a. Design a public awareness campaign to educate community members regarding the purpose and role of the cooperative, the roles and responsibilities of cooperative members, and the benefits they can expect to receive through membership. The campaign will provide information to community members regarding cooperative governance, management and the election process.
b. In collaboration with NRECA staff, draft a business plan that presents the organizational structure of the cooperative, describes the cooperative’s business activities, and presents the financial projections for costs and revenues derived from solar home system and mini-grid operations.
c. In connection with the business plan, evaluate the geographic scope and financial requirements to establish the cooperative. The financial model and business plan will include an update to NRECA’s prior feasibility study for a solar PV mini-grid serving these communities.
d. Provide the support required to register the cooperative enterprise as well as to prepare and present an application for a license to the Ethiopia Energy Authority.
Background
In 2017, NRECA conducted off-grid feasibility studies in several unelectrified communities in Ethiopia, including in Maji woreda of the SNNP region, as part of the USAID Beyond the Grid Feasibility Studies project. The feasibility studies’ objectives were to analyze the site profiles of the unelectrified communities (including developing a demand profile), design preliminary off-grid renewable energy-based generation systems, and a preliminary financial analysis of each system’s performance.
In 2018, the Maji Development Coalition (MDC), a new U.S. non-profit allied with Ethiopian faith-based groups, started a project to invest in economic development and equity in Maji woreda. MDC is currently incubating a solar home system (SHS) business that would commercialize solar PV equipment in Maji and Tum on a leasing basis, including taking on initial capitalization of the SHS business. To support their efforts MDC has requested NRECA’s support to start the enterprise (called the Maji clean energy cooperative) as a community-based electric cooperative.
As such, NRECA’s will support the establishment of the Maji clean energy cooperative via several capacity-building mechanisms, including providing a community development advisor for the cooperatives formation.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
The principal duties of the cooperative development advisor will be to manage and oversee the following activities:
Terms of Employment
Six (6) month consultancy contract with significant time spent in the project area of Maji woreda. The consultant will work out of NRECA Ethiopia’s headquarters in Addis Ababa but is expected to spend approximately 50 percent of their time in the project area.
Supervision and Reporting
The Cooperative Development Advisor will report to NRECA Ethiopia’s Country Director. They will also work closely with NRECA Ethiopia and NRECA HQ staff on the cooperative’s formation, including NRECA Ethiopia’s Chief Engineer and NRECA International Vice President.