Background

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 47 Least Developed Countries (LDCs). UNCDF uses its capital mandate to support LDCs pursue inclusive growth. UNCDF promotes financial inclusion, also through digital financial services (DFS), as a key enabler of poverty reduction and inclusive growth; and it demonstrates how localizing finance outside the capital cities can accelerate growth in local economies, promote sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure development, and empower local communities. Using capital grants, loans and credit enhancements, UNCDF tests financial models in inclusive finance and local development finance; ‘de-risks’ the local investment space; and provides proofs of concept, paving the way for larger and more risk-averse investors.

Hosted by UNCDF, the Centre for Financial Health (CFH) is set-up as an umbrella platform towards convening a global coalition and thought leadership. The Centre for Financial Health acts as a convener, providing a platform to bring together global, regional and local actors committed to using financial and digital solutions to improve the financial lives of low-income families—helping them climb - and stay - out of poverty. The Centre creates space for thought leadership where best financial health (FH) practices and models are exchanged and lead to concrete action with governments and the private sector.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNCDF, as part of the South-South engagement, is running an Agritech Challenge that aims to address the problems of smallholder farmers and identify solutions across markets of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi. The Challenge is hosted in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission, the Government of India, Gates Foundation, and RaboBank Foundation. The challenge has two tracks of engagement:

• Main track that is looking at innovations which are mature and can diversify into a new market beyond their home markets.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) track that is looking at innovations which are yet to scale but have the potential to address problems across their home markets.

The Challenge started in June 2021 and has culminated in form of two cohorts representing the two tracks. The details on the Challenge can be found at http://uncdf.org/finlab/agritechchallenge. The focus moving forward is to drive the following:

1. Identify the readiness of these innovations to move outside of their home markets.
2. Understand the business model, its potential impact to address the barriers related to smallholder farmers in markets beyond their home market and make a business case.
3. Identify the potential model to drive engagement beyond the home market and potential associate partner leading to partnership/commercialization.
4. Expose the cohort participants with learnings from potential recipient market and learning that can assist with improving their current business potential.

The Agritech Innovation Consultant is to support the following activities as listed below within the provided time frame. The consultant would work in close collaboration with the Sr Financial Health and Innovation Consultant to execute the activities mentioned:

Competencies

Core Competencies

• Think Innovatively
  • Look beyond conventional approaches and established methods
  • Propose new ideas, approaches and solutions to problems
  • Seek patterns and clarity outside boxes and categories while resisting false certainty and simplistic binary choice
• Learn Continuously
  • Actively pursue opportunities for learning and self-development professionally and personally
  • Keep abreast of new developments in one’s professional area
  • Proactively seek feedback, demonstrates a desire to learn from others as well as from experiences, both positive and negative
  • Contribute to the learning of others

Cross-Functional Competencies

• System Thinking
  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
• Knowledge Facilitation
  • Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally
• Knowledge Generation
  • Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need

Technical Competencies

• SDG Finance
  • Financial Inclusion
  • Innovative Finance
  • Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualification:

• A Master’s degree in business, economics, agriculture, rural management, innovations or a related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum ten (10) years of experience with progressive responsibilities in the space of digital inclusion specially relating to the agriculture or financial sectors or digital.
• Minimum five (5) years of experience in shaping plans or models for start-up or innovators or businesses that are working in either the agriculture sector or in financial services (microfinance), or smallholder farmers or rural segments.
• Experience working with international organizations, donor agencies and/or other private sector groups involved in various sectors of development is desirable.
• Experience working in the agriculture sector in Asia and Africa would be desirable.

Language:

• Fluent command of written and spoken English is required.

Application Process

Interested individuals must submit the following documents as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications.

All applications must contain the following information:

• Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies in relation to this Terms of Reference (TOR);
• Curriculum Vitae and/or Completed and Signed P11-Personal History Form with names and current contacts of three referees.

Technically-qualified?consultants,?i.e.?consultants who score the equivalent of or more than 70% with respect to the?below-mentioned evaluation criteria,?will be requested to submit their?all-inclusive fixed total contract price. Consultants?should not specify their?financial proposals?on their CV or with their?submission. The CV will not be evaluated?further in?the event?the consultant submits the same.??

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

Evaluation Method

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• Preliminary Evaluation - Step I: Screening;
• Technical Evaluation Weight - 70% (Step II: Desk review 100 points);
• Financial Evaluation Weight - 30% (Step III).

Step I: Screening

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following mandatory criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

• A Master’s degree in business, economics, agriculture, rural management, innovations or a related discipline.
• Minimum ten (10) years of experience with progressive responsibilities in the space of digital inclusion specially relating to the agriculture or financial sectors or digital.

Step II: Desk Review

A desk review will be conducted to produce a shortlist of applicants according to the criteria listed below.

• Minimum ten (10) years of experience with progressive responsibilities in the space of digital inclusion specially relating to the agriculture or financial sectors or digital. – 40 points
• Minimum five (5) years of experience in shaping plans or models for start-up or innovators or businesses that are working in either the agriculture sector or in financial services (microfinance), or smallholder farmers or rural segments. – 40 points
• Experience working with international organizations, donor agencies and/or other private sector groups involved in various sectors of development is desirable. – 10 points
• Experience working in the agriculture sector in Asia and Africa would be desirable. – 10 points

Only applicants who obtain scores above 70% at the desk review will be considered technically qualified and will be subject to further review for a financial evaluation.

Financial Proposal:

Technically qualified consultants will be requested to submit their lump sum rate i.e. consultants who score more than 70% i.e. 49 marks with respect to the above-mentioned evaluation criteria. Consultant should not specify their consultancy fee on their CV or with the submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in case the consultant submits the same.

Award Criteria

The contact shall be awarded to the best applicant whose offer have been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest combined score: Technical (desk review) 70% + Financial 30% = 100%.

Individual consultants and persons employed by a company or institution are invited to apply. Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for individual consultant must do so in their individual capacity by providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly. Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.

UNCDF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.