Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been active in supporting the efforts of the Government of Rwanda for engaging the youth in the agricultural sector. Building on past and ongoing efforts. The project on Promoting Employment Opportunities and Agripreneurship among Youth and Women in Eastern Africa seeks to increase efforts towards job creation opportunities, as a response to the gap created by COVID in the East Africa region, where in addition to loss of jobs due to deficiency in revenues as result of restrictions and measures imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 was additional to other shocks such as climatic induced chocks that were already in the region, all worsening the situation of youth and women who were already not strong in their Agripreneurship projects.
In Rwanda farming remains the single largest source of employment for young people with more than 50% of people aged between 16-24 years working exclusively in agriculture[1]. Youth and women therefore form majority of actors in agriculture sector. Almost 80% of the female labour force is in agriculture with the majority undertaking subsistence farming[2]. Farming accounts for 33% of all new jobs created in the Rwandan economy and there are high expectations for agriculture to not only provide employment for a growing rural population but to also to generate higher-quality jobs that will reduce poverty.
Access to financial services remains a major bottleneck for enterprise creation. This is largely because financial institutions perceive small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as high risk and are therefore inflexible in terms of collateral and repayment terms. Additionally, women and youth do not have enough access to information on available funding opportunities. It is partly due to these reasons that women and young people experience lower levels of financial inclusion compared to men. Access to financial services is key to help young people become economically active members of their communities and boost their investment in agri-food systems. Yet, rural Agripreneurs, especially the young ones, face fundamental challenges when trying to access finance. These challenges include lack of start-up capital contribution, collateral and guarantors, high interest rates, legal and regulatory restrictions (such as a minimum age requirement to open a bank account or obtain a loan), limited knowledge of and experience with financial services, and a lack of adequate protection and risk mitigation measures (such as Insurance cover for Youth businesses). These factors are compounded by misperceptions from financial service providers that consider youth often not being bankable and a risky segment. On the other side, the Government and other stakeholders put in place different facilities for youth and women but very few know how these facilities operates.
Reinforcement of capacity for the staff in charge of information dissemination in the Ministry of agriculture and Animal Resources is perceived as one of the solutions.
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Reporting Lines
The incumbent will report to the FAO Representative (FAOR). S/he will support the National coordinator under the guidance of Assistant FAOR/Programme.
Technical Focus
The work will focus on preparing training content for both staff in charge of information dissemination and loan officers in financial institutions. In addition, the consultant will develop the content on available youth and women friendly financial facilities to be multiplied in booklets that will be shared with youth and women. Specifically, the consultant is expected to equip the call centre team and other relevant staff with knowledge on the available support provided by the government and other stakeholders in the area of access to finance; this includes but not limited to the guaranty fund provided by the government to youth and women, some products that are tailored to agriculture and to youth and women in some financial institutions, agriculture insurance and other aspects that may increase women and youth knowledge and capacity to access finance. Additionally, some loan officers in financial institutions will be equipped with agribusiness skills that would increase their capacity to efficiently analyse agribusiness proposals submitted in their respective financial institutions and would help them to come up with more products that are tailored to agribusiness and convenient to women and youth.
Tasks and responsibilities
The following specific tasks will be carried out:
- Assess the conditions required to access finance facilities and institutions that provide youth/women-friendly financial services/facilities in Rwanda
- Compile information collected and prepare training content (including development of booklets) for (1) the staff in charge of information dissemination in the Ministry of agriculture and Animal Resources and (2) for loan officers in financial institutions
- Facilitate trainings for (1) the staff in charge of information dissemination in the Ministry of agriculture and Animal Resources and (2) for loan officers in financial institutions on knowledge and dissemination of information on available financial facilities and awareness raising on agribusiness respectivel.
- Organize an advocacy meeting with women in horticulture and financial institutions financing.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
- Master’s Degree in Agribusiness, Economics, Communication Rural Development or equivalent.
- Experience of 7 years in the area of access to finance with proven Experience in communication skills.
- Working knowledge of English as a working language. Knowledge of Kinyarwanda is required.
- Rwandese or having a residence in Rwanda with valid work permit
FAO Core Competencies
- Results Focus
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Building Effective Relationships
- Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
- Knowledge and understanding of agriculture financing systems
- Solid understanding of agribusiness and stakeholder engagement particularly youth and women
- Analytical skills and ability to write clear and concise content in English and Kinyarwanda
- Ability to work with limited supervision
- Excellent time management skills
Selection Criteria
- Academic background (30%)
- Work Experience (30%)
- Technical skills (40%)