Pitch Coach at Palladium International

USAID’s Kenya Investment Mechanism (KIM)

KIM is a USAID-funded project that is designed to unlock $400 million in investment for key sectors of Kenya’s economy, including agriculture, and for regional trade and investment opportunities under the Prosper Africa initiative. KIM addresses constraints on both the supply and demand sides of investment transactions and is building a market system that will mobilize substantial capital from the public and private sectors. By building local partnerships among stakeholders in the financial system, KIM is stimulating the power of the private sector to accelerate Kenya’s journey to self-reliance.
KIM addresses two principal market failures that have discouraged investors from financing important segments of the targeted sectors: (i) insufficient quality consulting services (financial, transaction advisory, strategy, and business performance); and (ii) limited scalability of financial products tailored to selected key sectors of the economy in the region.
KIM provides smart incentives and capacity building support to both business advisory service providers (BASPs) and financial institutions (FIs). These incentives are designed to create a sustainable ecosystem for businesses to access finance and investments needed to expand and grow. Business transactions are further supported by a diverse range of sustainable partnerships--with and among strategic businesses, institutions, government counterparts (county and national) and other development partners. These partnerships will lead to scaling and replicating creative approaches to unlock finance and investments, reduce risks of extending credit to the agriculture and energy sectors, and offer testing of innovative business models that can be scaled.

The Palladium Group:

Palladium is the implementing organization behind KIM. As a global leader in the design, development, and delivery of Positive Impact, Palladium creates enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities, and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental, and financial benefits.

For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved - and is committed to continuing to improve - economies, societies and most importantly, people's lives.

The Assignment

KIM currently works with a network of 41 BASPs supporting Kenyan SMEs to access finance and investment. The program is recruiting a Pitch Coach to mentor, develop, and support 15 selected enterprises and their associated BASPs to create a compelling 3- to 5-minute investor pitch and pitch deck. This assignment will be conducted virtually. The Pitch Coach will mentor enterprises and BASPs together to improve their presentation skills, fine tune their approach, and build their confidence as presenters. The Coach will review, guide, and assist in the development of a (PowerPoint) pitch deck in support of a verbal pitch (or for use as a stand-alone pitch deck). For some enterprises, an additional one-page investor pitch brief may be requested.

The successful consultant will be expected to: 

Picture the Story - Listen to selected enterprises describe their ideal investor or client as well as their own business. Then assist in a storyboard and build a presentation that defines all the elements of the enterprise’s pitch.
Build the Script - This will incorporate messaging and wording of the actual pitches. You will support the enterprises and BASPs to carefully choose words and graphics that will add impact, clarify their story, and convey greater confidence in both the entrepreneur and the business.
Design the Deck - Working with the entrepreneurs and BASPs, you will translate their story to impactful decks. You will ensure that the images on each slide support the enterprise’s story in a clear and compelling way before you pass the decks to your graphic designers.
Deliver the Vision - You will move on to the individuals themselves to refine their presence and presentation skills. Investors are not just looking for great businesses, they are looking for great entrepreneurs. You will help the entrepreneurs to not let their presence undermine them when it counts the most.

Based on the assistance provided to the first 10 firms and their BASPs, the Pitch Coach will also provide a summary analysis of SMEs’ and BASPs’ strengths and weaknesses with respect to investor presentations, as well as recommendations on ways that KIM could further support BASPs to better prepare their clients to pitch potential investors. 

Objectives

The objective of this assignment is to help selected entrepreneurs understand the value of, and develop, a great pitch, while also strengthening the BASPs’ ability to both advise their clients and effectively pitch their clients’ investment opportunities to potential financiers. By enhancing BASPs’ client service offering, the Pitch Coach will be helping to build stronger relationships between BASPs and enterprises that will ultimately aid in shifting market perceptions of the value of advisory services. 

Deliverables

• One 10-slide deck (+/-) for each of the 15 enterprises (selected by Kenya Investment Mechanism) to visually articulate their compelling story to investors.
• One-page investor pitch brief for a selected sub-set of enterprises.
• Presentation skills coaching for each of the selected enterprises and their BASPs.
• After completion of the first 10 enterprises, a maximum 3-page summary analysis of BASPs’ and SMEs’ strengths and weaknesses and recommendations for further KIM support.

Expected Level of Effort/Timeframe

The performance period is expected to begin on March 1, 2021 and end on February 28, 2022. 

Qualifications

• The Pitch Coach is expected to possess the following competencies and experience:
• At least 5 years’ pitch coaching and training experience with both established and start-up organizations.
• Strong communication and public speaking skills, with a knack for storytelling.
• Adaptable in facilitation style and approach to fit the needs of the audience, the content, and technology. 
• Strong capability to think creatively, analyze information, determine needs, and develop strategies to support enterprises to pitch effectively. 
• Experience coaching SMEs working in agriculture, WASH, energy, infrastructure, health, and other key sectors of the Kenyan economy will be an added advantage.