MF Strategy typically combines management and consulting experience in the context of both developed and emerging markets. We have successfully executed more than 100 projects in over 40 countries all over the world.
We list below a sample of our projects:
- EIB – Trade and Competitiveness Expert Support Facility for Egypt and Jordan – Middle East, 2021 (ongoing)
Consulting services for the EIB’s Trade & Competitiveness Programme, which aims to support Egypt and Jordan in harnessing the potential of different sustainable value chains to meet EU and international standards and export to the EU. MF Strategy’s mandate is to develop the capacity of participating FIs to offer suitable financial and non-financial products for value chain finance; and to build the capacity of priority value chains, primarily in the agriculture and agribusiness sector, to be able to export to the EU. Value chain finance business models and products will be developed for up to three FIs per country, while the capacities of up to three value chains per country to export to the European Union will be strengthened. - InsuResilience Investment Fund Technical Assistance Facility – Drought Insurance Implementation in Armenia – Caucasus, 2021 (ongoing)
Following the successful implementation of the ‘Agricultural Insurance Implementation’ Programme in Armenia by a Consortium led by MF Strategy – which set up a viable agricultural insurance system to reduce the vulnerability of farmers towards production risks and losses related to extreme weather events – the mandate for the current project is to increase the risk coverage by including the risk of drought. Key objectives are the following: (a) Design of agricultural drought insurance products for at least 3 crops that have passed a full actuarial analysis and feedback cycles with the target clients; (b) Update of loss adjustment system with drought insurance, including the design and implementation of loss adjustments guidelines for drought insurance based on global best practices and the specifics of the Armenian market. - SANAD Fund for MSME – Implementing Digital Micro-Services for Vitas Group – MENA, 2021-22
Support and advisory to assist Vitas Group companies (MFIs) address challenges related to reporting of loan products without a fixed schedule and improve risk assessment modelling through an enhanced credit scoring system. The aim of the project consequently was to assess and deploy two micro-services: (1) a new calculation engine line of credit service, which supports new repayment schedule logic with automated notifications; and (2) an updated credit scoring model that incorporates new machine learning technology. The specific mandate for MF Strategy comprised the design and implementation of the two micro-services: (1) calculation engine modification for non-instalment-based loans, and (2) enhanced credit scoring, under Vitas’ lending software application. The project was implemented through Component 1: Leveraging current calculation engine to implement line of credit product and related reporting; and Component 2: Introduction of data science and credit scoring to business lending model. - EBRD – Research study of FinTech solutions and NBFI sector in selected EBRD Countries of Operation – 2021-22
Consulting services for the EBRD Research Study, whose main objective is to provide the EBRD (the Bank) with an informed view on the current status of (1) FinTech industry in a set of selected countries (Turkey, Poland, Egypt, Morocco, Greece, Georgia, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan); and (2) leasing and factoring industry in Central Asia and Egypt, and insurance industry in Morocco, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Georgia. MF Strategy’s key task and mandate is to deliver a report that identifies and presents viable investment opportunities for the Bank for the FinTech and selected NBFI sectors in the near to medium-term. The Study should allow the Bank to increase its engagements in terms of future investments as well as policy engagements in the selected countries of operation. - IFC – Property Ownership by Women – Morocco & Turkey, 2021-22 (ongoing)
Technical assistance for the Project ‘Property Ownership by Women – Morocco’, which seeks to examine solutions to increase women’s ownership of property that can serve as security and investment critical to their social and economic empowerment. These solutions will aim to incentivise property title ownership by women in markets where there are cultural and/or legal constraints on women’s rights to property by providing incentives through FIs backed by an IFC investment. The project is specifically aimed at lower- and middle-income segments to encourage financial institutions to move further downmarket and increase mortgage lending. MF Strategy’s mandate is to undertake a scoping and diagnostic assessment covering the following components: (1) Market Assessment & Regulatory and Legal Framework; (2) Supply & Demand; and (3) Product Structuring. - EBRD – Gender Component of the Fayoum Wastewater Expansion Programme – Egypt, 2022 (ongoing)
Following the provision of a sovereign loan of EUR 186 million in 2017 to the Fayoum Company for Water and Wastewater – a regional subsidiary of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater – for the expansion of wastewater treatment and sewerage network in the Fayoum governorate, the EBRD is looking to ensure that the Fayoum Wastewater Expansion Project leads to women’s economic inclusion through increased economic opportunities in commercial agriculture. The mandate for MF Strategy is to design and implement a programme to promote women’s participation in the sustainable commercial agriculture space in the area around Lake Qarun. The programme is divided in two phases to align with the expansion of the wastewater treatment and sewerage network in the Fayoum governorate. MF Strategy will design and formulate a programme with a view to maximising impact in increasing the number and improving the operations of women-led agri- business, following national and international best practices. This will entail activities in line with Egypt’s MSME National Development Strategy, focusing on increasing entrepreneurs’ access to effective and efficient business development services, access to finance and value chain development. Specific tasks include a Baseline &; Needs Assessment (including Gender-Responsive Value Chain Analysis); Stakeholder Engagement & Cooperation Arrangements; and Implementation Support and Capacity Building (including the design and implementation of a 1-year programme to enhance women-led agro-MSME capacity through the training of 200 women and support for the creation of 70 new women-led MSMEs). - IFC – Shared Workspaces for Women Diagnostic Assessment, Egypt 2020
Diagnostic assessment of shared workspaces for women entrepreneurs in Egypt. Activities included: validation of demand for shared workspaces; definition of target segment and identification (through focus groups and interviews) of financial and non-financial services that women need; validation of operational model proposed by the project through interviews with shared workspace operators in Egypt; and evaluation of existing workspace operators to set up and run the proposed shared workspaces. - EBRD – Youth Employment Programme: Feasibility Study for Morocco and Tunisia, 2018
Support and advisory for the deployment of a Youth Employment Programme (YEP) in Morocco and Tunisia through (a) review of existing financial support programmes to ensure complementarity with the YEP; and (b) assessment of the demand from local financial institutions (including non-bank financial institutions) for the two EBRD financial products that aim to address youth entrepreneurship, employment, and skill enhancement. - EBRD – Youth Employment Programme: Baseline and Scoping Study, North Africa/SEMED, 2018
Support and advisory for the development of a Youth Employment Programme through (a) review, guidance and input for the design and process of delivery of a Baseline Assessment aimed at identifying challenges and opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship, and more specifically, challenges and opportunities in relation to work-based learning in the SME sector (while addressing obstacles on both the supply and demand side); and (b) production of a Scoping Study for a Youth Employment Programme and development of a clear methodology and implementation plan for said Programme. - KfW – Consulting Services for the Programme ‘Agricultural Insurance Implementation’ – Caucasus, 2018
Consulting services for the programme ‘Agricultural Insurance Implementation’, which aims to reduce the vulnerability of farmers towards production risks and losses related to extreme weather events. To this end, a viable agricultural insurance system is being set up to: (a) reduce the financial losses associated with weather-related perils; (b) contribute to the mitigation of farmers’ weather-related production risks; and (c) improve the commercial viability of agricultural investments. Activities carried out include: (1) kick-off phase covering logistics and organisation of Orientation Seminar; (2) design of regulatory framework for agricultural insurance (analysis of existing regulation and drafting of regulatory framework with core stakeholders); (3) actuarial analysis and agricultural insurance product design; (4) transition to an independent public-private partnership structure; and (4) final preparation and launch of pilot phase. - EBRD – Women-in-Business Technical Cooperation Programme – North Africa, 2018
Support for the EBRD’s Women-in-Business Programme, which was established to (a) support women-led MSMEs in accessing finance for their sustainable growth; (b) develop sustainable credit mechanisms targeted to women-led MSMEs through technical assistance to financial intermediaries; and (c) support women-led MSMEs in accessing know-how, non-financial business development services and networking opportunities. MF Strategy’s mandate comprised the following: development and strengthening of the Partner Financial Institutions’ (PFIs) capacities to effectively reach out to women-led MSMEs through the introduction of new or improved products and processes based on the findings of a baseline assessment; assurance of the continued synergy between each component of the Programme; and implementation of Programme management functions, including reporting, marketing, visibility, and monitoring. Activities carried out include: (1) a baseline assessment (at both market and institutional level) to identify possible underlying reasons for any market gaps or obstacles constraining women MSMEs’ access to finance, and improve PFIs’ understanding of women’s patterns of use of financial products and services; (2) design and implementation of tailored technical support packages to enhance PFIs’ institutional capacities for developing and delivering products and services tailored to women; and (3) delivery of a series of seminars designed to improve women’s access to financial information and PFIs’ understanding of this segment’s client base. - EBRD – Youth Employment Programme: Baseline and Scoping Study, North Africa/SEMED, 2018
Support and advisory for the development of a Youth Employment Programme through (a) review, guidance and input for the design and process of delivery of a Baseline Assessment aimed at identifying challenges and opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship, and more specifically, challenges and opportunities in relation to work-based learning in the SME sector (while addressing obstacles on both the supply and demand side); and (b) production of a Scoping Study for a Youth Employment Programme and development of a clear methodology and implementation plan for said Programme. - EBRD – Women-in-Business Technical Cooperation Programme – Eastern Partnership Countries, 2015-2018
Support for the EBRD’s Women-in-Business Programme, which covers 6 countries and was established to (a) support women-led MSMEs in accessing finance for their sustainable growth; (b) develop sustainable credit mechanisms targeted to women-led MSMEs through technical assistance to financial intermediaries; and (c) support women-led MSMEs in accessing know-how, non-financial business development services and networking opportunities. MF Strategy’s mandate comprised the following: development and strengthening of the Partner Financial Institutions’ (PFIs) capacities to effectively reach out to women-led MSMEs through the introduction of new or improved products and processes based on the findings of a baseline assessment; assurance of the continued synergy between each component of the Programme; and implementation of Programme management functions, including reporting, marketing, visibility, and monitoring. Activities carried out include: (1) a baseline assessment (at both market and institutional level) to identify possible underlying reasons for any market gaps or obstacles constraining women MSMEs’ access to finance, and improve PFIs’ understanding of women’s patterns of use of financial products and services; (2) design and implementation of tailored technical support packages to enhance PFIs’ institutional capacities for developing and delivering products and services tailored to women; and (3) delivery of a series of seminars designed to improve women’s access to financial information and PFIs’ understanding of this segment’s client base. - EBRD – MSME Lending Capacity Building – Eastern Europe, 2017-18
Technical assistance for Eastern European mainstream bank aiming to expand its capacities in MSME and agricultural lending to effectively and efficiently provide (multi-purpose) MSME and agricultural loans across the country on a sustainable basis. Project comprised the following: (1) MSME Lending Strategy – provision of recommendations and assistance in the implementation of measures for expanding MSME and agricultural lending; review of the bank’s MSME strategy, as well as its current MSME and agricultural product range; and provision of assistance with new product development reflecting the bank’s strategy and market needs;
(2) MSME and Agricultural Lending Operations and Risk Management – support for the lending process and provision of recommendations for risk management function improvements in the areas of credit analysis and internal risk rating; and (3) Credit Scoring – feasibility assessment and provision of recommendations and assistance for improving the bank’s MSME credit scoring system. - SANAD Fund for MSME – Structuring Services between an MFI and a for-profit small business financing company – Middle East, 2016-2017
Advisory services for small business financing company and its parent MFI with a view to establishing a Service Level Agreement to define cooperation between the two entities. Activities included: (a) review of existing and planned cooperation arrangements, including support services to be provided by the MFI; (b) development of recommendations for future cooperation, including design of the SLA concept and governance framework; and (c) development of the actual Service Level Agreement. - EFSE – Streamlining Lending Operations Framework for MFI – Southeast Europe, 2016-2017
Support for MFI in streamlining its lending operations across all products while maintaining adequate controls to ensure an acceptable risk profile (credit, operational, and compliance risk). This was done by reviewing the MFI’s lending operations, product offer, and overall risk controls embedded in its lending operations. Activities included: design of online staff survey; focus interviews with management and staff; review of business model, strategy and organisational structure; assessment of current lending practices and risk management processes; analysis of product offer and MIS; reengineering of relevant processes to increase efficiency; redesign of organisational structure; development of recommendations regarding policies/procedures, risk management/internal control, MIS and operations; revision of lending manual; delivery of training seminar on updated lending processes; and onsite/offsite implementation support. - ADA – Strategy Analysis – Central Europe, 2016
Institutional assessment with the aim of defining, reinforcing, enhancing, and potentially diversifying the organisation’s business model; overall vision and strategy; organisational structure; and HR competencies. Activities included personal interviews with team members across various levels of the organisation’s hierarchy; SWOT analysis and preliminary competency analysis; research on major developments in the wider development sector; and a review of records for past strategy discussions. Assessment results were used to facilitate a Strategy Workshop. - SANAD – Strategy Development and Design of Non-Financial Services – North Africa, 2015
Strategy development vis-à-vis Business Development Services for a major MFI in North Africa. Activities included: qualitative research on micro entrepreneur needs; benchmarking and best practice scenarios; interviews and workshops with senior managers; and drafting of a 3-year strategy together with an action plan for implementation. - EFSE – Enhancing Sales Capacity to Foster Responsible Banking and Financial Inclusion – Eastern Europe, 2014
Assessment of sales structures, practices, processes and tools for the Bank, including product offering and applied marketing approach, along with sales staff management practices and standards, i.e. staff recruitment, training, assessment and motivation. Implementation of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the Bank’s sales force by (a) modifying the product palette, (b) improving quality of service, (c) strengthening control over sales performance, and (d) providing sales staff with an upgraded incentive scheme. Implementation measures included training and on-the-job coaching, including training of trainers. - REDCAMIF in collaboration with ADA of Luxembourg – Financing Scheme Strategy to Implement Inclusive Financial Services – Central America and Caribbean, 2014
Structuring financing strategies through the identification or design of innovative financial mechanisms for inclusive financial services that respond to MFI client demand in the Central American Isthmus and the Caribbean. Advisory included: context and market analysis of current and potential funding for MFIs in Central America and the Dominican Republic; mapping actors involved in the financing of microfinance in the region; possible funding mechanisms and structuring; specific mechanisms for expanding GRF and SHBS products; and strategies and dynamic implementation and recommendations. - EFSE – Scaling-Up Financial Services for Micro & Small Businesses in Urban & Rural Areas – Western Asia, 2013-14
Study of the MSE finance market, with a view to designing concrete technical assistance projects targeting selected financial institutions; the technical assistance projects aimed to enhance the efficiency and outreach of lending to MSEs and small agricultural enterprises, through the identification and development of effective solutions and innovative products. The ultimate goal of the assignment was the expansion of the financial frontier in Turkey, especially in rural areas. - KfW – Technical Assistance Needs Assessment for Leading Rural Microfinance Bank – South Asia, 2012
Onsite assessment of the technical assistance needs of a commercial microfinance bank established in 2010-11 by the leading rural microfinance institution in Pakistan, including the formulation of concrete recommendations for capacity building and systems strengthening. Areas covered by the needs assessment included corporate strategy, corporate governance, product development, banking processes, productivity, HR training and Head Office functions. Deliverables included a SWOT evaluation of the bank, involving both internal (resources, competencies, capabilities) and external (market, competition, regulatory, technology) factors. - KfW (subcontracted by Finance-in-Motion) – Advisory for the Development & Set-Up of the SANAD Fund for MSME in the MENA region – North Africa, 2011
Market assessment to estimate the overall investment potential in the Tunisian MSME finance market for SANAD, with a field mission and interviews with local players in Tunisia providing an analysis of the local market for financial services (especially the MSME client segment) and developing an initial investment pipeline. Services included an evaluation of potential investment targets, as well as an assessment of the likely investment and technical assistance needs of selected banks and MFIs, taking into consideration the specific requirements and types of financial instruments of the region (such as Islamic Finance). - KfW – Advisory Services Relating to the Merger of Two Financial Institutions – Southeast Europe, 2011
Technical assistance requirements for the Business Plan and Valuation aspects of the post-merger integration of two financial institutions. Services included assistance in the development of a post-merger business plan (including forecasts and estimate of costs and benefits); valuation of the post-merger business operations of the two institutions; review of the recently developed business strategy for the Group; analysis of the economic, market and regulatory landscape; institutional analysis and valuation on the basis of financial projections; estimation of costs of integration and benefits from the exploitation of potential synergies; development of strategic options for market expansion; development of a post-merger Business Plan; preparation of business projections and pro-forma financial statements; and investment structuring. - EFSE – Reengineering of Lending Operations for Leading Rural Microfinance Institution – Southeast Europe, 2009-10
Consulting services in credit risk and delinquency management for leading rural MFI, including analysis of problem loan portfolio and causes of loan delinquency; reengineering of credit risk management and loan collection (design of delinquency policies and arrears committee); establishment of a risk management unit and fraud management procedures; review of corporate and competitive strategy and development of appropriate recommendations; development of risk management systems; design of MIS and other reports; training of credit staff and branch managers.
Microfinance Strategy Sàrl 