Result of Service

i. Enhanced ability of local end users and solar irrigation solution providers (companies) to engage with financiers, including enhanced capacity to pitch high quality information to investors and enhanced understanding of investor’s investment criteria. ii. Better-informed investors on market size, investment ready projects and investment ready companies and pipelines. iii. Better informed policymakers regarding the needed framework conditions to support uptake and diffusion of solar irrigation technologies through private markets. iv. Design of financial support mechanism / modeled transaction based on identified needs to further facilitate investments in SIP. Target beneficiaries ● Gender disaggregated end-user smallholder farmers ● Local solar irrigation solution providers (companies) ● Financiers ● Policymakers

Work Location

Kampala, Uganda

Expected duration

11 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The Accelerating Climate Technology Transition (ACTT) project aims to foster diffusion of nationally prioritized technologies for climate mitigation (such as energy for productive use) by generating market assessments, connecting technology providers with end-users and investors and generating concepts, and financing models relevant for increasing uptake and investment into specific ‘ready to market’ climate technology solutions. Knowledge, recommendations, and models generated in the project will be fed into policy and investment mobilisation processes through facilitation, partnerships and network linkages established and/or supported by the project and specific replication opportunities will be pursued across technologies and countries. The project seeks to address two key challenges 1) the low level of linkage between technology suppliers, potential off-takers and investors; and 2) the inadequate evidence on the progress/viability of climate technologies in meeting NDC targets. The ACTT project in Uganda builds on the previous TEMARIN project on market strengthening for climate technologies. The ACTT project will have a specific focus on solar irrigation pump (SIP) technologies for smallholder agriculture. The ACTT project is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC), supported by UNOPS, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA). Agriculture is the lifeblood of Uganda’s economy as it employs over 70% of the population (mostly smallholder farming), contributes about 25% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and 33% of export earnings. Of the 80% of Uganda’s arable land area, only about 35% is cultivated to produce a variety of crops. Uganda is also reputed to be among the leading producers of coffee, bananas, oil seed crops, nuts, fresh fruit and vegetables, and essential oils. However, commercial productivity is limited by reliance on conventional methods, the changing climatic conditions, and the limited use of inputs including quality seedlings, fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation systems. According to the World Bank, the long rainy season hitherto enjoyed by rainfed agriculture has now shortened by three months on average from nine to six months, and the dry spells within the rainy season may be further worsened. At present, only about 2% of the irrigation potential (covering 77,000 hectares of irrigated land) is utilized. Uganda’s National Irrigation Policy however, sets an ambitious target to irrigate a total of 1.5 million hectares of land by 2040 with half of the irrigation potential close to surface water resources that reduce unit cost and major infrastructure requirements. While Uganda possesses abundant freshwater resources close to the surface suitable for a more affordable micro-irrigation solutions, previous interventions have mostly focused on much larger and costly irrigation schemes connected to the grid for large commercial farmers, and only limited intervention exists for smallholder farmers who dominate the agriculture sector and are equally facing the challenges of drought. Small-scale irrigation systems offer several benefits including flexibility, modularity, technology sharing, affordability, water efficiency and rapid returns. Business models exist for small-scale irrigation solutions capable of serving 1 – 2 hectares of land and where investment costs can be recouped in less than 3 years. Despite the obvious benefits, only 1% of farmers in Uganda adopt irrigation technologies that mostly rely on diesel power which offers lower upfront cost compared to its solar counterpart which offers a relatively lower maintenance cost. Also, the smallholder agriculture market (which includes a significant proportion of women farmers) is often overlooked due to their limited ability to meet the high upfront costs of solar irrigation pumps. On the other hand, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) estimated that over 100 million solar water pumps could be installed in Africa without causing groundwater scarcity, including for example 700,000 in Kenya alone. Irrigation can lead to improved agricultural yields over twice those of rainfed agriculture, allowing for quicker return on investment in irrigation systems. According to the World Bank, rainfed agriculture supplies more than 60% of the world’s food supply on 80% of land, whereas irrigated land provides 40% of the world’s food supply on only 20% of cultivated land. In Africa, only 6% of cultivated land is equipped for irrigation – a figure that is far below the global average of 20%. This consultancy focuses on expanding the market for smallholder solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) in Uganda in the form of solar irrigation pumps by supporting the finance and business landscape for SPIS in Uganda. Solar powered irrigation is a productive-use technology that plays an important role in the clean energy transition and/or climate mitigation in the AFOLU sector. It is also a priority technology identified by the government of Uganda for its Nationally Determined Contribution. However, the challenges of securing affordable finance both for end users and for technology solution providers as well as the lack of knowledge of market potential and barriers for uptake are hindering the technology adoption at the scale required for substantial contribution to the country’s NDC ambition and economic output. On this background, this consultancy aims to accelerate investments by building capacity with end-users and solution providers, connecting them to relevant investors and to promote partnership for policy uptake and continuation. This will be achieved by: ● Facilitating finance and linking up work to policy processes: Identifying, preparing, and linking local end users and solar irrigation solution providers (companies) with potential financiers. This includes identifying specific investment barriers, business models and supporting solution providers in preparing high-quality financial presentation material. ● Identifying policy and financial support interventions needed for SIP and engaging with stakeholders on enabling environment for unlocking finance for SIP. NB. The Business and Finance Expert will work in close coordination with a Technical Expert. Activities: i. Coordinate and collaborate through regular recurrent meetings with technical expert for market assessment being hired for the project under a separate ToR. ii. Map existing SIP providers and consult with them about challenges in expanding the market and reaching end-users, including financial barriers, examples of best cases as well as map SIP providers project portfolios and investment needs. iii. Consult selected potential end-users to map appetite for SIP and investment barriers. iv. Identify potential sites for implementation of solar powered irrigation systems and conduct economic feasibility assessment of identified sites. v. Map existing solar irrigation financiers – their instruments and terms, as well as assess barriers to investments in SIP, and/or disbursement of existing funds. vi. Conduct bilateral meetings and/or workshop(s) with potential financiers including private financial institutions, credit unions and development finance institutions and SPIS suppliers to identify specific matchmaking potential with existing financial offers and instruments as well as to identify and build capacity on specific demands for data and information for investor decisions (investment criteria). vii. Work with relevant stakeholders (investors and technology providers) to model a financial transaction, targeting identified needs. viii. Work with relevant stakeholders to design a potential financial support mechanism based on available financial offers and instruments with potential additional support needed for achieving bankability of the investments in SIP by end-users and / or SIP providers. The support mechanism should also consider policy and regulatory options to create enabling environments for investments. i. Consult policymakers about the proposed financial support mechanism / model transaction and potential integration into national strategies, policies and regulation. ix. Develop a concept note addressing needs identified through stakeholder engagements and analysis of barriers, for attracting additional finance or funding to create enabling environments for investments in SIP. Deliverables: 1.A) Work plan specifying a detailed implementation plan for the project’s duration. 1.B) Mapping report on existing solar-powered irrigation financiers and their instruments and terms, including specification of arranged working relationships with specific stakeholders and organizations established for the project’s design and implementation. 2. Draft report on solar powered irrigation finance including but not limited to barriers facing selected SPIS financiers and limited disbursement in Uganda 3) Workshop report documenting consultations, workshops and group sessions with financiers and companies. 4.A) Final report on solar powered irrigation finance 4.B) Concept note for upscaling Inputs The Business and Finance Expert will have access to and use the following inputs to be provided by UNEP-CCC: ● Scoping report including stakeholder mapping, and links to reports on solar irrigation pump. ● Mapping of energy transition programs and investors in Uganda including on PUE and solar irrigation programs. ● The expert will work with UNEP-CCC project staff who will provide input and reviews. ● Organisational support for webinars will be provided by UNEP-CCC.

Qualifications/special skills

● A master´s degree or equivalent in Economics and Business Administration, Economics and Finance, Innovation, and Business Development or another relevant field is required. ● Minimum 3 years of professional experience in the field of finance for climate technology implementation. ● Demonstrated experience in designing and conducting economic feasibility studies. ● Demonstrated experience in data collection through interviews, surveys, site visits, etc. and the analysis of data to inform policy and investment decisions. ● Demonstrated experience in supporting climate technology businesses in accessing finance. Experience in matchmaking, deal structuring and closing of deals between technology suppliers and financiers is an advantage ● Demonstrated experience in providing business development support/training to climate technology businesses is an advantage. ● Demonstrated experience in organizing and executing workshops, facilitating roundtables, and conducting training sessions. • Demonstrated experience of providing input to policy processes on finance for climate technology implementation is an advantage. ● The expert should be fluent in spoken and written English. ● The expert should be located in Uganda.

Languages

● The expert should be fluent in spoken and written English.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.