Job Description

The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) is the primary voice for people who use cooperative businesses to build a better world and a more inclusive economy in the United States and an international development organization. NCBA CLUSA provides cross-sector education, technical assistance, and advocacy that helps co-ops thrive. For over 100 years, NCBA CLUSA has sought to advance and protect cooperative enterprises, highlighting the impact that cooperatives have in bettering the lives of individuals and families. In the last 60 years, NCBA CLUSA has worked in over 85 countries in the areas of food security, agricultural development, strengthening of communities and farmer organizations, community-based health, natural resources management, and empowerment of smallholder farmers, women, and youth. We currently work in in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

NCBA CLUSA is currently seeking a qualified and interested volunteer expert in Credit Management to conduct training in Bamako and Sikasso, Mali.

Background and rationale

Finance for Food Security and Women Entrepreneurs (FFSWE) Program is a program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Swedish International Development Agency, and the US Department of State. It was officially launched on August 11, 2015 in Mali for a period of five years. The program’s goal is to create a more robust agricultural finance sector and to make full use of USAID’s Development Credit Authority (DCA) risk-sharing mechanism in partnership with USAID, Sida, and State Department projects.

FFSWE’s efforts are aimed at strengthening micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operating primarily in rice, millet, sorghum, livestock, and agroforestry and/or women-owned value chains. These MSMEs benefit from the support of FFSWE as part of technical assistance including support to the development of business plans and funding applications, monitoring of credit management, advice to strengthen their capacities in the objective of improving and modernizing the management of their businesses.

The program’s activities are structured on around three components, namely:

Component 1: Technical assistance and capacity building for the women entrepreneurs.

Component 2: Technical assistance and capacity building of banks and microfinance institutions.

Component 3 : Monitoring and counseling support to the loan recipients

To date, 584 MSMEs (source database dated May 9, 2018) received a loan following the support of the program. It should be noted that most of these MSMEs benefited from the technical assistance of FFSWE in developing business plan and in training. Despite the monitoring efforts provided by FFSWE, a significant number of these borrowers are defaulting in repayment for various reasons attributable either to the Financial Institutions (FIs), or to the beneficiaries themselves. Among the causes of failure related to the beneficiaries we can note among others: failure to comply with the purpose of the loan and misunderstanding of the loan agreement. For the FIs, the reasons for failures could be related to: slower approval, slow release of funds, etc.

On the basis of these observations, the program proposes to mitigate these reasons for failure through the organization of a brainstorming and training workshop on credit management for the beneficiaries, particularly those who have received a loan. The training will be conducted by a volunteer.

The volunteer will work on Component 3, which aims to ensure that the loan recipients have the management tools they need to better manage their businesses and to repay the loan.

These terms of reference are elaborated within this framework.

Objectives of this mission of the volunteer

The objective of this assignment is to work with loan beneficiaries to analyze various strategies to adopt for better management of credit through the training and the development of a loan follow-up program. The mission is scheduled for two weeks starting in June 2018.

Specific objectives of the mission

At the end of the training, the assisted companies must be able to:

­Create and manage an internal organization model within the company, from the business plan. This includes position descriptions and responsibilities, policies, rules and procedures for each activity conducted by the company, operational limits, budgets, establish goals for each employee and track, reward success, action confirmation or correction strategies and plan.

­Improve capacity to move from planning to reality.

Maintain a good relationship with the FI that granted the loan.

Identify the upcoming problems and/or difficulties and propose solutions.

Main activities to be carried out

On the basis of these Terms of Reference, the volunteer will present a session plan for the training, the training module, presentation materials, and the format of the action plan to the FFSWE team. At the end of the training, the volunteer will produce a training report outlining the major challenges and recommendations to the team for the follow-up of the action plans.

Target groups

Participants will be the MSMEs that received loans following the support of FFSWE as part of technical assistance including support in developing business plans and credit applications. Also, MSMEs whose business plans are approved or submitted to the bank can participate in the training.

The ideal number of participants is a maximum of 30 per session.

Venue and period of training

The volunteer will hold one session in Bamako and one in Sikasso, each training session will last two days.

Post-training follow-up

After the training, the investment preparedness specialist and the BDS specialist will assist the beneficiaries in the implementation and evaluation of their action plan.

Profile of the volunteer

The volunteer should have the following profile:

• 5 years of experience in a financial institution offering agricultural financial products
• Good understanding of development, management, and monitoring of business plans
• Good knowledge of financing MSMEs, specifically of women-owned MSMEs
• Fluency in French
• If interested email your CV and cover letter to lakanvou@ncba.coop, or email volunteer@ncba.coop

About the Organization

NCBA CLUSA is the primary voice in the United States for people who use cooperatives to build a better world. By strengthening cooperatives, building resilient communities and providing economic opportunities, NCBA CLUSA, through its international and US programs, works through the cooperatives principles in more than 20 countries. Since 1916, NCBA CLUSA has shared the cooperative advantage, highlighting the impact cooperatives have in bettering the lives of individuals, families and communities. Through its advocacy program, NCBA CLUSA educations lawmakers and promotes the cooperative business model, working with public and private thought leaders.

NCBA CLUSA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a commitment to diversity. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, and legally protected characteristics for non-merit factors.

NCBA CLUSA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in all facets of employment, including the employment application and selection process. If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at NCBA CLUSA, please send an email to Misti French or call 202.638.6222.