مدقق حسابات

Iraq External Assurance Engagement on the Empowerment Guarantee Fund (EGF) managed by the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees (ICBG) Organization International Labour Organization Posted 2 Oct 2026 Closing date 1 Nov 2026 External Assurance Engagement on the Empowerment Guarantee Fund (EGF) managed by the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees (ICBG) Introduction andBackground Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has faced a series of compounding crises over the past decade, including armed conflict, the rise of ISIL, mass displacement, fiscal instability, the COVID-19 pandemic and fluctuations in global oil prices. These have weakened the labour market, eroded enterprise resilience and exposed structural vulnerabilities in the financial system. Access to finance remains a major constraint for small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the International Finance Corporation, the SME financing gap in Iraq is estimated at nearly USD 6 billion, and only 8 per cent of SMEs hold a business bank account. A particular obstacle is the level of collateral required by banks, which can reach up to 125 per cent of the loan value. The International Labour Organization (ILO), with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and under the leadership of KfW Development Bank, is implementing the Promotion of the Development of SMEs in Iraq Project (IRQ/23/05/DEU). The Project is structured around three interrelated components: strengthening the capacity of the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees (ICBG) to implement an effective credit guarantee scheme; supporting participating financial institutions in establishing dedicated SME finance windows; and improving the financial literacy and credit-readiness of SMEs. A central instrument of the Project is the Empowerment Guarantee Fund (EGF), a partial credit guarantee facility established at, and managed by, ICBG. Under the Fund, ICBG issues partial credit guarantees on eligible SME loans originated by Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) from their own balance sheets. All lending decisions, risk assessment and client relationships remain the responsibility of the PFIs. These Terms of Reference concern the external assurance engagement over the Fund. They form Annex III to the Request for Proposals and, together with the other Annexes, constitute the basis on which proposals are invited. This assignment does not comprise the statutory audit of ICBG under Iraqi law, which is a separate matter procured and financed by ICBG and is outside the scope of these Terms of Reference. Section 2:The Entity and theFund —Profile and Overview TheIraqi Company for Bank Guarantees ICBG is the only formally established bank guarantee provider in Iraq. It was founded in 2006 under Companies Law No. 21 of 1997 as a limited liability company, initially owned by eleven private banks, and is licensed by the Central Bank of Iraq. As of 2020 its ownership comprised fifteen private banks and several individual shareholders. The principal shareholders are the Investment Bank of Iraq (19.97 per cent), Gulf Commercial Bank (17.69 per cent), Ashur International Bank (12.30 per cent), Sumer Commercial Bank (9.98 per cent) and the Iraqi Middle East Investment Bank (8.74 per cent). ICBG has undergone a programme of institutional strengthening under the Project, including the adoption of a revised organizational structure, the development and approval of institutional policies and standard operating procedures, targeted recruitment, and the procurement and installation of an Enterprise Resource Planning system. TheEmpowerment Guarantee Fund Phase I of the Fund comprises EUR 9,000,000, disbursed by the ILO to ICBG against six milestones defined in the Project ToR. The first tranche was released in September 2025. As at the date of these Terms of Reference, the disbursement position is as follows. The tranches corresponding to Milestones 1 and