RFP FOR (MICRO)INSURANCE MARKET SYSTEMS ANALYSIS STUDY FOR AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK & ANY POTENTIAL SECTOR OF BANGLADESH

Swisscontact - Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation, is headquartered in Zurich and was founded in 1959 by leading figures from the Swiss private sector and Swiss universities. It is exclusively involved in international cooperation and since 1961 has carried out its own and mandated projects. Swisscontact currently employs over 1,400 staff worldwide and currently manages projects in 38 countries on behalf of public and private donors. Swisscontact is registered as an international non-governmental organization (INGO) in Bangladesh under NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Background of BMMDP

Bangladesh, an agriculture-based economy, is extremely susceptible to climate change. Extreme weather events (flood and cyclones) devastate agriculture production, particularly in the northern and southern regions of Bangladesh. Though the agriculture sector contributes around 14% to the GDP, it employs about 40% of the labour force (Bangladesh Economic Review 2019). Therefore, extreme weather events not only pose a threat to the economy but threatens the livelihoods of almost half the labour force population.

 

According to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016, the poverty rate in rural areas is 26.4%, while urban poverty is 18.9% with the overall extreme poverty rate at 12.9%. Smallholder farmers are especially vulnerable to climatic shocks induced poverty with their limited savings and coping strategy. Extreme weather events often force farmers to adopt negative coping strategies such as reducing expenditure on food, borrowing at high interest rates or selling off productive assets, which further reduce their resilience to cope with future shocks. The limited coping strategies force farmers to adopt a ‘low investment-low return’ policy to reduce their risks of crop loss and limit their capacity to specialize in income-generating activities with a higher risk profile.

To build resilience against shocks and foster rural poverty reduction, there is a need to stimulate growth and commercial production in the agriculture and livestock sectors. Building the capacity of farmers on specialized income-generating activities in agriculture and livestock is likely to foster commercialisation. Along with the need for access to inputs, technology and information, there is a strong need for access to financial services that increase farmers’ investment capacity and minimize ex-post risks.

The Bangladesh Microinsurance Market Development Project (BMMDP), also known as Bangladesh Agricultural and Disaster Insurance Programme (BADIP), is mandated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). BMMDP envisions fostering inclusive growth in the agriculture and livestock sector in Bangladesh through agriculture and livestock insurance along with risk-reducing embedded extension services. In Phase 1, BMMDP works with two partners to design, pilot and roll out affordable crop and livestock insurance products and identify distribution channels for rice, maize, potato, vegetables, beef-fattening and other livestock and poultry related activities, with a target for reaching at least 633,000 insured farmers by 2024. Swisscontact is acting as the Managing Agent (MA) of the project and wants to have a better understanding of the microinsurance market with particular focus on agriculture and livestock and to come up with systemic interventions under BMMDP’s current phase and possibly for future phase(s).

Context

BMMDP phase 1 is divided into three components; Swisscontact as the MA is assisting SDC in overall coordination, monitoring, and management of all these project components. 

Component 1: Crop insurance pilot implemented by SFSA Bangladesh  
Under Component 1, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Bangladesh (SFSA-B) is responsible for developing appropriate weather index-based crop insurance products and insurance business models with distribution channels, such as crop input suppliers, contract farming processors and traders, and MFIs; raising awareness to local risk carriers (insurance companies) in crop index insurance and their business potential; partnering with Swiss Re and other reinsurers in product development and risk pricing, and contributing to the knowledge creation and evidence gathering to improve the knowledge and capacity of public and private insurance stakeholders.

Component 2: Livestock risk mitigation pilot implemented by PKSF

Under Component 2, Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) is responsible for developing appropriate financial and non-financial livestock (cattle ) risk mitigation services, expanding and diversifying the livestock mortality risk mitigation operations by the better performing partner organizations (PO) and testing models that would make provision for commercially viable and sustainable livestock extension services. BMMDP will facilitate PKSF in institutionalizing its livestock insurance scheme by operationalizing its insurance unit, conceptualizing sustainable business models, building the capacity of PKSF and its PO in scaling up beef-fattening

mortality insurance operations and diversifying into dairy cows, goats, and poultry. The POs alone and/or in association with public and private entities will offer awareness-raising sessions, training on good farming practices, and animal healthcare services to livestock farmers to make them resilient against weather and disease shocks.  

Component 3: Capacity Building of Insurance Sector Stakeholders in Bangladesh  
Under Component 3, the MA/Swisscontact (SC) is responsible for complementing the existing project interventions on crop and livestock insurance/risk mitigation by creating a more enabling environment. Besides, it will explore the potential insurance market (new partnerships, models, distribution channels, products) under the systemic market development perspective for the further evolution of BMMDP. The intention is to gather and disseminate knowledge through various means, such as conducting regular context analysis of the agricultural insurance sector, performing research/action research, analyzing regulatory framework, and sharing the gained knowledge with wider stakeholders.

Objectives

The objectives of this study are to better understand the recent developments and contextual changes in the microinsurance market (demand and supply side factors, the relevant stakeholders, support functions, regulations etc.) with particular focus on agriculture, livestock and any potential  sector emerging. The study also aims  to identify appropriate technical approach promoting microinsurance market system in Bangladesh under BMMDP programme. The study will help to come up with possible recommendations to adapt within BMMDP current phase and for designing the upcoming next phase. The study also aims to identify underlying systemic constraints, possible incentives for relevant stakeholders and subsequently to come up with systemic interventions under BMMDP current phase and possibly for future phase(s) of the project.

To support us to reach these objectives we are looking for a consultant/consultancy firm that will undertake the following key tasks:

Tasks

  • Revisit the microinsurance market context in the field of agriculture (crop and livestock) and identify new developments in donor landscape and potentials of synergies with BMMDP, new actors and stakeholders  
  • Identify the recent developments at the public-private (enabling, support) roles in microinsurance market and prospects of their engagement in BMMDP to improve the market function.  

Submission Details

Interested bidders should submit the electronic copy of technical and financial proposals; and other necessary

documents to Email: bd.bmmdp@swisscontact.org by March 06 , 2021 before 5 pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).

BMMDP programme reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals/ application without assigning any reason whatsoever. Please note that if any applicant does not meet all the above requirement, the application will be disqualified without further evaluation.

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