SNV is a not-for-profit international development organization that applies practical know-how to make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty. We use our extensive and long-term in-country presence to apply and adapt our top-notch expertise in agriculture, energy, and WASH to local contexts. SNV has an annual turnover of €130 million, over 1,250 staff in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organization that uses project financing to implement our mission. This requires us to work efficiently and to invest in operational excellence.

In its current Strategic Plan period (2019 – 2022), SNV will more explicitly aim for systems change during project preparation and implementation - by strengthening institutions and kick-starting markets that help many more to escape poverty beyond our projects. We will continue to position ourselves as a premium organization, with decentralized management.

For more information on our operations in Kenya and SNV generally visit our website: www.snv.org

SNV Investing in Agriculture, Agribusiness and Value Chains

SNV recognises the urgent need to increase productivity and the income of smallholders while reducing their vulnerability to climate change and lowering overall emissions from farming systems. Given the potentially far-reaching impacts of climate change and the enormity of the challenge, such changes need to happen at scale. Climate change disproportionately affects smallholder farmers as their livelihood is linked to climate-sensitive natural resources. The agricultural sector, from production to processing, input and trade, can provide meaningful employment to many while making use of young people’s innovative capabilities.

According to a World Food Program report (2020) one third (33%) of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, equivalent to 1.3 billion tons. Post-harvest food loss is a leading cause of food insecurity for millions of families across the world. Annual post-harvest food losses are as high as 30% of the total produce in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of this loss, 28% occurs at the producer level and 22% during the post-harvest handling and storage. Food losses predominantly occur between the production and distribution stages of food supply chains (FAO, 2017). For Kenya, the Ministry for Agriculture estimates high post-harvest losses of 20–30% for cereals and 40-60% in fruits and vegetables (2018). Food gets spoilt due to various reasons and often interrelated causes such as untimely harvesting, poor practices and techniques, insufficient value chain infrastructures and limited access to markets. Inadequacy of processing facilities, inappropriate packaging and handling, transportation limitations and poor logistics, along with knowledge gaps, are also important underlying causes of post-harvest losses. In rural areas, food losses are often connected to insufficient access to reliable energy infrastructure and technologies, particularly for value-adding activities such as processing and cooling.

SokoFresh Target Market

Kenya is significantly behind on developing its cold chain

Cold storage has a very low adoption rate in Kenya, especially for a country so dependent on agriculture. For comparison, in 2016 the Refrigerated Warehouse Capacity per urban citizen in Kenya was 0,002 m3, compared to 0,958 m3 in the Netherlands. For Kenya to get the level of the Netherlands would require over $120 billion of investments in cold storage capacity. The services of SokoFresh have the highest value for horticulture products for export markets. Considering the demand, seasonality, and cooling requirements, we have started within the value chains of avocados, mangoes, and French beans.

About The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD)

SNV is a member of the €160 million Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) (www.thedfcd.com), a Netherlands-based consortium (led by FMO, Dutch development bank). DFCD objectives are to (i) provide finance and Technical Assistance (TA) to projects with a focus on climate change adaptation; (ii) mobilise external private sector funding at scale; and (iii) align directly with DFCD Theory of Change (ToC).

The DFCD allows for investments in projects aimed at climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. SNV, as part of the DFCD Origination Facility, will identify and develop, together with local companies and stakeholders, bankable business case propositions, which can subsequently be picked up by the DFCD Investment Facilities (Water and Land-use) for further development, matchmaking, and investment. The DFCD presents an important additional instrument for the Dutch government’s efforts in contributing to the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About SokoFresh Agri Innovations East Africa Ltd.

SokoFresh Agri Innovations East Africa Ltd is 100% owned subsidiary of Enviu Venture Lab BV which in turn is wholly owned by Enviu Holding BV whose main objective is to invest in other businesses and provide management services where required. Enviu has 17 years of experience in launching over 20 social ventures for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) and smallholder farmers in developing countries.

SokoFresh integrates cold storage, market linkage and value-add processing activities into smallholder farmer value chains. SokoFresh provides smallholder farmers (SHF) in Kenya with access to markets and cold storage infrastructure to eliminate food loss, increase income, adapt to climate change, and so build resilience. Through its services, SokoFresh can reduce loss to less than 10%, and drastically increase the income of smallholder farmers. At the centre of its operations, it is providing off-grid cold storage at the farm level. Furthermore, SokoFresh empowers producers by linking them to buyers directly to provide better prices, and it works on the integration of near-field processing to ensure a profitable destination for 2nd grade produce.

Objective of the Consultancy

SokoFresh Agri Innovations East Africa Ltd. seeks the services of an independent monitoring and evaluation consultant (“a Consultant”) to setup M&E protocol and impact framework for SokoFresh and facilitate integration of the protocols and impact framework into the SokoFresh Odoo ERP system. This will enable the company to meaningfully measure the impact of the work that it does and also fulfil DFCD requirements to progress from the currently ongoing Origination Facility to the Land Use Facility.

The following Terms of References are applicable to the execution of the requested services.

1.     Description of the Project

SokoFresh provides first-mile cold storage solutions to smallholder value chains including fresh produce aggregation, transportation, and linkages to end markets with competitive prices for farmers. SokoFresh cooling-as-a-service operates in the following fruit and vegetable value chains; mango, avocado, banana, and French beans in Murang’a, Kitui and Makueni counties of Kenya.

SokoFresh’s progression to the Land Use facility for debt financing of the DFCD will be informed significantly by concrete actions in setting up an M&E protocol in its journey towards being investment ready. A systematic approach to M&E and Impact measurement needs to be formulated, capturing impact, business and operational KPIs. This will need to be combined with a monitoring format, compatible with SokoFresh’ current ERP system, as well as guidelines on how to capture the data and guidelines on the use of the data in SokoFresh’ business strategy.

A desktop preliminary assessment of SokoFresh’s current impact framework, current business and operational KPIs and procedures of tracking impact based on its business model. Prepare / build a theory of change (ToC) for SokoFresh’s business, a framework to monitor SokoFresh products and services to ensure each is creating short and long-term impact and a structured Internal and External reporting framework on impact and usage of data in service improvement cycles

The output of the overall consultancy should be practical for SokoFresh to implement, with datapoints being captured in a LEAN way in SokoFresh’ already existing data sources and touchpoints with customers.

2.     Objective

The requested services are to support SokoFresh Agri Innovations East Africa Ltd. in the graduation from the origination facility and progress to the Land Use Debt Facility. DFCD’s Monitoring and Evaluation due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the below described reference framework(s).

3.     Reference Framework

The reference framework(s) for the Monitoring and evaluation protocol will be (non-exhaustive list):

• Global Reporting Initiative, United Nations Global Compact and SoPact
• Standardized frameworks for capturing impact in the different thematic areas aligned with Rio markers. E.g. GIIN / IRIS+, EVPA, Sustainable Food Lab, WRI, WUR, etc.

4.     Team

The assignment must be carried out by a suitably qualified and certified independent monitoring and evaluation expert, with appropriate background and experience working with social enterprises in the sector and region.

5.     Scope of Work and Tasks

The scope of work comprises the independent assessment of all material on monitoring and evaluation aspects of the project, within the framework(s) stipulated in Section [3].

Specifically, this work will entail:

1. Review processes, procedures, and the institutional capacity of SokoFresh’s monitoring and evaluation strategy (impact, business, operational) and benchmark them against the Reference Frameworks, determine gaps and additional need

2. Develop an impact measurement and monitoring and evaluation framework;

• Develop Impact Framework
• Develop a ToC for SokoFresh describing how their interventions are achieving the desired impacts.
• Align the Impact framework to SokoFresh ESG framework

3. Perform a site visit to assess the implementation of SokoFresh’s current monitoring and evaluation and data collection methods, existing touchpoints with customers to identify gaps and needs.

4. Based on findings and research, update the existing Impact Framework (where needed), and develop a comprehensive data collection approach and implementation guide.

5. Jointly with the Odoo software consultant, develop a plan on aligning the framework datapoints to be conveniently captured within the ERP system of SokoFresh (Odoo), allowing for automatic report generation.

6. Conduct training for SokoFresh staff to introduce the Impact Framework and M&E Protocol and instruct how to use it.

7.Develop a comprehensive and practical impact framework and M&E protocols to monitor and assess SokoFresh’s impact, as well as operational and business performance

The assignment will comprise five tasks:

A.       Kick-off Meeting:
The Consultant will organise a kick-off meeting involving SokoFresh and Enviu, to align on project timeline, schedule, deliverables, and goals.

B.       M&E Documentation Review:

The consultant will review the Impact measurement and M&E documents and KPI’s currently in use and being tracked by SokoFresh in consultation with the project team.

C.       Site Visit and Consultations: 
The Consultant will undertake an on-ground survey of SokoFresh operations by conducting a site visit that will include field surveys, speaking to smallholder farmers already working with SokoFresh to collect insights on the M&E activities that are currently implemented. This will include (but will not be limited to) staff consultations on the effectiveness of capturing and inputting data, difficulties encountered and potential improvements.

D.      Assessment of the Company’s capacity and track record:
The consultant will review SokoFresh’s ability to consistently track its KPIs, and monitor and evaluate impact, focusing on the internal processes, practices, capacity, and accountabilities that underpin the successful assessment and management of M&E.

E.       Preparation of the deliverables (see Section [6]):

The Consultant will prepare the deliverables as described below.

6.     Reporting and Deliverables

The Consultant will provide:

    i.            Preliminary Summary of Principal Findings – shortly after the conclusion of the site visit, the Consultant will provide a concise back-to-office report focusing on principal findings and identified risks, impacts, and opportunities. A meeting/conference call will be scheduled between SokoFresh, Enviu and the Consultant to discuss the principal findings and the timeline for the preparation of the ESDD report; and

   ii.            Impact measurement and Monitoring and Evaluation Protocols – the Consultant will provide a detailed report fully reflecting the scope of work.  Where monitoring and evaluation gaps will be observed in SokoFresh operations, the consultant will prepare M&E protocols and based on the review of the current M&E approach, develop a monitoring format and guidelines to use in monitoring progress and develop an M&E implementation plan, guidelines, and other tools.

 iii.            Training Session for SokoFresh (field) staff – the Consultant will provide a training session to implement and action the M&E protocol, focusing on the proper capturing and inputting of data needed for tracking the KPIs

 iv.            ERP integration of impact tracking for M&E– the Consultant will provide insights on the data to be captured towards tracking the impact, business and operational KPIs in SokoFresh’s ERP dashboard, in consultation with the technical consultants.

   v.            Theory of Change for SokoFresh– the Consultant will provide a theory of change for SokoFresh’s operations, business and impact tracking.

 vi.            Impact Framework – the consultant will provide a well-documented impact framework.

The proposal for the M&E protocols should contain the sections listed below:

Scope of Work: 
The scope of work should include a description of the specific activities that will be performed to accomplish the required tasks identified in Section 5.  This should include any proposed site visits/reconnaissance, documents to be reviewed, interviews, etc.  If the Consultant feels that additional tasks or components within a required task are suggested or warranted, these should be stated and delineated as “Optional Tasks”.

Project team and qualifications: 
This should include the name of the principal staff members and any sub-contractors and a brief description of their role within the project team. Qualifications of staff should include relevant technical capabilities, specific previous project experience similar to this Project, specific in-country experience and knowledge, and specific language skills.

Budget and Payment Schedule:

The total cost of the contract should include all fees, travel and logistic expenses, and applicable taxes. Payments will be made to the Consultant based on satisfactory completion of milestones, e.g. (to be confirmed at the contract negotiation stage):

• Payment 1: 10% on contract signing

• Payment 2: 40% on completion of first set of activities/deliverables (e.g., Preliminary findings and TOC)

• Payment 3: 50% on completion of final deliverables (i.e., training delivery, protocol, ERP advise report)

How to Apply: 

If you believe that your credentials meet the outlined profile, we invite you to apply by uploading your expression of interest (proposal) through the "I'm Interested" tab on this page on or  before August 10, 2022.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted. 

NB:

Only applications that meet the above criteria will be considered.

We do not appreciate third-party mediation based on this advertisement.

Applicants are not required to undertake any medical checks before selection or pay any money at any stage of the recruitment process.