Early stage feasibility study on peace aligned investments in Mozambique

A. About the Finance for Peace initiative

Finance for Peace (F4P) is a multistakeholder initiative that seeks to systemically change how private and public investment supports peace in developing and fragile contexts. It aims to create networked approaches that can co-develop the market frameworks, standards, political support networks, partnerships and knowledge required to scale up “peace finance” – investments that intentionally seek to improve conditions for peace.

F4P brings together investors, industry, norm setting entities, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), governments, peacebuilding and development actors, civil society and local communities to further peace-positive investments. By building/enabling the creation of a market for peace enhancing finance, it aims to reduce risks for both investors and communities and achieve outcomes that are bankable and advance peace. By identifying critical frameworks and developing standards and principles, as well as key knowledge and innovative solutions, the initiative will help to create true additionality to investors, as well as more inclusive development.

Working with partners, Finance for Peace will develop an iterative peace impact framework and connected set of peace standards for various categories of investment that can be used by the market to guide, measure and validate peace positive investment.

Finance for Peace is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) and builds on feasibility research supported by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) on a new sustainable investment category called peace bonds. Finance for Peace has been incubated by Interpeace.

For more information on the Finance for Peace initiative, please see our website: https://financeforpeace.org/.

B. Conceptual background and description of the assignment

Catalysing a market for peace enhancing investment necessarily requires the establishment of a certain key market infrastructure. Crucially, a viable market for peace finance requires the presence of at least two factors:

1. A wide, market-recognised framework as well as a set of standards and related benchmark metrics that can be used by investors to establish credible peace impacts, and
2. A pipeline of investments that can meet the significant, growing demand for investments that achieve positive peace impacts in a measured and verifiable way.

In order to support the two key outcomes above, critical market intelligence research needs to be conducted to understand an early pipeline of potential peace supporting investment and address the chronic lack of origination that concerns peace finance investments.  

The proposed research assignment would seek to conduct early-stage design and pre-feasibility scoping for potential peace aligned investments in Mozambique. The research will be based on rigorous in-country analysis providing a deep contextual understanding of the peace and conflict dynamics and intersecting political economy issues.  Based on this contextual analysis, it will then scope at least three types of peace positive investments in the country; (1) potential SME and other micro-investments targeted at actors in conflict affected areas (specifically Cabo Delgado) that have a highly intentional and direct impact on peace and conflict dynamics in the province, (2) review existing MDB/DFI and private enterprise investment underway or planned in Mozambique that has a high potential to contribute to peace and conflict dynamics and suggest pathways for that peace impact to be realised, (3) Propose early greenfield peace investment ideas that are currently not being explored by key business, development and peace actors, describing potential peace pathways, outlining technical and business case that needs to be further developed alongside local and national actors.

The feasibility research is intended as a prelude to subsequent more in-depth investment design that would require scaled up technical assistance. This is early-stage peace investment pipeline development and design that would seek to inform future more participatory and technically informed feasibility research that can potentially be taken up by other actors.

The research will aim to complement ongoing international efforts in Mozambique. In particular, the US Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (SPCPS) 10-Year Strategic Plan for Mozambique as part of the 2019 Global Fragility Act (GFA) will be kept as a reference point, as well as the European Union Multi-annual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 for Mozambique.    

The researcher/s should have existing networks and contextual understanding of the peace and conflict in Cabo Delgado as well as political economy of region and Mozambique more broadly. Ideally they will also have some combination of technical or contextual understanding of national development priorities, emerging market investment and the multilateral development finance system. Their research will be based on in-country consultations with key actors in the relevant contexts, including hard to reach groups, investors, civil society actors, the United Nations and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). The successful researcher(s) will coordinate closely to ensure alignment with a parallel workstream conducted by the African Development Bank on conflict-sensitive private sector development and investment in northern Mozambique.

C. Tasks

The successful researcher(s) will develop early-stage feasibility study scoping options for peace positive investments in Mozambique. This would be based on the following key tasks:

1. Peace and conflict analysis, actor mapping, political economy analysis, peace diligence and economic dialogue: through in-country dialogue with key actors, including government, businesses, civil society and hard to reach groups, the analysis will map the conflict dynamics and political economy with specific focus on Cabo Delgado and a more generalised analysis on Mozambique. The analysis will identify key intersecting economic, livelihood and resource issues and optimum pathways and opportunities for peace positive investment. It will review available key desktop literature including national development priorities and planning from government and multilateral partners. It will also conduct interviews with the private sector and key businesses in Mozambique, along with combatants and hard to reach groups, where possible.

• Based on the aforementioned analysis and mapping, the research will identify and scope possible conflict sensitive and peace positive investment ideas that can target hard to reach actors and contribute positively to peace and conflict dynamics. This will focus on highly localised and strategic forms of SME investment and local enterprise development. 

• MDB/DFI portfolio review: Based on interviews, the research willconduct aportfolioreview of key Multilateral Development Banks and Development Finance Institutions operating in Mozambique, identifying their approaches and identifying potential peace strategy/theory of change for peace that could be more intentionally embedded into investment approaches. This will identify priorities, thematic areas of focus, financial structuring approaches, priorities for pipeline development and sub-national geographical focus areas.

• Analysis of non-concessional market and private enterprise investment in Mozambique: In addition to the MDB/DFI portfolio review, the research will scope the landscape of new, recent or planned major private and multinational investment, especially focusing on large extractive, land intensive project finance or major investments in systemically important sectors such as telecommunication, fisheries, transport, health, and education, for instance. The analysis will not concern agriculture projects, which are the focus of a parallel research workstream on conflict sensitive private sector development in Mozambique that is being conducted by the African Development Bank. Mapping these investments, the research will identify existing and potential impacts on conflict dynamics and opportunities for closer peacebuilding accompaniment for these forms of private investment.

• Based on the above analyses, scope possible conflict sensitive and peace responsive investment opportunities and high-level early-stage prototypes of peace-supporting business models and project finance concepts in Mozambique. Based on key informant interviews, rigorous analysis of the Peace Finance Impact Framework (PFIF) and the aforementioned analysis, develop circa five high level greenfield peace finance concepts, clearly identifying their theory of change and peace strategy, outlining key peace and business diligence considerations that require further technical and participatory development and scoping. Successful researcher(s) should pay particular attention to mapping the conflict drivers on the ground, identifying the intentionality of the peace impact and the theory of change of proposed investments, as well as their peace additionality.  

D. Timeframe and Deliverables

The consultancy will last between 150 and 200 days maximum, to be completed before 30 December 2023. The exact allocation of days corresponding to the deliverables specified in section C will be jointly determined by the Finance for Peace team and the successful researcher(s) during the kick-off meeting at the beginning of the assignment.

E. Reporting and feedback

The tasks listed above are to be performed in an interactive and iterative process in collaboration with core staff from the Finance for Peace initiative. As stated in Section B of this ToR, the successful researcher(s) will also coordinate closely with a parallel workstream conducted by the African Development Bank on conflict-sensitive private sector development and investment in northern Mozambique, so as to ensure alignment.

The successful researcher(s) will work under the direction of Daniel Hyslop, Head of Research and Senior Peacebuilding Advisor at Interpeace.

F. Budget

As stated in section D above, the full-time number of workdays for the above dates is between 150 and 200 days. The daily rate is to be determined based on the experience of the researcher(s).

G. How to apply

• Provide a technical proposal with a description on how you would complete the assignment
• Present a financial bid for this tender in US dollars, CHF, or EUR, including a daily rate.
• Provide attached CV that proves relevant experience

We will review the applications both on the technical and financial content and value for money. Deadline for applications is Friday, 26 May. Applications can be sent to hyslop@interpeace.org.