Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is currently pursuing a research initiative to investigate the cost of DFS in Tanzania, called the ‘Tanzania Affordable Digital Finance Research Initiative’ (TADFRI). TADFRI will generate, along with partners and key stakeholders, data and evidence around the drivers of DFS affordability, as well as recommendations to policymakers and financial service providers on ways to improve affordability.

While the overall research program will pursue several lines of inquiry, this workstream is intended to deepen our understanding of the competition and regulatory dynamics in the country which may influence the high cost of DFS products and services. This output will be embedded into the larger policy-driven project (TADFRI) that will generate credible evidence on how policymakers and the private sector in the country can adopt sustainable strategies to reduce the cost of DFS, allowing for financial stability of the private sector and resulting in improved consumer welfare. We therefore seek an expert with experience in competition and regulatory analysis of DFS ecosystems in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), with a key focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

In light of the above, IPA expects the offeror to undertake an in-depth analysis of the DFS competition and regulatory landscape in Tanzania to understand how these aspects affect the affordability of DFS.

Proposals are due Wednesday, August 7, 2024, by 5 PM EDT. Questions and proposals should be emailed to global-procurement@poverty-action.org indicating the RFP number in the subject line.

View the full RFP here, including more background information and detailed application instructions (or click the "Download Full RFP" link on the left-hand sidebar of this webpage). More additional information, view the Q&A here.