Agriculture-Finance Officer

About SME Client Support Afghanistan LLC

SME Client Support Afghanistan LLC (“SCSA”) is a consulting and service company registered with the General Directorate of Central Business Registry & Intellectual Property with its headquarter in Kabul. SCSA is fully owned by ACGF - Afghan Credit Guarantee Foundation (“ACGF”), a foundation with legal incorporation in Cologne, Germany. ACGF is a credit guarantee fund with the mission to improve access to finance for Afghanistan’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (“MSMEs”) by sharing the credit risk of the Afghan partner financial institutions (“PIs”) and by improving their MSME lending capacity with technical assistance (“TA”). ACGF has been founded in 2014 by DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH and by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. Governed by a service contract concluded between ACGF and SCSA, SCSA provides a broad range of ancillary services in the context of ACGF’s credit guarantee and technical assistance operations.

SCSA is a consulting company, not a financial institution. It neither provides any financial services nor does it have contractual relationships with the Afghan PIs. SCSA solely acts as a service provider to ACGF by carrying out a range of various services, e.g. providing ongoing technical assistance to PIs (e.g. training-on-the-job and coaching of SME credit staff) or providing support services for the credit guarantee appraisal and guarantee claim appraisal.

Recently, ACGF has started a new project funded by the European Union (EU). This project supports, besides the above-mentioned credit guarantees, the implementation of a Matching Grants Programme for MSMEs in Afghanistan. The Matching Grants shall enhance repayment the capacity and equity positions of MSMEs in a way that they may be able to access matching financing from ACGF’s PIs. At the same time, TA is provided to these MSMEs for strengthening their ability to apply for grant and loan financing, and awareness measures increase borrower’s understanding of Sharia compliant financing products. While MSMEs are targeted in general, particular focus is given to those supplying basic goods and services, employment-retaining and -creating MSMEs, as well as marginalized groups, in particular female-headed businesses, youth, and MSMEs in geographically underserved regions. Additionally, several support activities for the Afghan PIs to enhance their capacity for providing lending products that respond to MSMEs financing needs and are compliant with the regulatory environment are essential part of the programme.

Job Summary

ACGF strives to increase the financial inclusion of MSMEs in Afghanistan, especially for underserved customer groups, such as MSMEs in rural areas and particularly agriculture and agriculture-related businesses. With the implementation of an EU-funded programme for MSME access to finance, ACGF and SCSA are looking for an Agriculture-Finance Officer (f/m) in Kabul Region to support the implementation of financing and adjacent support activities for increasing lending activities as well as the issuance of grants specifically to agriculture and agriculture-related businesses as well as businesses in rural areas.

Duties & Responsibilities

Under the supervision of SCSA management and the relevant staff at ACGF, the Agriculture-Finance Expert will have the following core duties and responsibilities:

• Assess the agrilending operations as well as activities within rural areas within PIs including a gaps analysis
• Assess the agriculture sector in Afghanistan, with a special focus on core value chains, to gain insights into current financing structures and business opportunities for PIs
• Support ACGF, SCSA, and external consultants in the development and implementation of strategies and workplans that aim to increase the PIs’ disbursement of financings and matching grants to agri(-related) businesses and businesses in rural areas
• Support ACGF, SCSA and PIs in the development of adequate products, processes and tools
• Liaise with associations, unions, networks, stakeholders, and other relevant market players working with agri(-related) businesses to build synergies and increase ACGF’s, SCSA’s, and PIs’ overall outreach to agri(-related) businesses
• Support ACGF, PIs, and external consultants in the collection and assessment of data to analyze the financing and support needs of agri(-related) businesses and businesses in rural areas
• Act as the primary point of contact for any issues related to agriculture finance for ACGF, SCSA, the PIs and other stakeholders
• Identify training needs of PI’s staff and provide respective trainings or identify adequate means to deliver these trainings (e.g. external consultants)
• Identify adequate outreach activities to potential agri(-related) businesses and businesses in rural areas and identify respective means to deliver such activities
• Any other tasks assigned by the supervisor

Job Requirements

The optimal candidate for the Agriculture-Finance Officer has the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree (Master’s degree preferred) in a relevant area required, such as Banking and Finance, Economics, International Relations, Business Management, or related field or Agriculture Science
• A minimum of four (4) years of job experience related to MSME finance
• A minimum of two (2) years of job experience related to agriculture finance or rural finance
• Very good knowledge of the Afghan private sector, especially of agriculture(-related) businesses and businesses in rural areas is essential
• Experience in developing and/or marketing inclusive financial products for agriculture(-related) businesses or businesses in rural areas
• Experience in developing lending strategies for financial institutions for underserved customer groups
• Fluent spoken and written English, Dari, and Pashto
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications
• Ability to act on own initiative is essential
• Flexibility and mobility, such as ability and willingness to travel throughout Kabul and other regions

Submission Guideline

Please apply online at https://acgf.bamboohr.com/careers/154 and include a 1-page cover letter, CV and three references

 Please mention “Application for the position of “Agriculture-Finance Officer (SCSA LLC/2023/03)” in the subject line of the cover letter

 Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Functional Area

Agriculture

Banking

Countries

Afghanistan

Provinces

Kabul

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