28 Jan 2025
Egypt, Palladium, Vacancy

Consultancy – Credit Scoring Framework Development

Company

Palladium

Location

Egypt

Full-time/Part-time

Part-time

Employment Type

Consultancy

Closing Date

9 February 2025

Contact 

egypt@cfye.nl

The purpose of this consultancy is to do develop a robust credit scoring framework for first-time microfinance clients for Aman for Microfinance in Egypt, one of CFYE’s implementing partners.  

Project Overview 

The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 7-year and €135 million programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that aims to create a prosperous future for 235,000 young women and men in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel & West Africa and Horn of Africa regions. The Fund will be supporting initiatives in 11 focus countries that will offer youth, in particular young women, opportunities for work that is demand-driven and productive, offering a stable income and safe working conditions, and that is contributing to their personal development and social protection.

Private sector, civil society and knowledge institutions will be invited to submit proposals geared to scalable solutions for creating more and better jobs and income generating opportunities for youth. Solutions will in particular focus on an integrated approach that addresses the shortcomings on the demand side (jobs) and supply side (skills) and bridging the mismatch between these two in the labour market.  

Assignment Overview 

Aman business finance – known before as Aman Microfinance, established in 2018, mission is to empower individuals and businesses through accessible, technology-driven financial solutions. Initially focused on micro-projects in underserved regions, Aman expanded its operations to include Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in 2022, introducing larger ticket-size loans to foster growth. As of 2024, Aman operates more than 200 offices, serving 136,000 active customers and achieving cumulative disbursed loans amounting to 15 billion EGP+.  

Aman aims to develop a robust credit scoring framework tailored for the Aman loan systems, designed to enhance financial access for youth and women entrepreneurs in Egypt. This framework will enable better credit risk assessment, fostering financial inclusion for underserved groups. The consultancy will align with CFYE’s objectives to empower young people by improving access to financing and creating sustainable job opportunities. This credit scoring framework should particularly focus on (addressing the challenges faced by) first-time borrowers while ensuring equitable and inclusive lending practices. For many young people, particularly first-time borrowers without formal employment in Egypt, accessing financial services is a near-impossible feat. Traditional financial institutions often require collateral or a credit history, which most young entrepreneurs cannot provide. As a result, first-time borrowers, especially women, are excluded from the formal financial system. To address this challenge, CFYE intends to support Aman through the following consultancy assignment. 

Objectives and activities 

The primary objective of this consultancy is to develop and implement a credit scoring framework that incorporates alternative data sources, aligns with global best practices, and is tailored to the needs of Egypt’s youth and women entrepreneurs. The consultant will ensure the framework supports effective decision-making, risk mitigation, and scalability through Aman business finance loans system. To reach this objective, we expect the consultant to implement the following activities and realize the following deliverables: 

 

Phase  Description   Deliverables 
Aman Credit Scoring assessment: 

 
  • Conduct a comprehensive review of Aman’s current credit assessment processes. 
  • Benchmark global best practices and adapt them to Egypt’s socioeconomic and regulatory context. 

 
  • A detailed report summarizing the findings from the inception phase, including: 
  • Assessment of current policies, processes, and tools for lending to first-time borrowers. 
  • Identified gaps, opportunities, and strategic priorities for policy development. 
  • Agreed-upon objectives, milestones, and deliverables for the assignment. 
  • Detailed assignment’s workplan 
Credit Scoring Framework Development: 

 
  • Develop a data-driven credit scoring model incorporating alternative data (e.g., utility payments, mobile usage). 
  • Ensure the framework is inclusive, focusing on youth and women entrepreneurs. 

 
  • A co-developed credit scoring framework document, including: 
  • Guidelines for evaluating first-time borrowers and new business ideas. 
  • Procedures for risk analysis, decision-making, and monitoring. 
  • Clear workflows and responsibilities for implementing the policies. 
Pilot Testing and Iteration: 

 
  • Implement a pilot phase using the credit scoring framework with a sample group of entrepreneurs. 
  • Gather feedback from stakeholders to refine the framework. 
  • Document lessons learned and recommended adjustments for scalability. 
  • A report documenting the results of the pilot implementation of the policy framework, including: 
  • Case studies or examples of how the framework was applied to assess first-time borrowers. 
  • Feedback from the pilot, including identified challenges and proposed adjustments. 
Capacity Building & Knowledge transfer: 
  • Develop and deliver training sessions for Aman credit, operations & risk managers. 

 
  • Training materials, presentations, and guides tailored to build the skills Aman credit, operations & risk managers in: 
  • Evaluating the feasibility of new business ideas. 
  • Assessing risk factors such as business viability, market potential, financial projections, and entrepreneurial capability. 
Final Assignment Report:   
  • A consolidated report summarizing the overall process, outcomes, and recommendations, including: 
  • Key achievements of the assignment. 
  • Challenges encountered and how they were addressed. 
  • Strategic recommendations for sustaining and scaling Credit Scoring Framework 

Operational Arrangements 

On a day-to-day basis, the consultant will work with the Aman team, and will report on assignment progress on a frequent basis to both Aman management as well as the CFYE Egypt country lead. The consultant can partially work remotely on this assignment but should frequently work out of the Aman office and have frequent in-person meetings with relevant Aman staff. 

Required Qualifications 

  • At least a Bachelor level degree in a relevant field of study, preferably focused on (micro)finance 
  • 10 + years of experience in credit risk management, policy development, and financial inclusion, specifically for financial institutions working with first-time borrowers in Micro businesses. 
  • Expertise in credit scoring model development, particularly for underserved markets. 
  • Familiarity with alternative data sources for credit risk assessment. 
  • Experience in delivering capacity-building programs. 
  • Strong knowledge of Egypt’s financial ecosystem and regulatory environment. 
  • Strong commitment to gender equity and youth empowerment. 
  • Ability to pay attention to detail.

NB: For individual consultant, the candidate should possess of a valid tax card. For consultancy companies, the company should be formally commercially registered as a business and have a valid registration with the tax office.  

Level of Effort and Duration   

This consultancy is supposed to start as soon as possible but no later than March 2025 and should take 3-4 months to successfully complete the assignment.  The assignment has a maximum level of effort (LoE) of 25 days.  

Submission of Proposal 

Interested consultants and/or consultancy companies are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals via egypt@cfye.nl by the 9th of February 2025 the latest. Financial proposal should specify the number of days per activity against a (net) daily rate in EGP. Technical proposal should at least include:  

  • Executive Summary: A brief overview of the consultants understanding and proposed solution. 
  • Qualifications: Highlight the consultants experience in risk management, credit scoring, and policy development, especially for first-time borrowers. 
  • Detailed CVs of key staff 
  • Methodology and Approach: 
  • Inception Phase: Approach to meetings, workshops, research, assessing current policies, benchmarking, and work plan development. 
  • Policy Development & piloting: Process for co-developing policies, creating tools, and integrating them with existing workflows. 
  • Trainings and knowledge transfer: 
  • Final Report: Methodology for compiling findings and recommendations. 
  • Work Plan and Timeline: A detailed timeline with milestones, responsibilities, and deadlines. 

 

Our company provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.

About Palladium

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value.

We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits. For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved – and is committed to continuing to improve – economies, societies and most importantly, people’s lives.

Palladium is a child-safe organisation, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status.

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