Terms of Reference

Consultant – Data and Digital Agriculture

Assignment Job Title: Short-Term Consultant (STC) for the Data and Digital Agriculture team

Duty Location: Consultant will be based in Nairobi, Kenya

Duration: This consultancy will be for 60 days during the period of September 2023 to June 2024 with
the possibility of further extension. The initial 30 days will be provisional.

Background:
1. Africa region accounts for many innovations and startups in delivering financial
services and financial technology (fintech). Increasingly digital technologies and innovations
are being used to support Kenyan agriculture. Kenya accounts for 23 percent of all African
Agri-tech start-ups in Africa. Some key promising approaches include service delivery for
smallholders, financial services, enterprise development, market access, data analytics and,
climate-smart agriculture. Despite being the digital innovation hub of Africa and home to
many innovative start-ups on digital agriculture in the African continent, Kenya’s agricultural
sector has not been able to achieve significant agricultural transformation. Scaling up the
impact of digital and disruptive technologies on Kenyan Agriculture requires systematic
investment in knowledge, innovation and incubation ecosystem in Kenya.
2. To support collaborative development of a sustainable innovation ecosystem in
Kenya, the World Bank planned an Innovation Knowledge and Challenge event in Nairobi in
2019 as part of the Scaling up Disruptive Agricultural Technologies in Africa ASA (P169780).
The event discussed the opportunities offered by disruptive agricultural technologies (DAT)
to increase productivity, access to services and market access in the agricultural sector. Over
time the startups.
3. The Disruptive Agriculture Technologies (DATs) program aims (a) to deepen the
understanding of the transformative role of DATs in the future of food; and (b) to support
ecosystem-building activities in the form of Challenge events, boot camps, Roadshows, etc.
Over the past three years, the DAT team led the following activities to further the agenda of
DAT in Africa and beyond. These activities include (i) an analytical study – “Scaling up
Disruptive Agricultural Technologies in Africa,” from Jan-Jun 2019, (ii) Innovation Knowledge
and Challenge Conferences in Nairobi, (iii) Knowledge Exchange Roadshow in Seoul, Ethiopia,
and Kenya; and (iv) Launch and expansion of One Million Farmer Platform (OMFP).
4. The first cohort that included 14 startups in the data analytics, financial inclusion,
market linkages and productivity themes were selected to join the million-farmer platform.
Since then, we scaled up and onboarded 33 county governments and 28 cohort members.
Specific components on digital agriculture were developed in the project, and IDA resources
were allocated to support the platform.
5. Since then, the OMFP has reached an estimated 450,000 farmers. The impact has seen
subsequent bank project design and include a data and digital component. DAT is now
anchored across 3 Bank projects in Kenya and covers all counties.

Objective and Scope of Work:

The World Bank Kenya team is seeking a highly motivated and talented consultant to support
the team’s effort in supporting the NAVCDP Project teams in their development of a digital
agriculture ecosystem. The main tasks will be to support the development and the
implementation of the One Million Farmers Platform and collaborating with KALROs Big Data
Platform. The tasks will include:

● OMFP Scale up
○ Ecosystem Mapping: Lead and co-ordinate the team to:
■ Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current digital, and innovation
ecosystem in Kenya's agriculture and food sector.
■ Identify gaps and opportunities for collaboration and integration within the
ecosystem.
■ Map out the existing OMFP Startups with opportunities in the ecosystem.
○ Identify relevant stakeholders, including government agencies, research
institutions, private sector organizations, NGOs, and startups, involved in data and
digital initiatives related to agriculture and food.

● OMFP Coordination
○ Support activities to accelerate OMFP, supporting the growth of participating
cohort of technology innovators through their county government partnerships
and new partnerships with funders and links to markets;
○ Coordinate efforts to build KALRO capacity and develop a dedicated special
purpose vehicle for the KALRO digital and data services, working in support of the
World Bank lead in this formulation with Government of Kenya;
○ Coordinate support to the agripreneur model to expand to all counties.

● Reporting and Documentation

○ Prepare regular progress reports, highlighting key activities, achievements,
challenges, and recommendations.
○ Document best practices, success stories, and lessons learned throughout the
assignment.
○ Develop comprehensive final reports summarizing the project's outcomes,
including actionable recommendations for stakeholders and policymakers.
Desired skills and qualifications:

● Advanced University Degree in Information or Business Systems, Agriculture Economics,

Computer Science, Economics, or related field with strong Entrepreneurial and Innovation
elements, with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in leading projects related to
data and technology.
● Experience in the development of digital solutions for agriculture and managing agri-
based accelerators or platforms and technology-related projects in the African region is
strongly preferred.
● High levels of initiative, judgment, and decisiveness in accomplishing tasks; proven ability
to work independently and effectively under stress; good time-management skills and
meticulous attention to detail; and juggling multiple tasks within tight deadlines.
● Understanding World Bank operations is a plus.

Deliverables and Duration:

Deliverables correspond to the above scope of work. They would be either in the form of
progress reports or specific reports agreed with the TTL. This assignment will initially be for
60 days in FY23 with the possibility of extension upon successful performance and funding
availability. The consultant will report to Vinay Vutukuru, Sr. Agriculture Economist. On-site
modality in Kenya is a requirement for this role.

Interested candidates are required to send their detailed CVs with a 1-page cover letter to
reach us by August 31st 2023 and addressed to:

Kindly share your CV and Application letters to:

Rchepkoech@worldbank.org and CC: Bagengo@worldbank.org.

Indicate on the subject: Consultant – Data and Digital Agriculture