Agricultural MicroFinance Consultant– Feed the Future Democratic Republic of Congo-Strengthening Value Chains

The USAID-funded Feed the Future Strengthening Value Chains (SVC) project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, implemented by Tetra Tech International Development (www.tetratech.com/intdev) is currently accepting expressions of interest for an Agricultural Microfinance Consultant. This position will be working in the South Kivu province.

Since 2019 the SVC project has been supporting the Microfinance sector of South Kivu through the Group of Microfinance Actors in Kivu (GAMF) network. This means providing technical assistance through training and workshops to the staff of microfinance institutions in the GAMF network to enable them to acquire a set of knowledge, tools and methodologies that will allow them to properly define, offer and adapt financial products for actors in the agricultural sector.

In 2021, the project wishes to focus its technical assistance efforts to meet the demands and challenges of THE KITUMAINI and PAIDEK SA MFIs who have made efforts to finance agricultural activities in the project area. The technical assistance of the project concerns to use the services of an international consultant who will strengthen the policies, procedures, products, and tools of credit risk management intended for agricultural actors to increase the capacities of these two institutions and their offers of credits with an emphasis on warrantage credits and farmers’ associations including village savings and credit associations. The SVC project, in fact, wishes to strengthen the connection of small associations of small producers with local MFIs to address their different needs for financing inputs, production, transport or local marketing of agricultural products with the PAIDEK and KITUMAINI MFIs. Some of their needs are not being met by their informal savings and credit associations (WITH) which are currently spreading to meet unmet financing needs with the absence of formal financial institutions. The WITH also represent a great opportunity for the collection of savings and their security that MFIs may need to finance agricultural activities. The goal of this one-month consultancy is to assist the two MFIs to improve their agricultural offer and help them develop their lending capacities to the agricultural sector.

Responsibilities:

* Assist the PAIDEK SA institution in the revision of its policies, procedures and tools for agricultural activities to increase its financing capacities for agricultural actors

* Assist the KITUMAINI institution in the revision of its policies, and the production of procedures, tools, and products for the agricultural activities of small producers’ associations to increase its financing capacities

* Propose an implementation plan for the two MFIs including recommendations for training, improvement of procedures, products and tools issued to them that can increase the institution’s capacity to serve more clients in the agricultural sector and better manage the risks involved

* Recommend the appropriate structures and procedures for developing within the two institutions the warrantage and credit credits to the WITH or the small farmers’ associations

*And other related responsibilities

Qualifications:

* Minimum of Bachelor of science (higher Degree preferable) in Economics, Agribusiness, or related field

* At least 7 years of experience with a Bachelor of Science or 5 years with a master’s degree.

* Extensive Experience in Agricultural Finance (value chains such as coffee, soybeans, beans, cocoa, cotton, rice, and corn highly desirable) for domestic and export markets US and EU

* Experience working in Africa and rural development

* Experience in the implementation of new products such as warrantage credit in a financial and agricultural institution

* Fluency in French (English or Swahili would be a plus)

* Financing experience with warrantage, leasing, financing of purchase contracts, financing of agricultural start-ups would be an asset