Scope of Work: Credit Consultant Location: Uganda
BACKGROUND
Relief International is in the second year of a 4 year pilot project to increase the use of domestic rainwater harvesting by poor households in rural Uganda in order to improve the quality and quantity of water available at the household and to reduce the drudgery of fetching water. The primary objective of the Domestic Rainwater Harvesting Pilot is to demonstrate that the private sector can increase the use of rainwater in rural households and that rainwater can be used as an improved drinking water source. The project is based upon the commercial introduction of a low cost easily transportable storage product “BoB” and a social marketing promotional campaign that combines product promotion with education on the best practices for rainwater collection and storage.
Product promotion has been occurring since March 2011. The product is completely new and radically different from competing options. The product provides a good value proposition in that it provides 7 times the volume of storage for twice the price of the nearest competitor. However, the current retail price is equivalent to about a month of wages for an agricultural laborer in Uganda. The donor wants to target clients from poor rural households, although RI is also considering market opportunities beyond this segment.
In most cases the purchase of the rainwater bag, BoB, will not result in direct cash savings to the family. There will be additional time available that could potentially be used for other income generating activities and there is some anecdotal evidence that this has occurred. There are also potential health benefits that could increase time available for income generating work. In the cases where water is being purchased there would be direct cost savings as well as the potential to develop a business around the collection and sale of rainwater.
The goal of the project is to improve the living conditions for the target households, including their health and economic wellbeing. It will be important to ensure that any credit program is affordable, as the target consumers are price sensitive.
CONSULTANT
The consultant should have experience in designing credit programs for rural areas, ideally in Uganda and related to product sales if possible (e.g. hire purchase or micro-leasing schemes). Experience with bottom of pyramid marketing would also be helpful. The consultant should consider options to provide finance for prospective purchases of BoB, including targeting micro-finance institutions in the pilot project area to develop suitable lending instruments to enable them to provide loans to their clients for BoB and possibly design a product-specific loan for MFIs to market to their clients. The credit program could encompass wholesale lending to suppliers or through individual loans. It is unclear whether suppliers would be interested in supplying the product on credit because even now when they have the product on consignment they do not extend credit to their clients nor do they provide for a lay-away plan.
The project office is based in Mbarara, Uganda and will provide administrative and logistical support to the consultant and the survey. Technical oversight will be provided from the headquarters in Washington, DC, USA.
Requirements: • 5 years experience working with rural micro finance institutions to develop lending instruments; • MBA in finance or related field; • Experience in the planning and operation of micro credit schemes for consumer durables; • Experience in evaluating the credit worthiness of MFIs; • Experience in developing lending instruments for MFIs; • Experience in hire purchase plans (for products with limited salvage value); • English language proficiency (written and spoken).
Desirable: • Experience in Uganda or East Africa preferred.
TASKS
• Consider options for providing credit to purchase BoB • Review models used by other successful bottom of pyramid marketers • Provide a review of the existing credit facilities in the pilot project areas • Assess interest and capacity of existing credit facilities to provide credit for BoB to their clients • Evaluate the financial burden on rural households resulting from taking a loan to purchase BoB • Working with lending institutions to develop suitable lending instruments • Ensure that any proposed activity is sustainable beyond the project period . OUTPUTS
• Make recommendations for establishing a credit scheme, including (if appropriate) recommending and contacting specific potential partner institutions • Provide suitable tools for tracking the impact of credit on sales • Provide suitable tools for tracking the impact of credit on the target households • Analysis of the financial burden on target households • Provide an estimate of the project costs associated with the credit program • Provide guidance and recommendations for roles of RI staff in implementing or overseeing the credit program.
APPROXIMATE DURATION
• 2 days of preparation (desk research) • 10 days of field work in Uganda • 2 days report writing
TO APPLY
Please submit t a resume, cover letter, salary history, 3 professional references (e-mail, address and phone number), and date of availability to hrprogram@ri.org. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The email subject line MUST include the following: Credit Consultant - Uganda. We will carefully review your materials and contact you if we would like to set up an interview.
TO APPLY
Please submit t a resume, cover letter, salary history, 3 professional references (e-mail, address and phone number), and date of availability to hrprogram@ri.org. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The email subject line MUST include the following: Credit Consultant - Uganda. We will carefully review your materials and contact you if we would like to set up an interview.
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