Technical Advisor for Access to Finance in the Agriculture Sector

Brief and attractive description of the project/unit

Technical Advisor for Access to Finance in the Agriculture Sector

The project Strengthening Rural Value Chains (SRVC) in Ethiopia is a bilateral project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by GIZ in collaboration with the ministry of Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia. This three-year project (2025-2027) builds on and expands the preceding project SRVC (2021-2024).

The SRVC II project is a comprehensive agricultural value chain development (VCD) project, aiming to strengthen private sector development, supply chain management, post-harvest management. It works with various public and private partners, including agricultural input and service providers, agricultural producers and processors as well as business associations. In addition, the project aims to support public sector partners with agricultural policy development and inter-sectoral coordination for Ethiopia’s agricultural sector to fulfill its potential to contribute to national food security, economic development and employment. Therefore, increasing productivity, resilience, product quality, as well as access to national and international markets are key objectives.

The project is structured into three integrated components focusing on oilseeds, horticulture and coffee. The latter will be financed by the European Union, to be implemented jointly with Spain and Italy within a Multi-Partner Contribution Agreement (MPCA). This will focus on coffee VCD and EUDR compliance, aiming for Ethiopian coffee producers and exporters to reach EU markets. For the horticulture component the project has received additional funds from the Gates Foundation to support horticulture value chain development in the Arba Minch-Addis Ababa corridor, was well as in Kenya and Uganda. This will be implemented in close collaboration with the Ethiopian Horticulture Association EHPEA and partly through the promotion of contract farming in the corridor.

This position is located within the component Services to Value Chains, as the topic of Access to finance is a cross-cutting issue for all value chains and integral to private sector development in Ethiopia. This position is initially limited until 12-2027 but can be extended until mid-2029 or beyond

Contract Duration: 31/12/2027

A. Responsibilities:

• General strategic advisory on access to finance for the agricultural sector
• Analysis of the current situation in the project intervention areas and support for development of tailor-made relevant financial services for small-holder farmers, MSMEs and agricultural cooperatives
• Financial literacy training for the above-mentioned stakeholder groups
• Strategic engagement modalities and mobilization of relevant financial institutions including commercial banks, micro finance institutes, saving and credit organizations to facilitate meaningful partnerships that meet financial needs and specific requirements of the agricultural sector but also on opportunities and offers for the sector
• Cooperation with the Practice Competitiveness and Access to Finance on cluster level to coordinate relevant interventions of improving competitiveness and access to finance for the agri sector

B. Duties:

SRVC II Project Level

• Provide strategic advisory for the program on access to finance for the agricultural sector
• Draft ToR for analysis and studies in the field of access to finance for agricultural stakeholders
• Evaluate the current situation in terms of service and product offers, accessibility and availability for small-holder farmers, MSMEs and cooperatives in the agriculture sector
• Support financial institutions in the development and implementation of innovative financial products to enhance access to finance for the agri sector, including piloting of financial products, scaling successful models, and evaluating outcomes
• Steering engagements with relevant stakeholders in the financial sector to promote access to finance for small-holder farmers, MSMEs and agricultural cooperatives
• Support the development and coordinate the organization of financial literacy training for the different target groups of the project
• Support and organize awareness raising sessions for managers and decision makers from the financial sector

Economic Transformation Cluster Level

• Become an active member of the “Competitiveness and A2F” team of experts.
  • Knowledge sharing and management
  • Develop joint initiatives and support their implementations
  • Develop portfolio wide tools and concepts on A2F and Competitiveness
  • Provide technical assistance on agricultural finance topics
• Participate in regular meetings and topic related activities
• Advise colleagues from other projects in the sense of A2F

C. Other Duties/Additional Tasks

• Participate in exchange formats on A2F related topics
• Perform other topic related duties and tasks as required by the project managers

Qualifications

• Master degree in agricultural economics, agribusiness, value chain finance, development studies, financial management, economics or related fields.

Professional experience

• More than 5 years’ professional experience, with at least 3 years’ professional experience in Access to Finance in the agriculture sector.
• university studies abroad or 3 years” work experience abroad or 3 years” work experience in Ethiopia with international organizations, institutions or companies
• Good knowledge of the micro-finance, finance and credit sector in Ethiopia

Other knowledge, additional competencies

• Excellent computer skills especially MS Office applications (MS Teams, outlook, word, excel, PowerPoint)
• Fluent written and oral knowledge of English and Amharic
• Willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed
• Ability of strong planning, analytical and conceptual skills
• Team player, flexible and ability to work under multi-cultural working setting