Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Consultancy Work to Conduct Access to Finance Institutional Diagnostic and Barrier Assessment of Participating Financial Institutions
Consultancy, Research Jobs
- Zimbabwe Agricultural Develop…
- Expires 24 Aug 2026
- Harare
- Full Time
Job Description
1. The Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust (ZADT)
ZADT is a local Trust which was established and registered in 2010 with the objective of facilitating business development services and access to patient capital/soft loans to smallholder farmers and/or agriculture value chain actors working with and for the benefit of smallholder farmers including women and youth in Zimbabwe.
2. Background
The Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust (ZADT) is implementing the Sustainable, Hybrid Inclusive Finance for Transformation (SHIFT) Project, a four-year Market Systems Development (MSD) initiative aimed at transforming Zimbabwe's agricultural finance ecosystem. The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of Partner Financial Institutions (PFIs), improve access to finance for agribusiness SMEs, women and youth farmers and, mobilise private sector investment, strengthen agricultural value chains and promote climate-smart, inclusive and commercially sustainable financial markets.
3. Rationale
ZADT is implementing the SHIFT Project to contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable agricultural finance ecosystem in Zimbabwe. The project seeks to expand access to finance for smallholder farmers, agribusiness SMEs, women and youth while strengthening the capacity and incentives of market actors, particularly financial institutions, to sustainably serve these market segments.
Under previous programming, including the recent Creating Adaptive Unique Systems for financing Entrepreneurial Women And Youth (CAUSEWAY) Project, ZADT played an important intermediation role under its two (2) pillars of:
▪ Business development and capacity building: providing financial literacy training, business development support services, financial proposal development, mentorship and linking eligible clients to financial institutions.
▪ Revolving Fund raising and management for sustainability, and disbursement to qualifying participants through Partner financial Institutions.
This approach contributed to improved financial capability among clients and increased engagement between underserved enterprises and financial institutions. The experience also demonstrated that capacity building and facilitated linkages can help reduce information asymmetries, improve beneficiary bankability and increase lender confidence and appetite to support the target beneficiaries.
However, due to finite and limited resources continued reliance on Project-Supported and/or Revolving Fund financing is not sufficient to achieve sustainable financial inclusion at scale. A key priority under SHIFT is therefore to unlock and crowd-in private capital from financial institutions, enabling them to increasingly finance smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs using their own balance sheets and commercially sustainable lending models.
The experience from the CAUSEWAY Project indicates that financial institutions continue to face a number of constraints in serving these market segments. These include risk perceptions, collateral requirements, limited information on borrowers, weak market linkages, short loan tenures, uneconomic and low facility ticket sizes, low interest margins, limited insurance, digital access gaps, high transactional costs and stringent internal lending processes to manage risk. Financial institutions also reported challenges associated with the accuracy and integrity of production records and history, financial and income statements/ records presented by clients, while farmers identified limited understanding of record keeping and financial reporting capacity requirements by Financial Institutions, weak market linkages and short loan tenures as barriers to finance.
The SHIFT Project therefore seeks to move beyond addressing only the capacity constraints of clients and instead understand and address the underlying institutional, behavioural, market and ecosystem constraints within Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) that limit the flow of private capital to underserved agricultural market segments.
The assignment will apply a Market Systems Development (MSD) lens, focusing on the underlying functions, incentives, relationships, capabilities and rules that influence the behaviour of financial institutions. The assessment will therefore not seek to identify gaps simply for the purpose of providing project-funded solutions, but rather to determine which constraints can be sustainably addressed through targeted Technical Assistance, Institutional Changes, Market Actor partnerships, Innovation and Improved Incentives.
The findings will inform ZADT's tailored Technical Assistance (TA) support to Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) under SHIFT and contribute to the project's objective of strengthening an enabling environment and sustainable agricultural finance ecosystem.
4. Purpose of the Assignment
The purpose of the assignment is to identify and assess institutional, operational, market and systemic barriers within participating financial institutions that constrain the mobilisation and deployment of private capital to smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs, and to develop a prioritised Technical Assistance framework to address these constraints.
The assignment will enable ZADT and participating FIs to understand why private capital is not flowing at the required scale, what prevents FIs from sustainably serving these market segments, and what changes in institutional practices, capabilities, incentives, systems and market relationships could unlock increased commercial lending. The assignment will therefore focus on diagnosis and prioritisation of gaps, rather than directly implementing solutions.
5. Objectives of the Study
The specific objectives of the assignment are to:
a) Assess the current capacity and readiness of participating FIs to sustainably finance smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs using their own capital.
b) Identify institutional and operational gaps within PFIs that constrain agricultural and SME lending, including gaps in credit appraisal, risk assessment, portfolio management, product development, client acquisition, monitoring and internal decision-making processes.
c) Identify barriers to the mobilisation and deployment of private capital, including risk perceptions, cost structures, collateral requirements, transaction costs, internal risk appetite, portfolio performance and profitability considerations.
d) Assess the extent to which existing financial products, lending processes and delivery models respond to the realities of smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs, including agricultural production cycles, cash flows, value chain participation and market arrangements.
e) Identify gaps in the information and market infrastructure required by FIs to confidently assess and finance smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs.
f) Assess institutional capacity and gaps in digital finance, data management, alternative credit assessment and cash-flow-based lending approaches that could improve the efficiency and scalability of agricultural finance.
g) Identify opportunities for FIs to strengthen linkages with value chain actors, including aggregators, off-takers, producer organisations, input suppliers and other market actors, in ways that reduce lending risks and improve the bankability of clients.
h) Identify gaps in climate-smart and risk-sensitive agricultural finance, including agricultural insurance, climate risk assessment and financing mechanisms that respond to climate-related risks.
i) Prioritise institutional and systemic constraints that can be addressed through targeted Technical Assistance under SHIFT, distinguishing between constraints that require TA, those that require market actor collaboration, and those that require broader policy or ecosystem interventions.
j) Develop PFI-specific Technical Assistance recommendations and institutional improvement priorities that can contribute to increased mobilisation of private capital and sustainable financing of smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs.
Duties and Responsibilities
6. Scope of Work
The consultant will apply a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach throughout the assignment, focusing on the underlying constraints that influence the ability and willingness of financial institutions to sustainably finance smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs. The scope will include, but will not necessarily be limited to:
a) Assess the institutional capacity of participating FIs to finance agricultural SMEs and smallholder farmers, including organisational strategy and appetite for agricultural and SME finance, governance, internal lending policies and procedures, staff capacity and specialised agricultural/SME lending expertise, performance targets and incentives for agricultural lending, branch-level and head-office processes, cost structures
b) Assess the extent to which existing credit appraisal and risk management systems enable or constrain agricultural and SME lending, including credit assessment methodologies, collateral requirements, cash-flow assessment; alternative credit assessment approaches, credit scoring, agricultural risk assessment, portfolio monitoring, non-performing loans and PAR, risk appetite, loan approval processes and turnaround times.
c) Identify gaps in existing products and lending processes that constrain access to finance for smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs. The assessment should consider loan size and ticket sizes loan tenure, repayment structures, interest rates and pricing, collateral requirements etc
d) Assess the factors influencing the willingness and ability of PFIs to deploy their own capital to smallholder farmers and agribusiness SMEs.
e) Assess information gaps that affect credit decision-making, identify where information asymmetry prevents FIs from confidently assessing or monitoring clients.
f) Assess institutional gaps relating to digital loan origination, digital record keeping, mobile financial services, digital credit assessment, alternative credit scoring, cash-flow tracking and portfolio monitoring and reporting
7. Methodology
The consultant will adopt a participatory, evidence-based and Market Systems Development (MSD) approach, combining a review of relevant project and PFI documents, structured institutional diagnostic tools, consultations with PFI management and relevant technical teams, analysis of lending processes and available portfolio data, and engagement with selected market actors. The assessment will identify institutional, operational, incentive, information, coordination and ecosystem-level barriers, and distinguish constraints that can be addressed through targeted Technical Assistance from those requiring broader market or policy interventions.
8. Deliverables
The consultant will be expected to deliver the following:
a) A brief inception report setting out understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, assessment framework, workplan, data collection tools and proposed approach to prioritising identified constraints.
b) A diagnostic report for each selected two (2) Banks and three (3) Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) clearly identifying institutional and operational gaps, lending process barriers, risk management constraints, product, portfolio, digital, data and staff capacity gaps; market linkage and ecosystem constraints; and barriers to mobilisation of private capital.
c) A consolidated assessment highlighting common and institution-specific constraints across participating FIs and identifying systemic issues affecting agricultural finance.
d) Prioritised Technical Assistance Framework
e) PFI-Specific Technical Assistance Roadmaps
f) A consolidated final report presenting the findings, systemic constraints, priority TA areas and recommendations for SHIFT's engagement with participating financial institutions.
9. Duration of Assignment
The assignment is expected to be completed within one (1) month from contract signing. Given the limited duration, the assignment should be tightly focused and prioritised.
Qualifications and Experience
10. Required Qualifications and Experience
• Advanced degree in Finance, Economics, Banking, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, Development Finance, or a related field.
• At least 10 years' experience in agricultural finance, financial sector development, MSME finance, blended finance, or financial product development.
• Demonstrated experience in financial sector assessments, designing and/or reviewing inclusive financial products such as agricultural finance, climate finance, value chain finance, digital finance, export finance, or SME finance.
• Proven experience working with commercial banks, microfinance institutions, development finance institutions, regulators, or other financial sector stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of Market Systems Development (MSD) approaches, financial inclusion, agricultural value chains, and private sector development.
• Demonstrated experience working with commercial banks, microfinance institutions, development finance institutions or other financial sector actors.
• Strong understanding of agricultural value chains, SME finance and private capital mobilisation.
• Excellent analytical, report writing, and communication skills, with the ability to produce high-quality technical reports and practical recommendations.
• Experience working in Zimbabwe or similar developing-country contexts will be an added advantage.
How to Apply
11. Deadline for submission of applications
Interested consultants should submit:
⦁A technical proposal demonstrating understanding of the assignment and proposed methodology;
⦁A financial proposal;
⦁A brief statement of relevant experience;
⦁CV(s) of the proposed consultant(s).
Applications should be submitted to ZADT by 1600hrs (Zimbabwe time) on 24th August 2026 through email on the following address;
info@zadt.co.zw and copy kmaturure@zadt.co.zw
