Financial Modelling Expert

1. CASA PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

CASA is an FCDO-International Climate Finance (ICF) funded programme driving global investment for inclusive climate-resilient agri-food systems that increase smallholder incomes. CASA makes the case to impact and return-oriented investors for increased investment in agribusinesses that work with smallholder supply chains. The programme achieves this goal by:

• Demonstrating the commercial viability and investment-readiness of small and medium-sized (SME) agribusinesses with significant smallholder supply chains
• Helping investors to increase the impact of their investments through the provision of inclusive technical assistance
• Strengthening the socio-legal empowerment of smallholders within value chains
• Tackling the information and evidence gaps holding back investment

For demonstrating the commercial and development potential of smallholder sourcing models, CASA focuses on catalytic interventions in the agriculture sectors of Ethiopia, Malawi, Nepal, and Rwanda that support agri-SMEs prepare for and secure investment while connecting smallholders to commercial markets.

CASA’s work on research and communications is structured around identifying constraints, opportunities and addressing evidence gaps through research; shaping the debate on smallholder agriculture to influence actions of investors, governments, and donors; and creating networking opportunities through events and stakeholder engagement.

2. ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND

CASA entered a tripartite partnership with Palm Capital and Viphya Chambo to pilot the implementation of a smallholder input financing model in three districts in the northern region of Malawi, namely Mzimba, Nkhatabay and Rumphi. Under the partnership, Palm Capital is providing input loans to smallholder fish farmers contracted by Viphya Chambo. Viphya Chambo is also assisting the farmers in managing the production process by providing the necessary technical and extension support. At harvest time, Viphya Chambo will purchase the farmers’ fish and deduct the loan amounts from the farmers’ income for onward repayment to Palm Capital.

To effectively deliver the required quality and quantity of inputs to the farmers in a seamless and timely manner, and to establish an effective mechanism for collecting loan repayments from the contracted smallholders, Palm Capital designed a tailored input financing model to ensure that both the farmers and the company benefit equally from the arrangement. Palm Capital piloted this input financing model on 100 fish farmers in Mzimba and Nkhatabay and is currently planning on scaling the model to over 900 more smallholder farmers. To this end, CASA is seeking the services of an experienced financial modelling expert to assist Palm Capital and Viphya Chambo in evaluating the financing model to inform the design of the scale up.

About Palm Capital

Palm Capital is a Malawian-owned microfinance institution, established in 2019 to provide innovative financial services solutions to SMEs. The company operates from Lilongwe and targets a diverse group of borrowers across the country. Palm Capital’s services include SME lending solutions. As part of its growth strategy, Palm Capital has partnered with Viphya Chambo to provide input loans to smallholder farmers. Under the partnership, Palm Capital is providing working capital finance to smallholder fish farmers in an existing out-grower programme, starting with a pilot of 100 and scaling up to 900 more depending on the results of the pilot.

About Viphya Chambo

Viphya Chambo is a Malawian-owned company specialising in the production of fingerlings and table size fish. Established in 2012, Viphya Chambo operates a farm on the outskirts of Mzuzu City from where it sells fresh fish at designated points within the city and beyond. Viphya Chambo also sells its fingerlings to individual farmers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and commercial farms throughout the country. To supplement its own fish production and meet the demand for table size fish, Viphya Chambo successfully piloted a fish out producer and off taker model with smallholder fish farmers in Ntchenachena, Rumphi District. Based on the success and lessons learnt from the pilot, Viphya Chambo has scaled up the out producer and off taker model and partnered with Palm Capital to finance inputs for its out-grower farmers in the Northern Region, including Mzimba and Nkhata Bay. This is designed to enable smallholder farmers to increase their production volumes, resulting in increased sales volumes for Viphya Chambo.

3. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

The main objective of this assignment is to provide technical support to Palm Capital, assisting the company in assessing the performance and informing changes to its tailored financing model. Specifically, this will include:

• Evaluate the performance of the current financing model’s financial metrics and outcomes, and how the model meets the company’s needs and business goals and those of its smallholder farmer clients.
• Identify key issues to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the existing model through data and stakeholder feedback and analyse the impact on farmers’ productivity and income.
• Study the competitive landscape and identify opportunities and threats.
• Create financial models to project future performance under different scenarios and conduct sensitivity analyses to understand the impact of various factors.
• Gather insights from smallholder farmers, Palm Capital, and Viphya Chambo and other relevant stakeholders.
• Develop recommendations, identifying areas for improvement in the financing model, including to financing products, terms, and conditions.

4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall management of the CASA Market Manager for aquaculture, the Financial Modelling Expert will support Palm Capital by evaluating the company’s financing model for smallholder farmers.

The specific duties of the Expert will include the preparation of the following:

• Inception report, outlining a detailed methodology for the assignment.
• Financial model assessment report, including recommendations for improvement to the model.
• An assignment completion report outlining the activities carried out as part of the assignment with recommendations for improvement.

 Deliverable Timelines

 5. ASSIGNMENT MANAGEMENT and DURATION

• Duration
  Expected Start Date: June 2024
  Expected End Date: 28^th June 2024

•  Assignment Days
  Up to 7 Workdays.

• Reporting Lines
  The consultant will report to the CASA´s Aquaculture Market Manager Aquaculture and Palm Capital’s Chief Executive Officer.

6. REQUIREMENTS and EXPERTISE

Key qualification and field of expertise for the ideal expert are:

• Possession of a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, mathematics, or any other relevant fields. Those with master’s degree in the same field will have an added advantage;
• Strong analytical skills with a deep understanding of financial concepts;

• Excellent organizational and time management skills;
• Excellent writing and oral communication, listening and interpersonal skills with the ability to deal tactfully and diplomatically with a wide range of people combined with an appreciation of the importance of confidentiality;
• Willingness to take on new tasks at short notice and travel frequently to remote places if need be;
• Ability to make decisions regarding own work, often in ambiguous situations and suggest recommendations regarding own function/discipline;
• Ability to function with minimum guidance and under pre-set procedures with attention to detail; and
• Able to exercise independent judgment within defined policies and practices.

7. MODE OF APPLICATION

Interested candidates should send an Expression of Interest no more than 6 pages long (in one document) broken down as follows;

1. A maximum of 1 page EOI submission letter providing an overview of the candidate’s suitability for the role and their preferred daily rate expressed in
2. A maximum of 2 pages outlining a proposed methodology according to their understanding of the assignment and its requirements.
3. A maximum of 3 pages Curriculum Vitae/Resume outlining only the relevant qualifications, experience and attributes for the role. Emphasis should be placed on similar consultancy assignments carried out by the candidate in the past 7 years.

Applications to be sent to rhch@niras.com with title of the position being applied for in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will accept the first viable ones received.