Business and Strategic Planning Consultant for Humanitarian Energy Plc
Description
Individual consultant: To develop a business & strategic plan for Humanitarian Energy Plc
Role: Business and Strategic Planning Consultant for Humanitarian Energy Plc
Location: Remote/Ethiopia
Background:
Mercy Corps is a leading international non-profit organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. Our team of more than 6,000 humanitarians works in over 40 countries to help people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
The Global Humanitarian Energy Opportunity
Access to clean, reliable and affordable energy is only part of the predicament of countries with energy access issues. They are also threatened by fragility, conflict, and climate change, which can collectively drive population displacement and large-scale.
More than 114 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations, with 20% of the world’s refugee population hosted in Sub-Saharan Africa. When displacement occurs, a major challenge is how to address people’s access to energy for their well-being and income – not only for those displaced, but also for their host communities and the associated humanitarian operations, who are often already suffering from a lack of access to clean and adequate energy.
Even though the average refugee camp is in place for about 18 years, more than 90% of refugees in camp settings do not have access to electricity, with only 19% having access to clean cooking solutions; at the same time, only six humanitarian operations contribute to 194,000 tCO2 greenhouse gas emissions yearly through the use of diesel power generators, leading to the deterioration of the environmental conditions of the already fragile settings where they intervene.
This creates a business opportunity to develop and scale a sustainable humanitarian energy-as-a-service (HEaaS) model that powers households and productive activities, as well as humanitarian operations and agencies.
In the light of this global opportunity, Mercy Corps developed Enter Energy Ethiopia, a programmatic initiative whose vision is to power displaced and host communities in their journey to resilience through clean, affordable and sustainable energy solutions and decarbonize the humanitarian operations that support them. This pilot culminated in Mercy Corps incorporating a commercial vehicle, Humanitarian Energy Plc in Ethiopia to realize the energy as a service model for humanitarian settings in Ethiopia.
Humanitarian Energy Plc designs, finances, deploys and operates power assets serving refugee and host communities in Ethiopia, as well as humanitarian operations, providing reliable, 24-hour, clean energy services. The Company sustains its operations and expansion by charging and collecting consumption-based payments from its users; charges are affordable, pre-paid and based on kWh-based metering. In May 2024, the company has developed its first 254 kWp solar PV-based minigrid in Sheder, Fafan zone of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia, serving over 17,600 refugees and their host community with access clean, reliable and sustainable energy.
The large global forced displaced population creates a market opportunity to develop sustainable energy solutions for communities and organizations; especially with few private energy companies interested in this sector that Mercy Corps has enormous operational and programmatic experience in.
Objectives of this assignment:
Mercy Corps is seeking an individual consultant to serve as an internal thought partner and refine key elements of our long-term strategic business plan, and develop some new elements of this plan, to enable operationalization of the above humanitarian energy solutions opportunity. The consultant will address the following deliverables:
- The Opportunity: Scale of the Problem/Opportunity. A large part of this data/information is already available as such the consultant shall summarize and articulate/reframe:
- the current and future quantitative scale of the energy problem in humanitarian contexts and the commercial opportunity it presents.
- key regions and populations affected by humanitarian energy scarcity.
- market trends and emerging opportunities in the humanitarian energy sector.
- Business model/value proposition - Humanitarian Energy as a Service (HaaS). Mercy Corps has undertaken an extensive set of work developing and refining the business model since 2020. The consultant shall, working closely with the team:
- Finetune the business model/offering of Humanitarian Energy Plc in the energy-as-a-service industry by developing a unified, clear value proposition to current and prospective clients including.
- Reviewing the target customers and beneficiaries for each service.
- Mercy Corps has conducted preliminary assessments of possible operational countries. The consultant shall work with the team to review and confirm the proposed operational countries and strategic partnerships.
- Outline how Mercy Corps’ experience and resources can be leveraged and integrated with the model including the competitive advantages and unique selling propositions.
- Growth Strategy. The consultant shall:
- Develop a growth plan with clear criteria for assessing and prioritizing opportunities with an objective of positioning Humanitarian Energy Plc as a leading global (semi-) commercial humanitarian energy service provider.
- Define criteria for evaluating market opportunities (e.g., market size, regulatory environment, risk factors).
- Prioritize high-potential markets and projects.
- Develop a phased plan for market entry and expansion.
- Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure growth and success.
- Proposed business operating structure. The Mercy Corps team has designed preliminary operating structure for the effective operation of the business opportunity. The consultant shall, working closely with the team:
- Review the proposed operating structure; and propose an adjustment suitable for actualizing the business model including.
- The optimal team structure/composition for Humanitarian Energy.
- Recommend the best jurisdiction(s) for registration based on business environment and tax treaties.
- Using available documents and working with the team to summarize and articulate why Mercy Corps should promote such a commercial venture including.
- Summarizing insights and lessons learned from Mercy Corps' operations in Ethiopia and other regions.
- Highlight Mercy Corps’ track record in humanitarian efforts and energy projects.
- Demonstrate how Mercy Corps’ values and mission align with the goals of Humanitarian Energy.
- Justify why Mercy Corps is uniquely positioned to spearhead this initiative.
- Summarize case studies or examples of successful Mercy Corps projects that support the rationale.
- High-level Financial Model
- Assess current financial resources and identify funding gaps including proposals for raising additional funds (e.g., grants, equity, debt).
- Provide potential funding sources and ongoing fundraising efforts.
- Develop a high-level financial model projecting costs, revenues, and profitability including key financial analysis such ROI, break-even and sensitivity analysis etc
- Key risks and mitigation. Working with the Mercy Corps team, the consultant shall review and agree on key risks to business operation and viability as well as any of those that relate to Mercy Corps and any shareholders and propose appropriate mitigation measures.
Mode of Delivery of assignment.
- Shortlisted consultants will be invited by Mercy Corps to a 2-hour briefing session, which will present key progress to date and available information/data to enable the consultants appropriately estimate the LOE and ask any clarifying questions.
- The consultant, during the period of the assignment, will be considered an integral part of the Enter Energy team, working very closely with the team to effectively execute the assignment.
- A number of the information/data required for the assignment is already available. The consultant shall verify some of the information, gather any additional ones required (minimal) and work together with the team in developing the business plan. It is expected that interviews and discussions with key internal stakeholders will be conducted. Each section of the business plan shall be discussed with key promoters of the business model; with any reviews and corrections made and inputs integrated.
Timeline for assignment
- Project Kick-off - Week 1
- Interim Business Plan (The Opportunity & Business model/value proposition) - Week 2
- Interim Business Plan (Proposed organizational structure & Growth Strategy) - Week 3
- Interim Business Plan (Funding Strategy and Financial Plan & Risks) - Week 4
- Final Business Plan – week 6
- Presentation to Mercy Corps Leadership – week 7
Final Deliverables
- Final Business Plan.
- High-level Financial models and projections.
- Slides/Presentation materials summarizing findings and recommendations.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.