Background

The world is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a sharp decline in global economic activities. In the country like Nepal where the economy is driven by remittance, major sectors are consumption pushed wholesale and retail trade, foreign arrivals dependent on the tourism sector, supply chain based manufacturing, and finally agriculture sector. The nationwide lockdown had the effect of disrupting supply chains, remittance, foreign arrivals, and consumption severely disrupting enterprises and jobs in these sectors. The crisis is making it difficult for all sections of society especially businesses to survive and sustain. It is certain that if all stakeholders do not collectivize to push for appropriate actions then the impact will be more pronounced.

Formal SMEs in Nepal contribute to 22 percent of total national output and provide employment to 1.7 million workers. Here, 94.6 percent of all Nepali enterprises are micro enterprises that employ 59 percent of all workers working in enterprises in the country. As such they also factor significantly in informal sector employment which accounts for 62.2 percent of national labor force. Supporting MSMEs therefore are a direct way to enable job creation and to ensure that these jobs are in line with existing labor standards.

A new fiscal year program has been announced by government at all three levels where focus on micro small and medium enterprises was welcomed. Private sector, while widely welcoming of changes, have pointed out the need to deeply look at existing policy and regulatory framework to identify how it can be made more responsive to continued impact of COVID-19 and also similar future events. Similarly, past learning (over earthquake 2015) has shown that translation of policy to action is always a challenge. The problem in existing situation of COVID-19 is more complex, as normal operations of MSMEs will continue to be disrupted over a period of time due to local lockdowns and continued disruption to supply chain. Now it is necessary to look at what policy response measures can be taken for the medium and long run to enable a resilient recovery.

In response to these challenges, National Business Initiative(NBI) in partnership with International Labor Organization (ILO) has designed a short term project titled “Enabling resilient Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) recovery in response to impact of COVID-19″.

Scope of Work

NBI seeks to hire a consultant to contribute to achieve following project objectives:

• To identify areas where existing policy and regulatory framework can be made more responsive for resilient recovery of MSMEs in response to the impact of COVID-19.

The consultant will identify relevant documents and publications developed in context of COVID-19 for desk review. Relevant documents must include but not limited to policies, acts, programs, operating procedure manuals, etc. from government’s relevant ministries, boards or other agencies. Similar documents from international and multinational agencies shall also be reviewed.

NBI will guide consultant on existing positions and thought of employer organizations. Consultant will hold follow up interviews/group discussions to gather other perspectives. Development and use of a survey tool to identify impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs might also be done by the consultant in coordination with NBI [decision on whether a survey will be relevant or not will be taken by NBI, consultant, and ILO collectively based on situation].

The consultant and NBI in tandem will incorporate findings from each discussion to use it as a basis for following dialogues and use the inputs received thereof in final report:

1. One dialogue with key representatives of national employer organizations that represent MSMEs to truly reflect on question of responsiveness of our policy and regulatory framework for enabling resilient recovery of MSMEs.
2. One dialogue with MSME service providers who can help frame responsiveness by reflecting on wider MSME ecosystem in Nepal that support to move towards adopting digitalization, new technologies, and modalities of doing business over the coming months
3. One dialogue with government officials and national experts on creating an enabling environment for resilient recovery of MSMEs

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables

Duration of work will be equivalent to forty person-days including the duration of review, dialogue and preparation of final report. At the end of the work period, the consultant shall provide a final document that outlines clear specific policy recommendations on promoting a resilient MSME recovery. Recommendations will need sequential steps and a rough timeline which can be extended to the medium term. The recommendations itself will serve two purposes;

• Serve as a private sector approved medium term strategic policy response guide for government bodies for enabling resilient recovery of MSMEs.
• Act as a policy document that guides employer organization’s advocacy efforts

These recommendations along with the report will be presented to Ministry of Industry Commerce and Supplies.

Qualification and Competencies

 NBI seeks following qualification for successful candidate:

• Master’s degree or PhD or higher educational qualification in relevant discipline
• Prior documented evidence of research, dialogues and advocacy
• Extensive knowledge of and network with private sector, relevant government agencies and other stakeholders

Apply

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter along with updated CV to info@nbinepal.org.np by November 3, 2020. Please indicate your ability, availability and daily rate to undertake the terms of reference above. Any enquiries and information can be directed to Prabhkar Sigdel (9841476826), Yogita Bajracharya (9860509731)