Brief Description of the assignment: Training and awareness creation on Agriculture-based Digital Technologies

Period of assignment: September 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025

Expected start date of the assignment: September 1, 2024

Closing date for expressing interest: August 23, 2024

Expression of interest to be submitted to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Background and rationale

The Kenyan Green and Digital Innovation Hub (gDIH), is mandated to support Kenyan enterprises in their digital and green transformation by providing MSMEs, start-ups, and innovators demand driven services under four key pillars: access to innovation support facilities, access to finance, skills development, innovation ecosystem building. The hub’s focus sectors are Agriculture, Energy, ICT and Smart Cities, while the focus technologies are automation, cybersecurity, cloud computing and IoT.

The gDIH aims to enhance Agricultural productivity and sustainability by supporting agricultural entrepreneurs (Agri-preneurs) to access digital technologies. Implementation of digital technology in farming has the potential to revolutionize food production by helping farmers reduce their losses through better crop yields, reduced production costs and increased labor efficiency, particularly in the context of climate change.  The adoption of 4IR technologies has further led to the emergence data-driven solutions in agriculture through data analytics and data modeling that has contributed to precision in pest and disease management as well as crop optimization.

Research shows that a large percentage of Agri-preneurs in Kenya have limited knowledge of agricultural technologies needed to increase their productivity. As such, the gDIH plans to organize a series of training and awareness creation programs countrywide to educate MSMEs, farmers, agribusinesses, and stakeholders on the benefits and applications of digital technologies in agriculture.

Objectives of the Consultancy

The gDIH seeks out an Institution with a focus on Agricultural Training, to design, organize, and execute countrywide training and awareness programs on agriculture-based digital technologies to improve the knowledge and skills of MSMEs and Agri-preneurs.

The Institution will support the gDIH to scale-up Smart Agriculture by training at least 120 MSMEs on agriculture-based digital technologies

Duties and responsibilities

The consultant is expected to:

1. Conduct a needs assessment to identify the key areas of training and awareness creation required by MSMEs on agriculture-based digital technologies.
2. Develop a comprehensive training curriculum and materials on agriculture-based digital technologies.
3. Organize and facilitate training sessions for MSMEs.
4. Train at least 120 MSMEs on agriculture-based digital technologies
5. Develop awareness creation strategies and materials to promote the adoption of digital technologies in agriculture.
6. Collaborate with local partners, organizations, and experts to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of the training programs.

Experience and qualifications

• Proven experience in organizing and conducting training programs, especially in the agricultural sector in multiple parts of the country.
• Strong knowledge of digital technologies and their applications in agriculture.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Experience working with MSMEs and agricultural stakeholders in Kenya or similar contexts.
• Ability to produce high quality reports that offer innovative solutions
• Evidence of having carried out consultancies of a similar scale

Proposal Contents

Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to provide the above services by submitting an Expression of Interest which should include;

• Organization Profile
• Proposed training curriculum with modes of delivery
• Evidence of similar assignments
• Capability statement: Technical and professional competence necessary for successful implementation of the assignment.
• Work plan ( 7 months) with proposed model of how to reach multiple MSMEs across Kenya
• Financial Proposal

Duration

The activity is expected to commence on September 1, 2024 with trainings expected to conclude on March 31, 2024 and is equivalent to 6 consultancy days.

Deliverables

• Needs assessment report
• Training curriculum and materials.
• Schedule of training sessions and awareness campaigns
• Reports on each training session and awareness campaign conducted.
• Final Evaluation report

How to apply

Interested parties are to submit their Expression of Interest in the form of a PDF document to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by August 23, 2024.