Habitat for Humanity Europe, Middle East and Africa (HFHI/EMEA) is looking for an independent consultant or a company to provide communications and marketing services for the Housing Finance Forum
Introduction
Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation is organizing a Housing Finance Forum titled Expanding Access to Housing to Affordable and Adequate Housing in Sub-Saharan Africa on July 10-12, 2018 in Kampala, Uganda.
At the Forum, participants will be able to learn about macroeconomic environment, regulations and policies that drive the expansion of housing microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa, get insights from microfinance institutions and financial service providers on institutional opportunities and challenges to expand housing microfinance and learn about potential market niches for housing microfinance in the region.
Habitat for Humanity will also present findings from the “Building Assets, Unlocking Access” project, implemented in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, which provided technical assistance to financial institutions in Kenya and Uganda to develop housing microfinance products. At the start of 2018, the products have reached over 47,000 households and mobilized over US$43 million in capital to benefit over 237,000 individuals.
In Uganda, Habitat for Humanity partnered with three financial institutions: Pride Microfinance, Opportunity Bank and Centenary Bank.
In 2012, Habitat for Humanity Canada, Habitat for Humanity International and the MasterCard Foundation partnered to implement a six-year project “Building Assets, Unlocking Access” in Africa. This project has been carried out by Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, to provide technical assistance to six leading financial institutions in Uganda and Kenya to develop housing micro-finance products and non-financial support services for people living on USD 5 to USD 10 per day with the aim to enable these people secure adequate and affordable housing and improve their living conditions.The primary goal of the Forum is to communicate learnings from the “Building Assets, Unlocking Access” project in three areas:
- the advisory services offered to financial institutions and the relevance in adding and/or expanding housing micro-finance portfolios;
- the business opportunity of housing microfinance for financial service providers and the connection with housing market systems work at large; and
- the support to secure adequate and affordable housing and how low income families have improved their living conditions through having accessed housing micro-finance products and services.
It is expected that by the end of the Forum there will be:
- New financial service providers incentivized to add and/or to refine housing microfinance products.
- Investors interested into exploring options to invest into housing finance.
- Understanding of how housing microfinance impacts low income households, beyond the home improvement, by supporting them to improve their overall quality of life.
- Governments will acknowledge constrains faced by financial institutions f to scale housing microfinance portfolios; and the need to influence laws and regulations that address systemic constrains impacting the affordable housing sector.
- Understanding of how access to finance is one of the support services to reduce the quantitative and qualitative housing deficit, but how the addition of other private sector actors, and local firms is necessary to provide comprehensive shelter solutions.
KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MEDIA FIRM
Act as the provider of communications and marketing services to Habitat for Humanity EMEA in relation to the Housing Micro-finance Forum in Kampala, Uganda, on July 10-12, 2018. The consultant will assist Habitat for Humanity EMEA with preparing communications materials for the event and achieving a good degree of publicity prior, during and after the forum. The consultant/firm will be working closely with the Habitat for Humanity (HFH) EMEA team in Uganda and Nairobi, Kenya to prepare materials ahead of the event and handle media relations prior and on the day of the event.
The following tasks are expected from the consultant:
- Come up with a media advisory plan that will guide the visibility and media management for the event.
- Develop web-based invitations and information, including advising forum organizers on the proper online registration system for the participants.
- Prepare press materials such as press-kits with information on speakers, program, fact sheets from the studies on housing microfinance.
- Produce brand and visibility signage for the conference venue.
- Develop branded look and presentation for the conference materials, like brochures, programs, branded merchandise, lanyards and badges.
- Invite media to the event and handle media relations prior and during the event. Prepare interviews with support from the HFH Team, analyse background of different participants and speakers to be interviewed, and send out press invitations, and follow-up on invitations.
- Advise on the proper marketing strategies and channels for the event.
- Organize high-quality photos of conference participants, organizers and key-note speakers, and make selected photos available for media requests.
- Organize audio-video footage of the event and its proceedings.
- And any other tasks as may be required and agreed upon.
Ownership & Copyright
Habitat for Humanity EMEA will be the legal owners and copyright holders of all work done by the consultant.
Timeline and conditions
The contract for the assignment will run until the end of July, 2018.
Interested parties are requested to submit a technical and financial proposal on how they intend to carry out the assignment and submit both soft and hard copies.
Soft copies are to be sent to noffice@hfhuganda.org and Hard Copies addressed to the Procurement Committee Habitat for Humanity Uganda Offices Plot 91 Kira Road Kamwokya P.O Box 9873 Kampala Uganda t not later than 15th February 2018.