Strategic Business Plan Development for a Rural MFI

Objectives of the Assignment:   

• Develop a 2025-2028 strategic business plan for a rural MFI  
• Draft a short term (first year) action plan with budget and projected cash flows 
• Build the capacity of the board and management in strategic business plan implementation and continuous improvement processes. 

Deliverables:

• Three-year MFI strategic business plan 
• First year action plan 
• A PowerPoint presentation highlighting the assignment process and the recommendations 
• List of people trained 
• Trip report 

Requested Expertise of Volunteer Expert: 

• University degree or higher in agriculture, business management, entrepreneurship, economics, marketing, finance, business, or, other relevant fields; Postgraduate training preferred 
• Minimum 7+ years of experience in strategic business plan development, management, marketing, business planning process, and implementation 
• At least three years of experience in the MFI sector and/or development work in Sub-Saharan Africa  
• Demonstrated capacity to conduct market and business research and report writing  
• Familiarity with application of behavioral economics methodologies in product/strategy design 
• Understanding of production and management challenges experienced by smallholder farmers 
• Proficient computer skills including MS Word, MS Excel, and PowerPoint 
• Hands-on experience in designing Business Plans for financial institutions desirable
• Excellent- hands-on training skills to an adult audience are necessary 
• Strong leadership and communication skills and capacity to plan strategically and flexibly 
• Strong analytical and numerical skills and experience in statistical data analysis  
• Strong interview techniques, skills, and experiences will be helpful 
• Writing Skills: reporting requires good computer skills including working and generating reports with MS Word. Experience with PowerPoint presentations is desirable
• All F2F A2F volunteers must be US citizens or permanent residents