Result of Service

The overall assignment should be delivered within 10 months following the contract signature. 1. Output 1: Submit the needs assessment report and detailed workplan by 15 July 2024. 2. Output 2: Develop a training material and other relevant content such as present slides, workbooks and related templates by 30 July 2024. 3. Output 3: Conduct at least 4 onsite group training for the 80 youth (who will be divided into 4 cohorts) by August 2024. 4. Output 4: Develop a prototype model business plan and financial modelling for selected youth on setting up their agri-SMEs and accessing finance from financial and non-financial institutions by September 2024. 5. Output 5: Provide post-training coaching, technical advisory and hand-holding support to participants ongoing until March 2025. 6. Output 6: Conduct quarterly reflection and evaluation initiatives with all 4 cohorts on the link between the activities and the benefits/results. This should include information on what changes the beneficiaries have and would be incorporating into their business processes as a result of advisory on this activity. The service provider is expected to document the outcome of these engagements by September and December 2024. 7. Output 7: Conduct interview and psychometric testing of youth participants which should lead to screening and shortlisting of youth participants to set up business and apply for the Youth Revolving Fund by November 2024. The revolving fund will be set up ITC’s partner, Fairtrade Africa (FTA) based in Ghana. 8. Output 8: Revenue growth rate: collect data on the financial performance and sustainability of supported Youth-led Agri-SMEs. This includes the increase in total revenues generated by the Youth-led Agri-SMEs with a quarterly report ongoing until March 2025. 9. Output 9: Assess the profitability of the Youth-led Agri-SMEs by tracking key financial indicators such as gross profit margin, net profit margin, return on investment to determine their financial sustainability and efficiency, by sending quarterly reporting ongoing until March 2025. 10. Output 10: Access to financing and investment: capture data on the access to finance and investment received by Agri-SMEs. This includes tracking the amount of capital invested, loans obtained, grants secured, or any other financial resources acquired to support revenue growth ongoing until March 2025. 12. Output 11: provide a comprehensive report, document the successful businesses created and maintained, changes and improvements made by the youths, employment created, sales made and access to finance facilitated thanks to ITC’s support on this activity by April 2025.

Work Location

Home-Based in Ghana, with possibility of local travel

Expected duration

01.07.2024 – 30.04.2025 (70 workdays)

Duties and Responsibilities

BACKGROUND: The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization for trade-related technical cooperation in developing countries. The Green and Inclusive Value Chains (GIVC) section is responsible for developing and disseminating sector-level expertise for sustainable market-driven solutions in ITC, including the Alliances for Action (A4A) methodology. A4A is a participatory partnership model that engages smallholder farmers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to manage risk and facilitate networks that provide the required technical expertise and capacity building. Netherlands Trust Fund V: The Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF V) programme’s ambition is to contribute to rebuilding back better in the targeted countries with a focus on MSMEs in the digital technologies and agribusiness sectors, linking up both for synergies and business opportunities. The programme covers both sectors in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Senegal, as well as a multi-country approach aimed at the digital technologies sector in Ivory Coast, Benin, Mali, and Uganda. Through the project, ITC aims to promote more efficient and sustainable agribusiness and support services that will lead to increased trade, better incomes, and livelihood opportunities, especially for smallholder cocoa farmers. In NTF V Agribusiness, activities will focus on identifying resilient and sustainable business and production models, strengthening public-private alliances and support ecosystems, and building capacity for value chain operations in areas such as market development, climate-smart operations, value addition, quality, access to finance, digitalization and developing investment strategies to ensure leveraging of investment. As part of this programme, the ITC inclusive agribusiness team (A4A) is implementing value chain development projects in Ethiopia (coffee and associated crops), Ghana (cocoa and associated crops) and Senegal (cashew nuts and associated crops) with the objective of improving the competitiveness of farmers and agribusiness MSMEs in these sectors with a focus on digitalization. The projects will deliver under the below 4 outputs: ● Output 1: Resilient and sustainable business and production models are identified and understood; ● Output 2: Public-Private alliances and support ecosystems are strengthened; ● Output 3: VC operator capabilities for more competitive and resilient commercialization and production are built; ● Output 4: SMEs, SEs and Producers Associations are exposed to and matched with potential partners, business, and investment opportunities. Ghana Sankofa Alliances for Action Project: The Sankofa Project is a multi-stakeholder project that aims to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Through the establishment of alliances between local and international partners, the project is implementing re-afforestation activities with cocoa farmers, belonging to the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union (KKFU), through the development of an agroforestry system referred to as Dynamic Agroforestry (DAF). It is aimed at implementing agroforestry, climate-smart agriculture, and diversification of crops. The project is expected to result in improved cocoa yields, biodiversity, market linkages, better trade, and higher farmer incomes. The Project also sets out to improve the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of stakeholders in the cocoa and associated crop value chains. It is expected to extend to other crops and cropping systems as appropriate to contexts. The Project is currently located in the Ahafo Region with plans to extend into Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Western, Western North and Central Regions. Rural youth account for a very large proportion of the population living in poverty, and young people represent the main driver of rural economies of developing countries. These youth have the potential to provide support services in the cocoa sector. Empowering young people to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic and sustainable development of their communities is key to the implementation of the project. Eligible youth entrepreneurs are empowered through training, technical support, coaching and mentorship as they develop and implement their business models. One key area of support under the project is promoting business development and entrepreneurship through capacity building for youth operating in the cocoa sector in Ghana. In this regard, the project seeks to train and coach 80 selected youth in starting businesses along the cocoa value chain. The selected youth will be equipped with training, technical support, coaching and mentorship as they develop and implement their business models. This approach has the simultaneous advantage of providing services to cocoa farmers ensuring the sustainability of the project and improving the livelihood of the youth in cocoa-growing communities. Purpose and objective: ITC is looking for a National Consultant with background in delivering capacity-building to provide comprehensive training and coaching on business development and financial literacy for 80 youth operating in cocoa sectors in selected regions in Ghana. The overarching objective of this assignment is to enhance the entrepreneurship mindset and business development & management skills of the Youth workers using a holistic approach that combines market-relevant skills training, coaching, mentorship, and access to financial services to help young people transition out of poverty and into sustainable livelihoods. Through this capacity building it is expected that the Youth workers will form sustainable agri-businesses that service the needs of the smallholder cocoa farmers thus enabling them to enhance productivity to produce more and better-quality cocoa, with the options to add value to their produce thereby improving their livelihoods. Target Group: The beneficiaries of this activity are 80 youth workers in the cocoa sector who are supporting smallholder farmer members of Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited (KKFU), a Fairtrade Certified Cooperative. They are from 4 of KKFU's 57 primary societies namely, Goaso, Sankore, Bibiani and Kasapin in the Western North and Ahafo Regions of Ghana. DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: The Consultant will work under overall guidance of the Project Manager and direct supervision of the Associate Programme Officer and project team in Ghana. The Consultant will be responsible for the following activities and delivery of the outputs as set out below: 1. Conduct a needs assessment with selected youth to understand their experience, needs and business ideas/ambitions for the cocoa sector and the agribusiness at large. 2. Based on the needs assessment, develop comprehensive training and coaching materials for the programme, reflecting the needs and feedback of the beneficiaries. The consultant to review ITC’s existing resources developed by the youth and trade team and adapt as appropriate. 3. Conduct in-depth group training on business development & management to equip them with practical tools and skills to boost their potential to start their Youth-led agri-SMEs. 4. Develop the capacity of Youth-led agri-SMEs to access finance and improve their investment readiness and attractiveness to existing sources of capital such as commercial banks, impact funds, private lenders and/or DFIs. 5. Provide access to finance support which includes direct matchmaking with financers, inclusion in referral networks, improving financial literacy, improving creditworthiness, risk assessment/perception, and preparing themselves to absorb financing. 6. Promote climate-resilient agricultural practices and strengthen the resilience of Youth-led agri-SMEs to the impacts of climate change. This includes amongst other things, developing a climate-resilient business action plan for Youth-led agri-SMEs to provide on-farm services in line with the Sankofa project’s aim of promoting sustainable land management, improving water management and more generally enhance their climate adaptation and mitigation capabilities. The pool of selected Youth MUST form agri-SMEs to roll-out dynamic agroforestry interventions in the development and rehabilitation of farms in the project landscape. 7. Foster long-term practice of ongoing mentoring and coaching to Youth-led Agri-SMEs to support their growth and development. The service provider should aim to be dynamic in its delivery, promoting both individual support and group/peer-to-peer learning to benefit from the advantages of group learning, and develop long-lasting connections with other market actors and SMEs. 8. Promote the growth of an inclusive network of key stakeholders, that fosters continuous peer-to-peer learning, information exchange and inter-firm relationship building, the use of digital & e-learning tools and general digital literacy for business growth. 9. Identify and enhance the potential for increased income through value-added products and the steps involved in the production process for the youth whilst exploring opportunities for value addition, such as processing cocoa into other commercially viable products. 10. Teach the youth how to set up user-friendly monitoring and evaluation systems to track the progress of their businesses whilst discussing the importance of continuous improvement and adaptation based on feedback and results. 11. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting by closely monitor the progress of activities, provide quarterly reporting to ITC on the number of youth trained, good practices, and changes and improvements made by the youths, highlighting the success stories, challenges etc. At the end of the contract, provide a comprehensive report, document the successful businesses created, access to finance facilitated and recommendations for further support required. Copyright Clause: The Consultant has to ensure that s/he has obtained the necessary permissions with regard to intellectual property rights required to perform his/her services under this consultancy contract and for the subsequent dissemination by ITC in any form. Documentary proof is to be submitted to ITC. Should any license fee be due for the use of copyrighted materials of third parties, the Consultant shall request prior written permission from ITC. S/he has further to ensure to obtain accreditation to event(s), if required. ITC champions workforce diversity, inclusion, gender equality and gender parity and considers all qualified persons - of all genders - equally, including those with disabilities, without discrimination or prejudice of any kind.

Qualifications/special skills

Master’s degree in business administration, international development or relevant fields are preferred. Extensive relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the university degree. Minimum of 7 years in business development services in Ghana. Willingness to travel and have operational capability to coordinate project activities in the regions including field visits, and other logistics required. Direct experience in developing business support services for agribusiness and agricultural cooperatives in the cocoa sector. Proven track record in delivering capacity-building activities, programmes or projects for international donors and multilateral organisations or other agencies. Established networks/partnerships with relevant stakeholders, including SME financing providers, BSOs, mentors, successful entrepreneurs, farmer cooperatives, MSMEs, BSOs and development partners operating in value-chain development and SME development in Ghana. Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and written communication skills Knowledge of how local public and private institution’s function and contribute to the growth of SMEs and the development of the local agriculture sector. Presence/experience in one of these regions to facilitate the implementation of the activities without affecting the quality. Direct experience in offering services in agribusiness business development targeting young people and vulnerable groups, demonstrated with the number of projects and or programs developed/implemented. Proven track record of provision of practical group training, workshops, handholding support and technical advisory to youth-led agri-SMEs that includes both remote/digital and in-person options, with provisions made for digital tracking of Youth-led agri-SME performance of the business development support, with constant feedback loops to include participating FI’s. Please provide client references and or case studies. Experience designing sustainability models of how to impactfully enhance the investment readiness of youth led Agri SMEs to ensure long-term growth into the project design and implementation.

Languages

Advanced English is required. Knowledge of local languages within the assignment operational regions in Ghana is required.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.