Aceli Africa is a market-enabling facility to mobilize over $700M in private sector lending for agricultural SMEs in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania by 2025. To achieve this goal, Aceli Africa will provide financial incentives to increase the risk appetite of 20+ financial institutions (both global and local) to make loans ranging from USD $25K-$1.5M to inclusive agricultural SMEs while also facilitating technical assistance to expand the ability of high-potential SMEs to qualify for and manage financing.

Financial incentives have been designed based on a dataset that Aceli Africa gathered and analyzed in collaboration with Dalberg Advisors. This data incorporates loan-level and portfolio-level profitability for agricultural SME lending from 28 financial institutions, including commercial banks, local non-bank financial institutions, and global social lenders, and covers 8,000+ transactions totaling $3B+.

With support from leading bilateral and philanthropic funders, including DFID, IKEA Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, Omidyar Network, and USAID, Aceli Africa has now transitioned from the design stage and is set to launch in July 2020. Aceli Africa is an initiative of the Global Development Incubator (GDI), a nonprofit incubator of social impact initiatives based in the United States with an affiliated entity based in Kenya.

The role holder will be a core member of Aceli Africa’s dynamic and growing team and will be responsible for representing Aceli in Rwanda. The incumbent must possess a deep understanding of the agricultural finance market in Rwanda and be adept at engaging a range of stakeholders from commercial banks and other lenders serving agricultural SMEs, to technical assistance providers, data and learning partners, government officials, and donors. The role will be a contractor position with GDI, Inc., based in the U.S.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as Aceli Africa’s representative in Rwanda to position the initiative as a catalyst for increased private sector lending to advance development impact in the agri-food sector

• Cultivate prospective new lending partners and engage Aceli Africa’s existing partner lending institutions in Rwanda to facilitate their adoption of Aceli’s financial incentives and increased lending to inclusive agricultural SMEs

• Ensure that lenders understand the financial incentive qualifying criteria and reporting requirements and that key stakeholders within the partner lending institutions are engaged in the program

• Identify capacity building needs related to tailoring lenders’ product offering to agricultural SMEs and/or conducting appropriate due diligence on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices

• Cultivate and manage relationships with technical assistance providers specializing in services for agricultural SMEs as part of Aceli’s approach to expanding addressable demand for credit

• Manage relationships with key ecosystem actors (e.g., Access to Finance Rwanda, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Improving Market Systems for Agriculture in Rwanda, Nguriza Nshore) relevant government agencies (e.g., Business Development Fund, Rwanda Development Bank), and donors supporting Aceli or otherwise involved in the agriculture sector

• Liaise with Aceli’s data and learning partners (Dalberg Advisors, International Growth Centre, and MIX) to support data collection and evaluation studies

• Contribute to the design of the Aceli Innovation Facility and, once it is active, build pipeline and manage relationships with enterprises and programs that receive Innovation Facility investments

• Practice the highest degree of professionalism and integrity to build Aceli Africa’s excellent reputation in Rwanda 

• Collaborate with Aceli team members at the regional and global levels to ensure that all of the above responsibilities are well-coordinated with Aceli’s strategic priorities and operating processes

• Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in business administration, economics, agriculture, or related field

• Minimum of 10 years professional experience in East Africa with at least 5 years in Rwanda;

• Keen understanding of the agricultural finance market in Rwanda, including leading lenders, value chains, and industry dynamics;

• Strategic thinker who is adept at connecting big picture objectives with an action orientation 

• Excellent communication and relationship management skills;

• Ability to work independently and collaborate with a multi-country team in a rapidly evolving environment;

• Professional with a demonstrated record of the highest integrity and ethical conduct; and

• Passion for applying financial and business acumen to have a positive impact on farmer livelihoods, food security, and economic development in East Africa.

Global Development Incubator is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Rwandan nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

If you believe you can clearly demonstrate your abilities to meet the relevant criteria for the role, please submit your application quoting in the subject line the Job Title “Country Representative, Rwanda”, and attach your detailed CV, cover letter stating your interest in and qualifications for the position, e-mail address and telephone contacts. To be considered, your application must be received by Friday, May 1st, 2020.

Background: Over the past year, the Global Development Incubator (GDI) and the Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF) have teamed up to develop Aceli Africa, a market-based platform that aims to address constraints on both the capital supply and demand sides and mobilize over $700M in private sector lending for agricultural SME lending in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda by 2025. To achieve this goal, Aceli Africa will provide financial incentives to increase the risk appetite of 20+ financial institutions (both global and local) while also facilitating technical assistance to expand the ability of high-potential SMEs to qualify for and manage financing.

Financial incentives have been designed based on a dataset that Aceli Africa gathered and analyzed in collaboration with Dalberg Advisors. This data incorporates loan-level and portfolio-level profitability for agricultural SME lending from 28 financial institutions, including commercial banks, local non-bank financial institutions, and global social lenders, and covers 8,000+ transactions totaling $3B+.

With support from leading bilateral and philanthropic funders, including DFID, IKEA Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, Small Foundation, and USAID, Aceli Africa has now transitioned from the design stage and is set to launch in July 2020.