Conduct a Feasibility Study for RYAF e-shop

Organizational Setting

The Integrated Country Approach for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agri-food system (ICA project) is anchored in FAO’s Strategic Objective 3 “Reduce rural poverty”. In particular, it will directly contribute to strategic objective 3 Organizational Outcome 2: Countries enhanced access of the rural poor to productive employment and decent work opportunities, particularly among youth and women. Within this Outcome, the project will mainly contribute to the output on Policy support and capacity development in the formulation and implementation of strategies, policies, guidelines, and programmes to enhance decent rural employment opportunities, entrepreneurship and skills development, especially for youth and women.

Rwanda youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and animal Resources and FAO as a platform to bring together different youth organizations, individual youth farmers and entrepreneurs in Agriculture Sector working in crop production, livestock, agro-processing, inputs and other Agro-services (extension, marketing, food packaging, farm mechanization, seed multiplication etc.) as well as ICT for Agriculture in Rwanda. The platform aims to promote the positive mind-set among the youth vis-à-vis agriculture, while orienting youth to reach out to other farming groups to raise awareness on the practice of business-oriented agriculture.

The expert is hired to give Technical Assistance to the Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF). He/She will work under the General supervision of the FAO Representative in Rwanda and direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR/Programme and will work closely with the National Coordinator of ICA project. The whole work to be undertaken will be done in close collaboration with Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources as the Ministry in charge of overseeing RYAF.

Technical Focus

The work will focus on conducting a feasibility study for an online RYAF shop. The study will assess the operational, technical and economic feasibility and added value of digitalisation of RYAF shops. The study will help understand how an online platform for RYAF shops can be productive, self-sustaining and income generating for the youth actors in the concerned agri-food value chains.

The study will also show how to link the RYAF actors with buyers in the country through e-commerce, especially how to opportunity for exhibitors to display the produce and for buyers to get in contact with shops.

Tasks and responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible of implementing and reporting activities related to the feasibility study /Productivity, scalability and digitalisation of RYAF shops

1. Develop an annotated outline and a detailed workplan for conducting the study.
2. Assess the context and enabling factors for digitalisation of RYAF shops
   1. Review relevant literature and available market studies to estimate the volume of potentially unsatisfied demand in this sector, map out the present supply of e-commerce services and online shops of agricultural products in the country as a benchmark and assess the competition and potential synergies.
   2. Conduct key informant interviews and/or focus group discussions with RYAF management, RYAF Members ,the staff in charge of RYAF shops, representatives of MINAGRI, NAEB, FAO and other key stakeholders, including a sample of RYAF shop customers and youth suppliers, in order to appreciate their attitudes, expectations and e-commerce readiness in terms of business organization, technical and digital skills, financial needs,equipment needs , existence of required infrastructure on one hand, and purchasing power as well as accessibility and the feasibility of the market on the other hand.
   3. Understand the potential for scalability of RYAF shops both online and offline (e.g. at district level)
   4. Examine the convenience and profitability of online platforms to link youth to markets in the agri-food value chains.
3. Assess the overall feasibility in terms of profitability, technical expertise, market research, logistics, IT infrastructure, financial resources and time required to set up and roll out a sustainable e-commerce platform for RYAF shops vis a vis the existing organizational capacity of RYAF.
4. Identify risks and benefits for RYAF to develop an e-commerce platform and provide recommendations on cost-effective options, potential partnerships, and other relevant aspects.
5. Suggest an implementation mechanism that could be designed in phases (testing and extension)
6. Suggestion on how to link the RYAF actors with buyers in the country through e-commerce;
7. Submit a first draft for validation and comments to MINAGRI, RYAF and FAO.
8. Incorporate comments and suggestions to a revised draft and submit for final approval.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s Degree in agribusiness, economics, rural finance or equivalent.
• Minimum 7 years of experience.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Knowledge of Kinyarwanda is required.
• Knowledge of French is a benefit.
• National of Rwanda or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement