FARMER-TO-FARMER PROGRAM
STATEMENT OF WORK: Livestock Lending Product Development
Position: Pro Bono Expert Advisor (s)
Reports to: IESC Program Manager
Location: Cairo, Aswan, Alexandria, and Behira, Egypt
Level of Effort: 16 days
Proposed Start Date: March 2015
GENERAL OBJECTIVE:
About the International Executive Service Corps (IESC)
Throughout
its fifty-year history, the International Executive Service Corps
(IESC) has stayed faithful to our mission of linking stability and
prosperity to private enterprise. We have brought practical,
cutting-edge production and marketing expertise to small entrepreneurial
clothing and consumer product firms, developed merchandising strategies
for start-up consumer product firms in Former Soviet Union countries,
helped private enterprises integrate new technologies and helped
commodity suppliers in Africa reach international markets they never
expected to access. We have set up stock markets in emerging countries
and helped arrange investment capital opportunities for non-U.S.
businesses venturing into new areas of opportunity.
IESC is a
non-for-profit organization and, at its core, IESC is volunteer-centered
organization. Our history began with the idea of deploying senior U.S.
executives to situations where their decades of practical, hands-on
operational expertise would work to complement the local expertise and
experience of in-country managers.
FARMER-TO-FARMER PROGRAM BACKGROUND:
The
Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program is designed to enhance agricultural
competitiveness in the MENA region and to ensure reliable and consistent
national food supplies. To help improve agricultural competiveness in
the MENA region, the F2F Program seeks to increase access to rural
finance by:
1) enhancing access to finance for infrastructure upgrades essential to improve quality assurance; and
2) supporting financial institutions to better serve farm enterprises that seek to implement quality assurance protocols.
DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES:
In
response to a request from two the micro-finance institutions,
Alexandria Businessmen Association (ABA), and First Micro Finance
Foundation (FMFF) of Agha Khan Foundation, the Farmer to Farmer Program
is fielding up to 2 agricultural lending or micro finance volunteer
experts to help in formulating tailored lending programs for livestock
producers.
Livestock is one of the main economic agribusiness
activities in Egypt. Statistics for 2011 showed that the population of
dairy cattle reached 8.76 million head, producing about 5.7 million tons
of milk. ABA is keen to respond positively to the financial needs for
livestock producers with a tailored financial product, therefore, both
organizations are currently considering the establishment of a lending
program for livestock activities that relies on a partnership model.
The
objective of these two 14 day assignments is to design a tailored
lending program for livestock producers based on market research to be
conducted by a Farmer to Farmer volunteer in January, 2015.
Each volunteer will complete the following activities in-country:
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Attend assignment briefing meetings at the F2F Program office in 6 October city, Cairo.
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Meet with representatives from one of the two lenders – ABA and FMFF.
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Analyze and discuss data collected by ABA and or FMFF.
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Formulate a lending program concept for livestock activities.
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Conduct a pre-testing of the suitability of the proposed concept and modify it accordingly.
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Visit other potential partners/players to ensure the success of this
program, such as veterinarians, insurance providers, etc.
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Create a pilot test plan to 1-2 branches for the new loan for FMFF and ABA to follow up.
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Attend a debriefing session with reps for ABA or FMFF to share with them final observations and recommendations.
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Attend a debriefing session with F2F Country Director and staff
members to report feedback and discuss the suggested follow-up plans on
the recommendations, as well as capture impact.
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Submit a final report summarizing observations, findings and recommendations.
Deliverables:
Project final report, submitted to the F2F
Program that includes research findings, general observations and
recommendations for the establishment of lending programs for targeted
livestock producers per each host.
The volunteer is encouraged to
bring any media or training materials such as manuals, journals,
literature, video tapes, DVDs or CD-ROMs that will serve as good
resource materials for training and for the library of the host
organizations and the Farmer to Farmer program.
QUALIFICATIONS:
-
U.S. Citizen or U.S. permanent resident (as required by the Farmer to Farmer Program).
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A minimum of 15 years of experience in Banking or Microfinance with an emphasis in Agricultural Lending.
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Regional experience in MENA highly desired.
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Background in livestock activities especially dairy farming is a plus.
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Writing Skills: Reporting requires good computer skills including,
but not limited to, working and generating reports with MS Word.
Experience with graphic design and/or creating PowerPoint presentations
is desirable.
-
This is a United States government funded program. Therefore, for
the purpose of achieving desired results in accordance with the work
plan and submitting requisite reports, written and spoken fluency in
English is required. Ability to work through translators in the field,
however, is essential. This requires deliberation and sensitivity to
cultural issues in communication.
-
Arabic and/or French language skills a plus, but not required.
PRO BONO EXPERT SUPPORT:
IESC provides
comprehensive support to pro bono experts before, during, and after the
anticipated assignment. Support to include:
-
All travel and logistics arrangements and costs to be provided by
IESC including airfare, visas, medical examination, medevac and
emergency travel insurance, and transit expenses;
-
Project management and oversight from the country office and the home office in Washington, DC;
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All accommodation, transport, meals, and incidental expenses throughout the duration of the assignment in country;
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Translation and communications support;
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Follow up and administrative support for the production and
dissemination of the final report and deliverables for the project.
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