Digital Transformation Expert

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Georgia Project Name: The Relief and Recovery for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Project No: P173975 Loan No. 9239-GE Assignment Title: Digital Transformation Expert Reference No. GE-GEDC-CS-IC-45 Introduction JSC Georgian Economic Development Corporation (GEDC), within the Relief and Recovery for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Project supported by the World Bank (WB) intends to apply part of the loan proceeds for consulting services of a Digital Transformation Expert, who will operate under the World Bank MSMEs Project structure, while being functionally integrated with GEDC’s Growth Hubs network. The Project Development Objective for the Relief and Recovery for MSME operation is to provide relief to MSMEs and support their recovery, including by strengthening the enabling environment for access to finance. Project Description The Project is implemented nationwide and consist of four components: Component 1 – Financial relief and recovery for MSMEs Component 2 – Digital payments & financial infrastructure upgrading Component 3 – Project management and Monitoring Component 4 – Contingent Emergency Response Component A substantial portion of the Project activities fall under Component 1. Component 1 is implemented by GEDC. It comprises of the following sub-components: Sub-component 1.1 - micro-grants to finance working capital and fixed assets for micro and small firms. Sub-component 1.2 - co-financing interest payments on loans underwritten by participating financial institutions (PFIs). Sub-component 1.3 - partial credit guarantees for loans issued by PFIs. Sub-component 1.4 - technical assistance for COVID-proofing and digitalization of MSMEs. Objectives of the assignment Subcomponent 1.4 of the Relief and Recovery for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Project aims to support both the design and the provision of technical assistance to firms to adjust to the post Covid environment through the adoption of relevant managerial, digital, and other relevant practices and supporting the creation of a market for such services. The objective is to supplement the financial support under other subcomponents with technical assistance to address outstanding firm needs in key sectors, informed by stakeholder outreach. This subcomponent will also aim to gauge the feasibility of establishing and eventually scaling the most relevant of managerial capability and digitization programs in the context o