IT Expert – Mlimi Pay

1. CASA PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

As a programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) – International Climate Finance (ICF), CASA demonstrates the business case for global and national investment in climate-resilient agri-food systems that increase smallholder farmer incomes. The programme facilitates increased investment in agribusinesses by demonstrating the commercial and development potential of inclusive business models with smallholder farmer supply chains. CASA achieves this by:

• Demonstrating the commercial viability – and building the investment-readiness – of small and medium-sized (SME) agribusinesses with smallholder farmer supply chains
• Helping impact and return-oriented investors to increase the impact of their investments through the provision of inclusive technical assistance
• Strengthening the voices of smallholder producers (especially of women in agribusiness decision-making) and their positions within supply chains (through improved offtaking or aggregation arrangements), and
• Filling the information, evidence and learning gaps holding back investment.

To demonstrate the commercial and development potential of business models with smallholder farmer supply chains, CASA Component A (Market Systems Development), implemented by NIRAS and Swisscontact, pilots catalytic interventions within agricultural value chains in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nepal and Rwanda (and formerly Uganda) that support agri-SMEs to prepare for and secure investment while connecting smallholder farmers to commercial markets and building their resilience in the face of climate change.

CASA works in the aquaculture and poultry value chains in Malawi and has a joint partnership with Teren Agro and MlimiPay to which this TOR applies.

2. ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND

Several challenges are hampering the overall productivity of the aquaculture sector here in Malawi. One of the most persistent challenges is limited access to high quality feeds and technical advisory services. While government and other sector players are striving to provide aquaculture technical advisory services to smallholder farmers, the knowledge gap amongst in Aquaculture Best Management Practices (BMP) amongst these smallholder farmers remains high. CASA has facilitated a tripartite partnership between TEREN Agro, a local producer of floating fish feed, and MlimiPay, an innovative payment solutions company, to address these underlying problems of inaccessibility to affordable, quality fish feed and technical advisory services. The partnership will enable TEREN Agro and MlimiPay to effectively collaborate in the provision of quality inputs and extension and advisory services on favourable terms to the smallholder fish farmers with whom the partnership will work. The two companies will work with smallholder farmers from Lilongwe, Mchinji and Dowa districts, which are easily accessible to the two Lilongwe-based companies, through legally binding contractual arrangements.

To effectively provide digital aquaculture technical advisory support to smallholder farmers in the partnership, MlimiPay will spearhead the implementation of a robust mobile phone-based extension system. To this end, CASA intends to engage the services of an IT expert to provide Information Technology expertise to MlimiPay in the design, configuration and deployment of a robust messaging system.

About MlimiPay

MlimiPay Limited, established in 2021 by Stanislaus Sakwiya, is a Malawian fintech company that is transforming the agricultural sector through the provision of digital financial solutions. Mr Sakwiya, the company’s sole shareholder, is supported by a team of four. MlimiPay’s core product offerings include the Mlimi Digital Wallet, which enables smallholder farmers to purchase farming inputs in instalments via mobile money, thereby ensuring price stability and bulk savings. MlimiPay currently has 1,000 active users and plans to add a further 5,000 dairy farmers to its customer base. During the 2022/23 financial year, the company facilitated payments for over 240 tonnes of inputs, with a total value of £184,359. Furthermore, the company provides the Mlimi Digital Advisor, which offers agronomic guidance and weather updates to farmers.

About TEREN Agro

TEREN Agro Limited, a subsidiary of TEREN Investments, was established by Temwanani Phiri and Taziona Chigwe. The company initially focused on trading soya beans but diversified into livestock feeds in 2023, including floating fish feeds for tilapia. It was incorporated in 2022. With grant support, TEREN Agro invested in machinery to increase production capacity by 900% to 1 tonne per hour. In 2023, the company is projected to have a turnover of MK361 million (£270,482) and employ seven people. The company is positioned for growth in the aquaculture sector and is seeking to collaborate with motivated partners.

3. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

Under Activity 4.2.3 (ii) (and budget line 7) in the project business plan, the primary objective of this assignment is to provide Information Technology technical support to MlimiPay enhancing its communication with smallholder farmers by establishing a robust system for sending targeted messages. This initiative will improve outreach, advisory services, and operational efficiency. The IT Expert will provide technical expertise in designing, configuring, and deploying the messaging system. Specifically, this will involve the following:

System Analysis and Design:

• Conduct a needs assessment to understand MlimiPay’s messaging requirements.
• Design a scalable and secure messaging system to support SMS and potentially other communication channels.

System Development and Configuration:

• Set up and configure the messaging system to ensure integration with MlimiPay’s existing platforms.
• Configure APIs or other necessary modules to send messages.

Testing and Deployment:

• Develop and execute a test plan to ensure the system performs as required.
• Deploy the system and ensure it is operational and integrated with MlimiPay’s existing workflows.

Capacity Building and Documentation:

• Provide training to relevant MlimiPay staff on the use and administration of the system.
• Produce comprehensive user and technical documentation for the system.

Support and Maintenance:

• Provide post-deployment support for a specified period to resolve any issues and ensure system stability.

 Assignment management

• Preparing periodic progress reports and outputs for relevant project interventions in accordance with communication guidelines and needs; and,
• Complying with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual and other relevant requirements of NIRAS Malawi.

4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall management of the CASA Market Manager for aquaculture, IT expert will support MlimiPay in developing a robust mobile phone-based extension system, enabling the firm to effectively reach smallholder farmers.

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

• Inception report, outlining a detailed methodology for the assignment, including an in-depth analysis of the requirements to assist MlimiPay design the system´s blueprint. Thus, the inception report is also expected to contain a capacity needs assessment report.
• Finalized Messaging System, ready for deployment, with all integrations and functionalities in place, based on a reviewed prototype. The expert will be required to develop a prototype which will be further modified to finalise and deploy a fully functional messaging system
• Training delivery to the MlimiPay staff, ensuring they are fully familiar with the system using standard manuals thus the expert will be required to develop training materials which can be used to cascade the training to other end users of the platform.
• An assignment completion report outlining the activities carried out as part of the assignment with recommendations for improvement whilst also summarizing post-deployment support activities and system performance.

5. ASSIGNMENT MANAGEMENT and DURATION

 Duration

Expected Start Date: 1^st February 2025.

Expected End Date: 31^st March 2025.

 Assignment Days

Up to 20 Workdays.

 Deliverable Timelines

Reporting Lines

The consultant will report to MlimiPay’s managing director with oversight from CASA´s Aquaculture Market Manager for Aquaculture.

6. REQUIREMENTS and EXPERTISE

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

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or related field.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in IT system development and implementation.
• Demonstrable experience in training and capacity building for non-technical users.
• Proven experience in designing and deploying messaging or communication systems, especially SMS-based platforms.
• Proficiency in integrating APIs for message delivery.
• Strong understanding of scalable and secure IT system architectures.
• Experience working with platforms like Africa’s Talking or Twilio is an advantage.
• Excellent written 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.
• 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

Applicants should send an EOI comprising the following:

1. An EOI submission letter outlining your suitability for the role and stating your preferred daily rate in GBP (maximum two pages)
2. A proposed methodology for the assignment (Maximum 4 pages)
3. Up to date CV suitably tailored to the TORs concentrating only on relevant experience. Emphasis will be placed on consultancy experience in the last 10 years (Maximum 3 pages)

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis and we will settle for the first suitable candidate we get even before the deadline.

Applications should be received by 19^th January 2025. Send applications to RHCH@niras.com. Indicate the position being applied for in the subject line.