81314156-Building MSMEs' skills and strengthening financial service providers' capacity through training and MSME-focused financial products

The GIZ Promotion of the Business Advisory and Economic Transformation Services II (also referred to as ProBATS II) is a joint Namibian-German technical cooperation project working with its political partner, the Namibian Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises (MFPE) under the BMZ 2030 Strategy core theme 3 "Sustainable Economic Development, training and employment" in the field of action "Private Sector Development and Financial System Development". Some of the objectives of ProBATS II, amongst others, are to improve the conditions for entrepreneurial activity in Namibia by empowering MSMEs to participate in the economic recovery. Improved access to finance for micro, small and medium-size enterprises (MSME), financial inclusion and enhancing transparency in the financial sector are also part of the project objectives.

ProBATS II contributes to the goals of the current 5th National Development Plan (NDP 5) which aims at increased economic growth and reduced unemployment rate. In order to measure the success of its activities, the project has 4 Module Target Indicators, and under these indicators, 3 Outputs and 2 indicators for each output. The main objective of this tender is to carry out the implementation of activities under the projects Output 2 and Output 3. Output 2 has the aim to strengthen the entrepreneurial and financial skills of MSMEs by integrating training measures for MSMEs. Output 3 has the objective to strengthen the competencies of financial service providers (FSPs) for developing financial products adapted to the needs of MSMEs by providing expert advice to these FSPs.

To measure the implementation of Output 2, Indicator 2.1: 750 MSME employees of whom 50% are women and 25% are youth, with 60% working outside Windhoek, have successfully participated in training provided by the project to improve their competitiveness or entrepreneurial (business & financial) skills. Indicator 2.2: 5 new business relationships have been established between supported MSMEs and other Namibian based companies. To measure the implementation of Output 3, Indicator 3.1: 40 representatives of financial service providers who participated in information and training events confirm that their understanding of financial services tailored to the needs of MSMEs has improved. Indicator 3.2: An analysis of the potential for improving MSME product offerings is available for 2 financial service providers.

The target group of ProBATS are underemployed persons, entrepreneurs, and employees in the (in)formal sector who are reached via intermediaries, MSMEs from the (in)formal sector and financial service providers.