghanistan Bank, the Central Bank of the Country. The Bank was granted license on 13th June 2006 and commenced operations from the same date. Azizi Bank, a product of Afghan vision and enterprise, has been promoted by Mr. ‘Mirwais Azizi of the Azizi Hotak Group & Family.

Azizi Bank is the highest lender in the country, contributing to almost 40% of loan disbursed in the economy in different sectors of the country, especially in the areas of infrastructure lending, transmission lines and optical fibers. Bank has an aggressive policy for Financial Inclusion. Azizi Bank is also ranked the highest in the Country in terms of number of depositors.

The Management team at the Bank is a mix of youth and experience and ably supported by a young & well-trained operating team aiming at transforming the banking scenario in the country by offering a truly professional and pleasurable experience to the customers. The bank today has 1750+ strong team of employees and with a 14% female work force, its playing a quiet but effective role in women’s emancipation and empowerment. Large investments have been made by the Bank in physical infrastructure and technology with a view to provide the right ambience and latest facilities to prospective customers as per international standards.

The bank has 76 branches & 4 extension counters, thus playing a pioneering role in development of the banking culture in the country. The bank today has 101 ATMs spread across Kabul and the major Provinces of Afghanistan, which are all fully networked under Core Banking-Any Branch Banking and connected to a Centralized Database. By end of Dec 2020, the bank is poised to have 200 ATMs thereby emerging as the clear market leaders on the ATM network in Afghanistan. With its 100% subsidiary bank, Islamic Bank of Afghanistan (former Bakhtar Bank), the group has more than 145 branches and stands as the largest banking network in the Country.

Azizi Bank’s business philosophy is based on five core values: Operational Excellence, Customer Focus, Product Leadership, People and Sustainability.

Job Summary

Project Summary:

Azizi Bank offers MSME and other banking services for the economic growth of the country. MSME Banking of Azizi Bank is assuming a new and modern dimension. It is entering in to a wider horizon. The philosophy of extending banking services to MSMEs of the country is to meaningfully push every MSME entrepreneur up to the next level of respective business operations.

Azizi Bank is seeking an external consultant to establish MSME Unit, provide MSME market research, establish workflow, design Operation, develop documentation, provide capacity building, product development, introduce system improvements, manuals and training materials.

• Solution design, development and testing, including any required, project documentation, manuals and training materials for technical staff and end users.
• The solution needs to be cost effective, from implementation perspective.
• The scope of the required solution is to cover MSME workflow, including Operation, project documentation, manuals and training materials
• Consultant shall be expected to conduct Train the Trainer session for the relevant staff in Kabul.

Duties & Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

A complete MSME Operation will be expected to support loan origination, including Operation, project documentation, manuals and training materials.

The aim of this project is to provide recommendations on improving access to finance to MSME owned. It will study the available financing sources (formal and informal) as per needs of MSMEs and recommend financial solutions. However, the main focus will be determining the formal financing solutions for MSMEs. It will also assist Azizi Bank in establishing a dedicated MSME Unit, designing specific products as per needs of these MSMEs and developing the policies and procedural manuals. While doing so, the consultant will survey the existing financial products available through surveys, focus groups, workshops, etc. It will highlight the reasons of a product’s success or its failure (as deemed appropriate). It will ultimately contribute to enhancing the ability of MSME entrepreneurs to pursue economic opportunities and to grow their businesses. It is clearly understood that if MSME Customer cannot access financial resources, they are at disadvantage in comparison to corporate entrepreneurs. For the purpose, the hired consultant will do a diagnostic survey in Afghanistan. Moreover, the consultant will also give an overview of international best practices and share success stories of jurisdictions where MSME financing has been enhanced. It will also do the stock taking of the current initiatives taken by various organizations in Afghanistan to improve financing to small and medium entrepreneurs.

Implementation Plan:

The consultant should provide a proper Implementation Plan of their proposed recommendations along with schedule and cost estimate.

Deliverables:

Following are the key deliverables of the consultant:

·       Conducting a diagnostic survey on SME access to finance.

·       Action plan with timelines and sequence of actions/ roadmaps prioritized with cost estimates and responsible authorities. Also, a mechanism to monitor the progress of the plan will be needed

·       Establishing dedicated MSME Unit

·       Assisting bank to design and develop products as per specific financing needs of MSMEs.

·       The comparison may be made with other economies of comparable scale and nature.

·       The report should seek to fully understand the barriers for MSE in use of deposit, loan, payment and insurance products. These barriers can be classified into demand side, supply side and legal & regulatory barriers.

·       The report should also recommend appropriate product design features that can be helpful in overcoming these barriers.

·       List of essential trainings with reasons and justifications why the proposed trainings/ awareness campaigns are important. Some of such training may include non-financial advisory services (business plan development, feasibilities, filing tax return, product branding, product packing, etc). one Master Trainer should also be developed.  

·       Drafting of mechanism for Proper targeting of MSME entrepreneurs with growth potential and identification of relevant programs.

·       Establishment of full MSME credit management system, including application workflow and decision making mechanism.

·       Establishment of MSME scoring model, MSME loan assessment procedures, monitoring and recovery mechanism.

·       Implementation Plan to execute the proposed activities as mentioned in report

·       Financial requirements to execute the plan

Security Rules to Be Followed:

-      Due to unsecure situation in Afghanistan, the Consultant will have to follow the security rules of Azizi Bank related to his/her travel from one location to another (e.g. guest house to bank), overnight stay and all other security related issues.

Job Requirements

Required Criteria:

Education: Minimum: MBA or any Post Graduate Equivalent Degree        

                   Additional: Certifications related to Credit / MSME Financing       

Experience: 12 – 15 years of work experience in the field of Banking / Finance with multicultural exposure and experience in managing a team

Knowledge & Key Skills:

·       Holistic approach with an understanding of market trends and best practices              

·       High level of integrity and stability

·       Excellent Leadership

Competencies/Personal Attributes:

Organizational Competencies

1. Entrepreneurship
2. Quality & Service Orientation
3. Teamwork & Collaboration
4. Diversity Sensitivity
5. Personal & Professional Development
6. Delivering Results
7. Communication
8. Networking
9. Leadership

Functional Competencies

1. Interpersonal Skills
2. Analytical Skills
3. People Management
4. Decision Making
5. Risk Taking ability
6. Innovation      

Submission Guideline

Respected Applicants are kindly requested to submit a comprehensive motivational Letter along with a copy of their updated Curriculum vitae (CV)/Resume to careers@azizibank.af Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further recruitment process. 

Functional Area

Accounting/Finance

Countries

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