A. Background of IFC
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is a leader in sustainable investment in emerging markets. IFC promotes private sector development and economic growth to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC works to help achieve the World Bank Group’s overarching goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and stimulating shared prosperity in every developing nation. To understand its impact, IFC has developed a results measurement system and a cohort of staff who specialize in helping operational colleagues understand and articulate the development impact of their projects.
At the project level, IFC sets out to achieve concrete, measurable internal development targets that are specified at the design phase and, if needed, reviewed from time to time. These targets are linked to IFC’s corporate development goals. Progress towards achieving these targets is continuously tracked by its monitoring system, after which evaluative approaches using multiple methods to assess the longer-term impact of interventions are employed. This deliberate, systematic approach allows IFC to track the progress of its projects throughout their life cycle, and incorporate lessons learned into operations to improve future goal setting and project design. It also helps IFC to become more results-focused and to improve its transparency and accountability to stakeholders.
Through the business it does with its private sector clients, IFC's priorities in Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services (MAS) are: (i) increasing productivity and access to goods and services, while protecting the environment, supporting low carbon growth and enhancing resilience to climate change related impacts; (ii) making IFC the preferred financing partner of choice for targeted clients, in part through its world-class industry expertise; (iii) supporting select local companies to grow while improving their transparency, efficiency and sustainable competitiveness; (iv) catalyzing foreign investment, including mobilizing B loans and parallel loans; and (v) developing client, sector and country-level solutions that can be scaled and replicated with a special focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
B. Project Backgrounds
GrowAfrica is looking for six (6) interns to work on Upstream and Advisory projects that aim to reduce the operational risks of the IFC investment projects through strengthening supply chains, addressing food security, increasing collaboration with the World Bank, building the capacities of farmers, improving product traceability, improving food safety, etc. By participating in these projects, interns will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of the agriculture industry and gain valuable experience in the field. The Interns will work under the overall supervision of the Project Leader and the direct supervision of the Project Coordinator.
GrowAfrica Project 1: Expanding the capacity of an Agri-commodity trader to increase its sourcing from farmers
GrowAfrica Project 2: Promoting sustainable agricultural practices and improving business management processes for coffee farmers in Uganda
GrowAfrica Project 3: Promoting agriculture production, specifically in the poultry and coffee sectors in Angola
GrowAfrica Project 4: Increasing productivity through training and establishing a reliable supply chain to revive the cotton sector in Mozambique.
GrowAfrica Project 5: Developing a food security heatmap to guide and inform the identification of investment opportunities for IFC in Africa that will reduce dependency on imports across the continent
GrowAfrica Project 6: Identifying, engaging, and collaborating with the World Bank operations that benefit from IFC’s experience working with the private sector
C. Objectives of the Internship
The IFC MAS GrowAfrica Intern Program is designed to provide a platform for qualified graduate students to bridge their academic knowledge and professional practices, facilitating a smooth transition into careers. GrowAfrica will also offer them hands-on opportunities to contribute to agribusiness development in Africa with an opportunity for them to improve their own skills in agribusiness project delivery and benefit from a dynamic learning experience with other several expectations including:
Skill Development: Interns will be expected to enhance their technical, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills crucial for professional growth.
Industry Insights: Interns will gain an understanding of industry practices, trends, and challenges, broadening their perspectives.
Networking: Interns will interact with professionals, mentors, and peers, building valuable connections for future opportunities.
Feedback and Learning: Interns will receive constructive feedback to improve performance and develop a growth mindset.
Adaptability: Interns will cultivate adaptability by being exposed to diverse situations and work environments.
Project Involvement: Interns will participate in projects, contributing meaningfully to IFC’s goals and improving their knowledge in the dynamics of agricultural supply chain.
Resume Boost: Internship experience enhances their resumes, setting them apart in the competitive job market.
D. Scope of the Assignments
The Interns are expected to:
• Assist the Project Coordinator in coordinating/facilitating the training of farmers on Good Agricultural Practices by Robust Agronomists,
• Assist the Project Coordinator in coordinating/facilitating the training and coaching of Licensed Buying Agents on good record keeping and traceability of sesame supply chain by Robust Agronomists,
• Support the Project Coordinator to collect and maintain a database of relevant project documents and draft project reports,
• Support project planning and quantitative data collection to monitor & track project indicators,
• Monitor and update a risk register, drawing attention of Project Coordinator/Project Leader of any changes to the project risks,
• Assist in the establishment of demonstration sites in each of the eight Local Government Areas (LGA) for effective participatory learning by farmers,
• Assist in the supervision and guidance of farmers on the production of good quality declared seed for sale to sesame farmers under the Community Based Seed Production Programs,
• Support program team to prepare materials and content for major activities, launches, and media outreach by the Communications team,
• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building,
• Contribute to the promotion and adoption of Sustainable Agro-ecological practices and technologies to smallholder sesame farmers,
• Contribute to the development of a heatmap for priority crops in Africa and contributing to data collection efforts and stakeholder engagements,
• Support the development of synergies with the World Bank by contributing to the design and implementation of World Bank operations,
• Assist in the coordination/facilitation of project meetings and field trips organized for stakeholders and project management to project sites, and
• Participate in other relevant duties as may be assigned by the Project Coordinator/Project Leader.