A. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESThe International Finance Corporation (IFC); the private sector arm of the World Bank Group; is a global leader; investor and advisor; committed to projects in its developing member countries that reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. IFC finances private sector investments; mobilizes capital in the international financial markets; helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability; and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments in the developing world. The Country Advisory and Economics (CAE) Unit works with governments to create an enabling environment for accelerating equitable growth and is focused on identifying firm and industry-level constraints to deliver reforms which can drive growth and accelerate job creation (including access to finance; innovation; special economic zones; industry solutions; entrepreneurship; etc.); boosting firm-level efficiency and productivity centers on adopting better and digital technologies. In addition; the CAE Unit also closely collaborates with IBRD/IDA (The World Bank) to provide effective support to client governments and attract more private sector investments. CAE Advisory will strengthen the World Bank Group’s evolving approach to development finance to maximize finance for development and leverage private sector investments for sustainable and inclusive growth. The IFC’s CAE unit is implementing a digital financial services (DFS) sector project at the request of the Central Bank of Nepal- Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The targeted interventions are expected to benefit the sector at large and will foster opportunities for private sector investment in the digital finance ecosystem. Thus; IFC is seeking a consulting firm (hereafter referred as “Consultant” collectively); to conduct a study on Application Programming Interface (APIs) Standardization and Data Sharing; Cloud Computing; Embedded Finance. These efforts could catalyze increased digital financial services innovation and investment. The assessment will be conducted in collaboration with subject matter experts (Technical Leads) from the World Bank Group.B. SCOPE OF WORK Under the guidance of the WBG Technical Leads for DFS and Task Team Lead for the Project; with input and guidance from NRB; the Consultant will support the project team in the following:1. Undertake a study and review of the existing strategies; rules and regulatory framework; policies and any government schemes/policies/incentives pertaining to the concept of Application Programming Interface (APIs) Standardization and Data Sharing; Cloud Computing; Embedded Finance; and provide a comprehensive report on the studies The consultant will also provide draft regulations/ directives/ circulars that could be considered to be issued by the NRB.· The consultant will make clarifications and revisions as needed based on a review of the document by the project team and NRB.· The consultant will respond to questions received during the formal IFC review of the document. 2. Stakeholder Engagement:· Engage with key stakeholders; including government agencies; financial institutions; fintechs; and other digital financial services players.· Organize and facilitate focus group discussions; and interviews to gather insights and feedback.· Summarize the consultation findings and recommendations that objectively capture the key discussion points and outcomes and incorporate such findings into the final report.3. Comparative Analysis:· Carry out a benchmarking study of similar and/or relevant economies in the region and beyond; to compare the regulations across similar economies· The countries against which the benchmarking activities will be carried out should be finalized in consultation with the IFC task team. The benchmarking should enable recommendations based on peer comparison across various aspects of the topics of the study.4. Report/ draft regulations/directives/circulars:· Develop a report on the above-mentioned topics with a set of actionable recommendations to address identified challenges and leverage opportunities.· Provide a roadmap for implementation; including short-term; medium-term; and long-term actions.· Present the key findings of the study to NRB jointly with WBG.· The consultant would also provide draft regulations/directives/circulars.5. Other:• Participate in conference calls with the technical leads and Project team. IFC team and NRB to discuss recommendations and provide clarifications; as and when requested.C. DELIVERABLES/SPECIFIC OUTPUTS EXPECTED The following are the project deliverable for this contract 1. Inception Report: Develop a detailed Inception Report that clearly highlights the following:a. Overview of the government and NRB initiatives; including policies; rules; regulations; bylaws and guidelines; government schemes and incentives; industry-led initiatives; and Development Partner initiatives; will be analyzed in the report.b. Overv