Senior Consultant to Select & Implement Digital Core Banking Solution at African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC)

Responsibilities

We are seeking the services of a senior consultant with deep expertise in business analysis (to develop business requirements), digital banking and/or fintech to help us assess and select available core banking solutions (CBS), including open-source solutions, in the current market. Current top-runners include Mifos and T-24 as comparable systems. 

Challenges for the company include:

• The current loan management system is too slow, lacks robust APIs, and has limited access to real-time data to streamline business operations (client, financial, and  data)
• Managed as an ERP (Odoo), the system was not initially well designed and documented (through external consultant), and is not structured as a core banking system.
• The company does not have a dedicated business analyst with lending or fintech experience to develop business requirements/tech solutions for the loan team
• Inadequate database infrastructure for integration and data access across key business operations points (solution architecture is being re-designed).
   

The selected Consultant will work with the IT Project Manager and loan staff to help the senior leadership select the right core banking solution that will meet the company’s needs now and be able to scale as we grow. 

The Scope of Work will include:

Phase 1: Initiation Stage

• Review existing materials defining the business requirements and IT systems, 
• Fill gaps of business requirements/IT needs by:
• Interview key internal stakeholders to understand business processes/systems 
• Collaborate with IT group (and other departments as needed) to gather existing financial and investment data for business analysis
• Develop business requirements based on analysis of data gathered
• Develop CBS (software) requirements based on developed business requirements, in consultation with Inkomoko 

Phase 2: Assessment and Selection

• Assessment of a variety of CBS available on the market, including open-source ones, detailing advantages, disadvantages and how it would fit Inkomoko’s business requirements developed in Phase 1
• Provide recommendation on which CBS is most appropriate for Inkomoko’s business needs, backing the recommendations with through analysis and user feedback from East African banks/MFI
• Review and propose vendors who can implement the chosen solution

Please note, any selection of a core banking system that meets the company’s business requirements for a more efficient lending process to micro/small businesses, including: payment integration through mobile wallet/banking

• Access to accurate, real-time financial data to inform internal business operations, including cash flow management 
• CBS integration with current ERP system (Odoo), enabling more efficient financial data integration and reporting across different financial operations, i.e. between accounting/finance and investment, data integration and more efficient reporting across key client engagement points: recruitment, business-skill training, investment due diligence, loan disbursement, loan repayment, and impact learning/measurement, etc.

Phase 3: Implementation

• Manage vendor on behalf of Inkomoko to ensure appropriate configuration of CBS for Inkomoko, covering both initial deployment phase and subsequent phase (e.g. additional sprints) to customize key functionalities/features (e.g. mobile interface, data access, reporting, etc.)
• Oversee implementation through at least the testing phase of CBS with real clients at 2 different locations where Inkomoko operates
• Continue to monitor progress for a period of three months to ensure CBS is operationally stable.

Minimum Qualifications

A successful consultant will demonstrate the following criteria at a minimum:

• Previous hands-on experience driving adoption of CBS, with focus on ‘back end’ data management systems and how it fits into overall solution architecture of company
• At least 5 years of experience with business analysis, digital banking and fintech 
• At least 3 years of micro finance experience, i.e. micro/small businesses, in Africa or in other developing markets
• Competitive pricing 
• Ability of complete project within 4 months