DFC Client Protection Procedures Training & Implementation – Pre-Solicitation Meeting

Update (5/21/24): A recording of the pre-solicitation meeting is available upon request. A link to the recording has already been sent to attendees of last week’s meeting. If you did not receive this link, or if you did not attend the meeting but would like access to the recording, please e-mail Joshua Houston, Contracting Officer, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov.

Update (5/20/24): Please find attached the Q&A document capturing the questions and answers from last week's call.

Update (5/16/24): Please find attached (1) an updated interested vendors list and (2) the slide deck from today's meeting. DFC is working to make the recording of the meeting available. In the next 2-3 business days, DFC will post a written Q&A document capturing the questions and answers from today's call. Lastly, please submit any additional feedback on this requirement by Friday, May 24, 2024. Update (5/16/24): Please find attached an updated interested vendors list. This list will continue to be updated periodically.

Update (5/15/24): Please find attached an updated interested vendors list. This list will continue to be updated periodically.

Update (5/14/24): Please find attached an updated interested vendors list. This list will continue to be updated periodically. Additionally, the in-person attendance option has closed, although registration will remain open for virtual attendees.

Update (5/13/24): Please find attached an updated interested vendors list. This list will continue to be updated periodically.

Update (5/8/24): Please find attached the current interested vendors list. This list will be updated periodically. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is financing solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world today. This notice advertises an upcoming pre-solicitation meeting for a DFC requirement.

Background Client protection principles (CPPs) are the minimum standards that end-clients should expect to receive when doing business with a financial service provider or embedded finance companies that are providing products to consumers on credit (e.g., off-grid solar companies).

Although the CPPs were initially developed for the microfinance industry, the CPPs can be applied to all banking and non-banking financial institutions and companies providing finance to natural persons and/or micro-enterprises, including (but not limited to) banking and non-banking financial institutions providing microfinance, consumer finance, micro-leasing, digital credit, and companies selling on credit (e.g., financial intermediary in the off-grid solar sector).

DFC has examined CPP best practices and incorporated an internal strategy designed to assess client protection risk, provide a tailored analysis for each financial service provider to determine alignment to best CPP practices, and inform DFC investment committee decisions.

Requirement DFC requires a contractor to recommend and implement a comprehensive plan to further incorporate appropriate CPP strategy into the DFC investment process, from origination through underwriting, informed by benchmarking against other development finance institutions.

The contractor shall also subsequently provide various interactive training courses to educate responsible parties on their roles and responsibilities, to include detailed training on the CERISE+SPTF client protection auditing process and interpretation of data submitted in the CERISE+SPTF Client Protection Self-Assessment. Please see the draft statement of work attached.

Pre-Solicitation Meeting DFC will hold a pre-solicitation meeting with interested parties to discuss this requirement and the acquisition approach. The meeting will take place on Thursday, May 16, 2024, between 9:30am-11:00am Eastern time. The meeting will be conducted over a Microsoft Teams webinar. There is also limited in-person seating available. Attendees are required to register to attend the webinar.

Please use the following link to register for the meeting: https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/5aacf336-3430-49d1-b9bd-fb1d93c02464@5c1c8aa7-9732-4c22-88c5-b30c9245f282. If you are interested in attending in-person, please register as soon as possible, as this option will close on or before May 14, 2024. Request for Questions and Feedback Interested parties are encouraged to submit inquiries ahead of the meeting by e-mailing Joshua Houston, Contracting Officer, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov.

Questions received by May 14, 2024, will be addressed during the meeting. Interested parties are also encouraged to review the draft statement of work for this requirement, attached to this notice. Please submit any feedback on the draft statement of work to Joshua Houston, Contracting Officer, at joshua.houston@dfc.gov. You are encouraged to provide comments or redline changes in the document for DFC’s consideration.

Disclaimer Regarding SAM.gov Registration Requirement Please note that prospective contractors must be registered and active in the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov in order to submit a quote or offer in response to any future solicitation for this requirement. Please reference Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) section 52.204-7 for further information. If not already registered, prospective vendors are strongly encouraged to start the registration process.

Thank you for your interest in working with DFC. Please note that this pre-solicitation meeting does not in any way obligate the U.S. Government to issue a solicitation or to award a contract, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any quote or offer.