Job title: Senior Officer, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and MSME Development
Company: Self Help Africa
Location: Kano, Nigeria
Contract type: Fixed term contract, full-time (local recruitment)
Period: 18 months, subject to donor contract
Remuneration: ₦8m to ₦11m annual gross
Reports to: Project Coordinator
About Self Help Africa
Established in 1984, Self Help Africa is an international development organisation that works through agriculture and agri-enterprise development to address hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impacts of climate change. We believe that equitable economic development is key to lifting communities out of long-term poverty, empowering them to take control of their futures and improving their quality of life.
In early 2023 we launched a new five-year organisation strategy, which defines shared mission as the alleviation of hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise- focused approaches, so that people can have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources.
Our wider organisation also includes social enterprise subsidiaries Partner Africa, which provides ethical auditing and consultancy services, and CUMO, Malawi’s largest micro-finance provider.
Our three core values are:
Impact: We are accountable, ambitious and committed to systemic change. Innovation: We are agile, creative and enterprising in an ever-changing
World. Community: We are inclusive, honest and have integrity in our relationships.
Programme description
SHA is partnering with the World Food Programme to implement the Strengthening Food Systems project to Promote Increased Value Chain Employment Opportunities for the Youth in Kano State. The project aims to strengthen food systems that promote increased value chain employment opportunities for the youth; sustaining and improving on-farm and off-farm job opportunities for 50,000 young women and young men engaged in the different nodes of sorghum, millet, soya bean, groundnut, and horticulture value chains.
The project will focus on capacity building interventions for existing enterprises, using this as an avenue to create employment opportunities for youth and women in Kano State.
Job purpose
SHA is looking for a dynamic, high performing individual to fill the role of Senior Officer, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and MSME Development. The post holder will be to provide advisory on key project activities in the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and MSME Development to improve and strengthen their business practices, addressing the key constraints that MSMEs face. The ideal candidate will have a track record of working with micro, small and medium enterprises in the agricultural sector across a range of value chains.
Key Responsibilities
Enterprise Support
• Map and identify main actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystems and provide advisory on tailor made support to MSMEs with a focus on capacity building/ coaching in areas such as financial literacy, basic financial management and compliance, identifying additional business development services where necessary.
• Provide advisory for enterprises to improve in productivity through good agricultural practices and other relevant techniques.
• Provide advisory for enterprises in accessing market information through market intelligence sources and digital platforms.
• Support to ensure high level of accountability to participants, stakeholders and donor ensuring effective feedback mechanism, regular communication, timely production and submission of plans, reports and assessment.
• Facilitate market linkage between MSMEs and Market actors while ensuring that MSMEs assess relevant information about market potential and opportunities to improve their businesses.
• Facilitate financial linkages between MSMEs and financial products service providers to enable access to finance for various business.
• Map and identify individuals and clusters with outstanding business ideas while collaborating with Agribusiness Officer and Capacity building team to support in developing quality business plans.
• Facilitate registration of cooperative with relevant authorities and bodies (State government, SON among others) for better access to resources.
• In collaboration with capacity building team, train clusters to become formal cooperatives.
Link: https://selfhelpafrica.org/ie/senior-officer-entrepreneurship-ecosystem-and-msme-development/
