Management of the AECF Competition Process Consultancy at Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)

 Scope of Work

The scope of services shall include but is not limited to the following:

• Desktop pre-screening of applications against the selection criteria and general quality standards of the documentation provided.
• Screening and evaluation of concept notes as per eligibility criteria.
• Long-listing of eligible concept notes and presentation of long-listed applicants to the AECF
• Conduct due diligence in accordance with the templates and manuals covering among others; detailed interrogation of business plan and business model, risk and socio-economic analysis on the proposed project/s, environment, social and governance (ESG) review, in-depth analysis of the financials of the applicant company, examination of the financial model and sensitivity analysis thereof, etc.
• Based on the due diligence assessment, recommend a final shortlist of businesses complete with a comprehensive summary report (in investment memo format) for each of the companies.
• Working with the AECF portfolio team, structure feedback for the unsuccessful applicants.

Requirements, Qualification and Experience

• The applicant should have a combined knowledge and evaluation techniques for investments, institutional governance, and risk management as well familiarity with agricultural value chains, energy, blue economy sectors, and previous involvement in due diligence assessment of businesses for investment.
• The applicant will determine the structure and personnel complement required for the assignment (to be proposed approach and methodology for the assignment). However, the AECF requires a minimum of five experts which include the Team Leader. The table below summarizes the required key experts

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a field relevant to the role;
• At least 5 years of experience from the last 10 years in a position managing/coordinating multidisciplinary teams in the financing of SMEs space, preferably in clean energy or agribusiness sectors in Sub-Sahara Africa; Proven track record of leading at least three projects of similar nature (i.e., due diligence, SME organizational capacity assessment, and SME grants/investments management)
• Strong understanding of the SME financing landscape and due diligence process fit for grant capital and Sub-Sahara Africa.
• Two Sector experts- Agribusiness and Clean Energy
• Clean Energy Expert: Master’s degree in a relevant field. Experience and understanding of clean energy financing, technology mix and current business models for reaching and benefitting poor households, women, and other vulnerable groups;
• Agribusiness expert: Master’s degree in a relevant field. Experience in the agribusiness sector with an in-depth understanding of the financing of early-stage agri-business projects in Sub-Sahara Africa. Expert knowledge of the agribusiness supply chain and good knowledge of private sector development initiatives and issues, investment decisions, and major barriers to scaling up;
• Both experts should have detailed knowledge and understanding of the SDGs and global and regional climate finance trends.
• Investment/Financial Analysts
• Degree in Finance and relevant certifications on investment analysis. The specialist is required to have at least 6 years of experience including recent experience in financial due diligence, Cost Estimates, Financial Analysis, Financial Performance Indicators, and financial modelling. Assessing the financial management risk rating and identifying and confirming measures for addressing identified deficiencies. Propose relevant financial performance indicators be incorporated in financial covenants.
• Social, gender, and environmental safeguards specialist
• The specialists will have a graduate degree or relevant qualification in social safeguards, social development studies, and/or gender studies, and at least 10 years of work experience in social development, gender mainstreaming and ESG risk analysis and integration.
• In this regard, applicants must submit the curriculum vitae of the proposed personnel responsible for implementing this assignment and a list of previous projects and activities performed related to this assignment.