1.Background

The Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), with support from Oxfam in Cambodia and funding from the Irish Embassy, is implementing the Climate Resilience For All (CREFA) project. Phase I of the project successfully produced a research paper on “Developing Green Finance Instruments for the Microfinance Sector,” which assessed green finance landscapes and proposed prototypes for green loans, bonds, and risk-sharing facilities. Phase II builds on this by developing a Green Finance Product Development Manual to provide step-by-step guidance for MFIs to design, implement, and monitor green financial products.

On April 2026, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) officially released the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy for Cambodian Banking Sector (Version 1). This Taxonomy establishes a common language for identifying green, transitional, and ineligible activities across Energy, Transport, and Buildings & Construction sectors, using a Traffic Light System (Green = aligned, Amber = transitional, Red = ineligible).

Therefore, this practical field-level ESG and Taxonomy screening toolkit for Retail and SME lending in Cambodian MFIs must be fully aligned with the NBC Taxonomy to enable BFIs (banks and MFIs) to:

• Assess SME borrowers against official Technical Screening Criteria (TSC)
• Apply Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) and Minimum Social Safeguards (MSS) principles
• Leverage the Traffic Light System for loan approval, pricing, and reporting
• Avoid greenwashing and meet NBC’s sustainable finance expectation

2. Rationale and Alignment with Previous Work

This ESG Assessment Toolkit will therefore serve as a direct operational tool that complements both prior outputs.

3. Objectives of the Consultancy

The primary objective is to develop 2 practical ESG Assessment Toolkits aligned with the NBC Sustainable Finance Taxonomy for MFIs to evaluate both retail and SME loan applications for green finance. Specific objectives:

1. Translate NBC Taxonomy’s Technical Screening Criteria (TSC) into two sets of tools:

Retail: simple yes/no questions, visual aids, proxy certifications (e.g., Energy Labelling, Solar Home System certification)

SME: more detailed scorecards with emissions thresholds where feasible

2. Incorporate the Traffic Light System for both clients’ types (Green, Amber, Red) as defined in Taxonomy Section 3.3, including sunset dates for Amber activities (e.g., by 2040 for energy, by 2028–2030 for transport).
3. Integrate Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) criteria from Taxonomy Section 7.1 (climate resilience, water, circular economy, pollution, biodiversity) for both client’s types.
4. Integrate Minimum Social Safeguards (MSS) from Taxonomy Section 7.2 (ILO core conventions, UN Guiding Principles, IFC Performance Standards).
5. Reference allowable proxy certifications where direct emissions data is unavailable (e.g., LEED, EDGE, IGBC, BCA Green Mark – see Taxonomy Tables 7 & 8 for buildings).
6. Support risk mitigation by identifying red flags aligned with Taxonomy’s ineligible activities (e.g., unabated coal, deforestation, banned agrochemicals, forced labor).
7. Enable MFIs to report on Taxonomy-aligned lending for NBC and development partners.

4. Scope of Work

The consultant will perform the following tasks:

4.1 Desk Review and Gap Analysis must include:

·       NBC Sustainable Finance Taxonomy for Cambodian Banking Sector (April 2026) – entire document, especially:

·       Section 3.3 (Traffic Light System)

·       Section 5 (Sector criteria methodologies)

·       Section 6 (Activities thresholds – Energy, Transport, Buildings)

·       Section 7 (DNSH and MSS)

·       Annex 3 (Whitelist activities)

·       Annex 5 (User Toolkit with case studies)

·       Existing ESG tools from IFC, UNDP, GCF, and regional MFIs.

·       CREFA Phase I & II outputs

4.2 Stakeholder Consultation

• Conduct consultations with:
• Retail loan officers and branch managers of CMA member MFIs
• Household borrowers who have taken green loans (solar, water filter, efficient cookstove)
• Green SMEs and business associations
• National Bank of Cambodia (Sustainable Finance team)
• Oxfam Cambodia and other development partners
• Environmental and social experts working in Cambodia

• Gather practical input on what ESG indicators are feasible, useful, and enforceable in the Cambodian microfinance context.
• How familiar are MFIs with the new NBC Taxonomy?
• What support do MFIs need to apply Traffic Light System to SME lending?
• What data gaps exist for measuring emissions intensity (gCO2e/kWh, gCO2e/pkm, etc.)?
• How should DNSH and MSS be simplified for small SMEs?

4.3 Development of the practical field-level ESG and Taxonomy screening toolkit for SME lending in Cambodian MFIs (English and Khmer Translation)

The toolkits shall include:

Toolkit I– For Retail Lending (individuals / households / micro‑borrowers)

·       A.1 Retail Traffic Light System (simplified thresholds)

o   Green: e.g., solar home system (≥50W), certified efficient cookstove, water filter meeting WHO standards, home retrofits for flood/heat resilience

o   Amber: e.g., used efficient motorbike (≤50gCO2/km until 2028), non‑certified but clearly better than baseline

o   Red: e.g., new diesel generator for home, illegal logging, products using banned chemicals

·       A.2 Retail ESG Questionnaire (one page, 10 questions)

o   Example: “Does your household use a solar panel?” / “Do you have a clean cookstove?” / “Is your home raised above flood level?” / “Do you use water filtration?”

o   No emissions calculations – use proxy checklists

·       A.3 Retail DNSH Quick Screen (5 yes/no questions)

o   E.g., “Does this activity create hazardous waste?” / “Does it damage local water sources?”

·       A.4 Retail MSS Quick Screen (5 questions)

o   Focus on child labour, forced labour, land disputes (only if household runs a micro‑business

·       A.5 Post‑disbursement for retail (simplified): SMS or annual check: “Still using the solar system? Any problems?”

Toolkit II – For SME Lending 

a) Introduction

Ø  Why the NBC Taxonomy matters for greenSME lending

Ø  How the toolkit operationalizes the Taxonomy for MFIs

b) Traffic Light System for SME Lending (based on Taxonomy 3.3)

Ø  Green SME: Meets Taxonomy’s Green thresholds (e.g., solar PV, zero-emission vehicles, certified green buildings)

Ø  Amber SME: On a credible transition pathway with sunset date (e.g., efficient internal combustion engines until 2028, existing buildings with retrofit plan)

Ø  Red SME: Ineligible activities (e.g., coal-related, illegal logging, biodiversity destruction)

c) Sector-Specific ESG Scorecards (aligned with Taxonomy Sections 6.1–6.3)

d) Pre-Loan ESG Due Diligence

Step 1: Identify SME’s activity in Taxonomy (Energy? Transport? Buildings?)

Step 2: Assign Traffic Light (Green/Amber/Red) based on simplified thresholds

Step 3: Apply DNSH checklist (water, waste, biodiversity, pollution) adapted from Taxonomy Table 9

Step 4: Apply MSS checklist (labor, child labor, land rights, community safety) – adapted from Taxonomy Section 7.2

Step 5: Determine loan terms:

-        Green: Preferred interest rate, longer tenor, faster approval

-        Amber: Standard terms with condition to improve within sunset period

-        Red: Reject (or refer to non-green loan)

Templates must include:

-        SME ESG Questionnaire (20 min, not 20 pages) with Taxonomy-aligned questions

-        Site observation checklist (simple Excel/paper)

-        DNSH quick screen (5 questions)

-        MSS quick screen (5 questions)

e) Post-Disbursement ESG Monitoring

-        Annual ESG review using same Traffic Light system

-        Corrective action plan template for Amber SMEs falling behind

f) Case Studies:

-        Case 1 (Green): Rice farmer installing solar PV for irrigation (Energy – Green)

-        Case 2 (Amber): Transport SME buying efficient tuk-tuks with ≤50gCO2/km (Transport – Amber until 2028)

-        Case 3 (Red – reject): SME using banned agrochemicals in protected area (violates DNSH biodiversity)

g) Appendices:

-        Glossary of Taxonomy terms (gCO2e/kWh, AER, EEDI, sunset date, DNSH, MSS)

-        List of prohibited activities (from Taxonomy: unabated coal, IUCN Red List species, illegal logging, forced labor)

-        Reference to Cambodian laws (Environmental Protection Law, Labor Law, Land Law)

-        Proxy certifications accepted (LEED, EDGE, IGBC, BCA Green Mark – see Taxonomy Tables 7 & 8)

-        Guidance on reporting template for MFI-level and

-        CMA sector-level dashboard recommendation.

4.4 Validation and Pilot Testing

·       Present the draft toolkit to CMA, Oxfam, and 2–3 volunteer MFIs for feedback.

·       Conduct a mini-pilot (remote or in-person) with at least 3 MFIs (1 RCI, 1 MFI and 1 MDI)

·       Pilot with 3 MFIs – each testing:

o   Retail toolkit on at least 20 retail clients (real or simulated)

o   SME toolkit on at least 5 SMEs

·       Pilot test finding report

·       Revise the toolkit based on validation and pilot results.

4.5 Training Materials

·       Develop Training module for retail loan officers (20 slides) using very simple language, pictures, examples (solar, cookstove, water filter)

·       Training module for SME loan officers (20 slides) with more technical content

5. Expected Deliverables for both toolkits

6. Qualifications and Expertise of Consultant

The consultant (individual or firm) must demonstrate:

• Advanced degree in finance, environmental management, sustainable development, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years in ESG, green finance, or sustainable lending – with proven understanding of sustainable finance taxonomies (EU, ASEAN, or national).
• Experience applying DNSH and MSS frameworks (IFC Performance Standards preferred).
• Familiarity with the NBC Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (or demonstrated ability to learn quickly).
• Proven experience developing practical assessment tools for financial institutions.
• Strong understanding of Cambodia’s microfinance and SME sectors.
• Excellent English writing skills (Khmer an advantage)
• Ability to engage with small and medium MFIs and translate complex concepts into simple, actionable steps.

7. Timeline

The consultancy shall be completed within 3 months from contract signing. A provisional schedule:

8. Budget and Payment Schedule

The budget will be negotiated based on the consultant’s proposal. Payments will be linked to deliverables as follows:

• 20% – Upon submission and approval of Inception Report
• 40% – Upon submission and approval of Draft ESG Assessment Toolkit
• 40% – Upon submission and approval of Final ESG Assessment Toolkit + Training Materials

The consultant’s financial proposal must include a detailed breakdown (consultancy fees, travel, stakeholder workshop costs, translation if needed, etc.) – not a lump sum.

9. Application Process

Interested consultants (individuals or firms) should submit:

1. Technical proposal (max 5 pages) outlining methodology, work plan, Gantt chart, and proposed ESG framework structure.
2. Financial proposal (separate Excel file) with detailed budget.
3. CV(s) of key personnel highlighting relevant ESG/green finance experience.
4. Samples of at least one previous manual, assessment tool, or scorecard developed for financial institutions.

Deadline for submission:   21 October 2026

Submission email: hram@cma-network.org
Subject line: “Application – ESG and Taxonomy Screening Toolkit for Retail and SME Lending”

10. Management and Reporting

The consultant will report to CMA’s Head of financial inclusion, with coordination from Oxfam in Cambodia. Regular bi-weekly progress meetings will be held. CMA will facilitate introductions to member MFIs for consultations and pilot testing.

11. Contact for Clarifications

• Mr. Chea Sakmithyphal – Financial Inclusion Program Manager
  fipm@cma-network.org | Tel: 017 456 350

Contact Person:

Phone:

Email:

Website:

Interested candidates are invited to submit:

·       Detailed proposal describing the previous work done in this area and relevant expertise

·       CV of the applicant and/or company profile if a consultancy group

Estimated budget for this consultancy accompanied by a cost breakdown based on deliverables or days or hours spent (per relevant individuals involved) and related fees. The consultancy fee should be mentioned in both GROSS and NET fees in US Dollars, which includes all applicable local taxes. In Cambodia, the consultancy fee is subject to 15% withholding tax for resident tax-payer or 14% withholding tax for non-resident tax-payer.