Objectives

The primary objectives of the tender are to procure advisory services for Balance Sheet Optimisation to support the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) in achieving its strategic growth ambitions. Specifically, the project aims to:

• Provide solutions that relieve capital and prudential limits, enabling increased operational scale.
• Optimize the Bank’s capital structure to facilitate growth.
• Enhance debt funding structures to reduce overall funding costs.
• Improve credit risk sharing and management mechanisms.
• Propose innovative products supporting balance sheet optimisation.
• Transfer skills and embed balance sheet optimisation capabilities within the Bank for sustainable management beyond the project duration.

Scope

The scope involves providing comprehensive advisory services on balance sheet optimisation solutions aligned with the Bank’s decadal strategy. Key activities include:

• Assessing current balance sheet components and identifying optimisation opportunities.
• Developing innovative structures to improve capital and funding efficiency.
• Recommending strategies for credit risk management and sharing mechanisms.
• Designing new financial products to support balance sheet objectives.
• Facilitating skills transfer and capacity building within the Bank.
• Providing regular progress updates and ensuring stakeholder engagement throughout the project.

Technical Requirements

The technical requirements specify that the bidder must:

• Demonstrate at least ten (10) years of relevant experience in advisory services within the financial sector, development finance institutions, or multilateral development banks.
• Show proven experience in balance sheet optimisation, including at least three relevant engagements in the last ten years.
• Provide evidence of sovereign debt restructuring experience, such as IMF or similar projects.
• Present CVs of key personnel (project director, project lead, and other resources) with relevant experience in balance sheet management and sovereign debt restructuring.
• Include a detailed project team organogram.
• Submit a comprehensive proposal aligned with the scope, demonstrating technical expertise and innovative approaches.

Skills Requirements

The skills and expertise required from the bidder include:

• Extensive experience in financial advisory, specifically in balance sheet optimisation and sovereign debt restructuring.
• Strong understanding of capital and funding structures, credit risk management, and innovative financial product development.
• Proven capacity to transfer knowledge and build internal skills within the client organization.
• Ability to deliver strategic solutions tailored to the development finance context.
• Effective communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with capacity to provide regular progress reports.