National Consultant-Private Sector and Emerging/Innovative Financing

Expected duration

45 working Days spread over 3 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The primary objective is to work as part of a team of consultants led by an international lead consultant to provide expert technical in supporting the Government of Uganda to deliver on the above five components under the Integrated Development Financing Assessment and Strategy (IDFAS). Under the guidance of the international consultant, the Private Sector and Emerging/Innovative Financing Specialist will provide expert support to Government in assessing Uganda’s capacity to attract and retain private investment, identify the policy, regulatory, institutional and market reforms needed to enhance private sector participation, and develop a financing intelligence resource to map available development partner and development finance instruments and opportunities. These findings will inform a coherent national financing strategy integrating private capital, public finance, development cooperation, climate finance and innovative financing mechanisms to support Uganda’s development priorities. In collaboration with the National Task Team and the team of consultants, the Private Sector and Emerging/Innovative Financing Specialist will specifically carry out the following tasks:

• Contribute to the articulation of the IDFAS methodology, analytical framework and sequencing of work.

• Lead the assessment of Uganda’s capacity and prepare a strategy to attract, mobilize, and retain domestic and international private investment, including identification of policy, regulatory, institutional, and market reforms required to increase private sector participation in financing development priorities. The assessment shall explicitly cover the government securities market (benchmark issuance, yield curve, secondary market liquidity and investor base); the Uganda Securities Exchange listings pipeline; investment rules and asset allocation of pension and insurance funds, including NSSF; collective investment schemes; and the feasibility of corporate, sub-national and green, social and sustainability bond issuance, subject to market readiness. Consultations shall include the Capital Markets Authority, the Uganda Securities Exchange, URBRA, the Insurance Regulatory Authority, NSSF and fund managers, as appropriate.

• Assess cost-of-capital constraints, including how sovereign credit risk and ratings affect private and sub-sovereign borrowing costs and market access, and currency mismatches between shilling revenues and foreign currency financing. Identify feasible local currency financing, foreign exchange risk mitigation and credit enhancement options (including partial credit and partial risk guarantees), with their costs and availability, in coordination with the Public Finance Specialist.

• Assess the feasibility, sequencing and enabling conditions for emerging and innovative financing instruments relevant to Uganda, including green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds; debt-for-climate and debt-for-nature swaps; carbon market revenues under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement; diaspora finance; and guarantee and risk-sharing instruments.

• Lead the preparation of a comprehensive financing intelligence resource that maps development partner and development finance institution financing instruments, eligibility criteria, modalities, and opportunities to support more strategic engagement and better matching of financing sources to national priorities. For shortlisted instruments, record the financial terms (grant element or concessionally, pricing, tenor and currency), access route, preparation and co-financing requirements and likely access timelines, so that options can be read against the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy. Include climate adaptation and mitigation windows (including the GCF, GEF, Adaptation Fund and CIF), with the status of national accredited entities and direct access options. Screen blended finance and guarantee options for additionality, risk allocation and contingent liabilities and reflect the findings in the development financing opportunity matrix.

• Support the translation of the findings of the assessments above into a comprehensive national strategy that integrates public finance, private capital, development cooperation, climate finance, and innovative financing mechanisms into a coherent framework for financing Uganda’s development objectives.

• Support the integration of international good practices relating to development financing assessments, strategies and implementation plans for national transformation.

• Ensure coherence and consistency across development financing, public investment financing, private capital mobilisation and development partner financing analyses.

• Identify international lessons and public financing innovations relevant to Uganda’s context.

• Support the development of the implementation roadmap, financing architecture, governance arrangements, risk framework and monitoring system for the strategies. The private capital action plan shall prioritize a feasible shortlist of reforms and financing instruments, identify project preparation gaps, and specify responsible institutions, sequencing, indicative resource requirements and measurable milestones, separating financing prospects from confirmed commitments.

• Lead stakeholder consultations for the allocated deliverables.

• Support validation processes and finalization of the reports and strategies. Management, coordination and reporting arrangements:

• Supervision: The individual consultant will report directly to the Director, Debt and Cash Policy, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development who is also be the task lead and chair of the National Task Team.

• Collaboration: The consultant will collaborate with the international consultant and the national consultant on public finance to ensure integration and coherence across all IDFAS components.

• Technical Engagement: The consultant will provide ongoing technical contribution during analytical work, consultations and strategy development.

• Validation: Findings and draft outputs will be presented during technical review meetings and stakeholder validation workshops organized by the MFPED. A team of three consultants will be recruited to facilitate this assignment. The lead consultant will provide technical and administrative guidance to the rest of the consultants. The team is expected to employ a mixed approach, comprised of desk review of existing evidence, stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions as well as qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods. The team is also expected to propose a feasible approach that will be jointly discussed, refined and agreed with the National Task Team during the inception phase. The process will utilize hybrid working modalities where appropriate. Management, coordination and reporting arrangements:

• Supervision: The individual consultant will report directly to the Director, Debt and Cash Policy, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development who is also be the task lead and chair of the National Task Team.

• Collaboration: The consultant will collaborate with the international consultant and the national consultant on public finance to ensure integration and coherence across all IDFAS components.

• Technical Engagement: The consultant will provide ongoing technical contribution during analytical work, consultations and strategy development.

• Validation: Findings and draft outputs will be presented during technical review meetings and stakeholder validation workshops organized by the MFPED.

Qualifications/special skills

A master’s degree in economics, Development Finance, Public Finance, International Development, Public Policy, Economic Development, Finance or a related discipline. A PhD will be an added advantage. A Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in development finance, integrated financing frameworks, public finance, economic policy, investment financing or related fields, including in Uganda.

• Proven experience supporting governments and international development organisations in carrying out financing assessments and preparation of development financing strategies in developing countries.

• Proven track record in synthesizing complex analytical work into high-level policy and strategic documents.

• Strong experience in public investment financing, domestic resource mobilization, private capital mobilisation, development finance and innovative financing instruments.

• Demonstrated analytical or advisory experience in local currency capital markets and institutional investor (pension and insurance) regulation, together with practical experience assessing green, social, sustainability or other innovative and climate finance instruments.

• Demonstrated experience advising Ministries of Finance, Planning Commissions, development banks, multilateral institutions or international development organizations.

• Excellent analytical, policy advisory, report-writing and facilitation skills.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams and engage effectively with senior government officials and development partners.

• Strong understanding of development financing challenges and opportunities in developing and emerging economies, including Uganda.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French would be an asset.

Additional Information

Context and rationale of the assignment

With the support of its development partners, the Government of Uganda seeks to undertake an Integrated Development Financing Assessment and Strategy (IDFAS). The main purpose is to provide Government with a comprehensive assessment of Uganda’s development financing ecosystem and design a practical roadmap for aligning public, private, domestic, and international financing with national transformation objectives. The initiative seeks to move beyond a narrow focus on resource mobilization towards a broader agenda of financing for sustainable transformation, ensuring that the full spectrum of financing sources is deployed strategically and efficiently to maximize development impact.

The exercise will comprise five interconnected components. Component 1: Development Financing Assessment Purpose: To assess Uganda’s development financing landscape to establish an evidence base on financing needs, financing flows, sustainability, effectiveness, and financing gaps. The assessment will identify opportunities to optimize existing resources and mobilize additional financing to support national development priorities.

Key Outputs:

• Development Financing Assessment Report

• Financing Needs and Gap Analysis Component 2: Review of the Public Investment Financing Strategy Purpose: To assess how the current Public Investment Financing Strategy supported Uganda to identify, prepare, prioritise, finance and implement public investments, and to develop recommendations for improving the efficiency and development impact of public investments.

Key Outputs:

• Public Investment Financing Strategy Review Report

• Public Investment Financing Reform Roadmap Component 3: Private Capital Mobilisation

Purpose: To assess Uganda’s capacity and prepare a strategy to attract, mobilize, and retain domestic and international private investment, including identification of policy, regulatory, institutional, and market reforms required to increase private sector participation in financing development priorities.

Key Outputs:

• Private Capital Mobilisation Assessment

• Private Capital Mobilisation Strategy and Action Plan Component 4: Development Partner Financing Compendium Purpose: To prepare a comprehensive financing intelligence resource that maps development partner and development finance institution financing instruments, eligibility criteria, modalities, and opportunities to support more strategic engagement and better matching of financing sources to national priorities. The compendium will move beyond a descriptive catalogue to identifying which financing instruments are best suited to which national priorities, under what conditions and through which institutional arrangements. The assessment will include, multilateral development banks and financial institutions; bilateral development partners; regional development finance institutions; climate finance institutions; United Nations entities; philanthropic foundations; and, other strategic development financing institutions.

Key Outputs:

• Uganda Development Financing Compendium

• Development Financing Opportunity Matrix Component 5: Integrated National Development Financing Strategy Purpose: To translate the findings of the assessment of components 1 to 4 into a national strategy that integrates public finance, private capital, development cooperation, climate finance, and innovative financing mechanisms into a coherent framework for financing Uganda’s development objectives. The strategy will provide clear guidance on financing mobilization, allocation, coordination, governance, and accountability to ensure that the right financing instruments are deployed for the right investments.

The following strategic pillars are proposed: Domestic resource mobilisation; efficient public investment; private capital mobilisation; strategic international development finance; innovative and sustainable financing; financing governance and institutional architecture; financing the Tenfold Growth Strategy and the ATMS.

Key Outputs:

• Integrated National Development Financing Strategy

• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.