DRC Education Market Research Consultant

Company Overview:

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits. 

For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved - and is committed to continuing to improve - economies, societies and most importantly, people's lives. 

Palladium is a child-safe organisation, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status. 

Project Overview and Role:

The $250 Million, 8-year USAID CATALYZE contract offers a facilitated partnership model that will craft solutions to crowd in $2 Billion in blended finance (i.e. blended concessional and commercial finance) to USAID partner countries; it can work in any development sector or region. Launched in October 2019, CATALYZE is a buy-in mechanism that allows USAID Bureaus and Missions to efficiently deploy investment facilitation solutions that respond to the needs of specific sectors, issues, and geographies. The

CATALYZE platform can:
Develop a pipeline of financeable transactions in target geographies and sectors;
Link financeable opportunities to sources of capital, structure funds, and close complex transactions;
Support new financial intermediaries in developing countries to build or strengthen local financial ecosystems; and
Identify and assess blended finance approaches

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

The APS Addendum to CATALYZE invited Concept Papers that focus on mobilizing finance and stimulating innovation in the education sector through partnerships with the private sector that support areas relevant to USAID’s 2018 Education Policy in selected Sub-Saharan African countries. USAID is particularly interested in working with financial intermediaries to support entrepreneurs that provide direct and ancillary education services that benefit disadvantaged populations.

This assignment in DRC will assess the market for edufinance and continue the co-creation process with the Palladium staff assigned to the CATALYZE project, selected APS applicant(s), and USAID. The market assessment in DRC follows a desktop research market assessment completed in March 2020. The assessment requires validating assumptions and testing hypotheses discovered in the desktop assessment by meeting with, interviewing, and visiting key stakeholders in DRC. The co-creation process is the next step in the selection and procurement process to review and select an APS applicant(s) for consideration for an award. The process includes validating assumptions, performing due diligence, and modifying the APS applicant(s) concept to the DRC context.

To achieve the objective of assessing the edufinance market assessment and co-creation in DRC, the Company seeks a consultant to identify, contact, and introduce key stakeholders to the CATALYZE project team and to facilitate a meeting via video or audio conference. In addition, the Consultant may be assigned tasks to validate information and assumptions collected from media and other sources, to perform due diligence on select sites in Kinshasa, and to contribute to the market research as needed.

 Required Qualifications:

To complete the above scope and deliverables, the desired consultant will possess:
Academic and/or professional background in the education sector
Existing networks in the education and/or edufinance sector in order to identify, contact and interview key stakeholders and conduct other research tasks
Demonstrable experience conducting market assessments or similar research and analysis
Extensive knowledge and familiarity of the DRC and local context, particularly related to education
Oral and written fluency in French