Project Title: Consultancy for Business Advisory Services to JPL’s Business Operations and Path to Scale Strategy

Project Location: Monrovia, Liberia

Firm: 1

Timeline: February – March 2024

Application Deadline: 26th February 2024, 5pm Liberia time

About J-Palm Liberia

J-Palm Liberia works to empower smallholder oil palm processors in rural communities by providing access to modern, more efficient processing technologies. Our machines reduce processing time by 75% and extraction rates by 53% on average.

We manage and operate our mills in partnership with rural communities. Oil palm processors within a certain radius harvest palm fruit from communally-owned trees, and use our machines to process palm oil at no up-front cost. Additionally, we provide an option to purchase palm oil from smallholders at going market rates, providing quick access to cash when needed.

We offtake the palm oil and palm kernels from farmers, and process them into Palm Kernel Oil, which we use to manufacture a range of natural food, cosmetics and household care products.

Background of Partnership with GSMA

J-Palm Liberia is developing two mobile blockchain apps to deliver transparency and traceability to Liberian wild-harvest palm oil supply chains. Using mobile technology, we can demonstrate that forests where palm trees grow wild are being protected whilst improving incomes and livelihoods for palm harvesters, delivering a sustainable, no-deforestation palm product that makes communities more resilient to climate change. This project is being carried out in partnership with GSMA.

Background and Objectives of the Business Advisory Services

JPL has scaled from zero to become the largest Liberian-owned manufacturer of personal care products in Liberia, utilizing a combination of “hustle” and innovative market strategies. As the company grows over the next three years, its ambition is to grow its revenues 10-fold and expand operations from 96 to at least 500 villages. This projected growth is challenged by increasingly more complex operations and relies on its ability to build an internally coherent culture, values and structure that translate into operational excellence. 

The company seeks a business advisory firm to help them think more strategically and holistically about its business and operations models and path to scale.

Business Advisory Services

The business advisory firm will work closely with the company’s management in an active, hands-on manner to develop and implement programs, tools, and frameworks to achieve the co-created growth objectives, including developing clarity around the company’s mission, vision and values, its business model, target markets, market segmentation, product offerings, route to market, HR requirements, capital requirements and process mapping.

This process will be coupled with an internal assessment of the company’s current capacity underscoring capital, human resources and operational processes to understand the current gaps. Furthermore, the firm will support the company to operationalize best practices to develop its team’s capacities to deliver seamlessly, and to develop a framework for talent management.

The project will be delivered within one month, with a possibility to extend into a second project focused on implementation.

Phase One: Scoping and Business Model Advisory (One Month)

1. Initial assessment and strategy development for the company’s path-to-scale
2. Evaluating the company’s capacity and conducting a gap analysis
3. Assessing and evaluating the company’s business model
4. Developing an operational excellence framework for the company
5. Conducting a culture and values review and integration
6. Designing a talent development and management process

Business Advisory Firm Deliverables

The firm will achieve the following deliverable:

• A final report covering:
• The baseline assessment report
• Operational excellence framework design
• Learnings and recommendation for implementation of best practices

Eligibility Criteria:

• At least three years experience working with Liberian businesses.

• Excellent understanding of the Liberian business environment – proven through research and implementation of programs that have facilitated startup development and growth.

• Proven research and strategic development ability based on past projects and the firm's current capacity.

• Skilled in documenting, synthesizing  and reporting on learnings that can be translated into best practices for an individual company and an ecosystem

• Ability to communicate progress and successes with major ecosystem players / key stakeholders about adopting learnings to facilitate a startup ecosystem development

The Consultant will report to:

• JPL’s CEO

The Consultant will work closely with:

• JPL’s HR and Admin Manager
• GSMA Grant Manager

Timeframe / Schedule

The project is expected to last for a maximum of one month commencing as early as possible in February 2024. 

Document Submission

Interested firms should kindly submit documents via email in one Portable Document Format, PDF, and with the subject line “Coordination of Mobile Money usage for J-Palm Liberia participants” to jobs@jpalmliberia.com and before 5pm Liberia time on February 26, 2024:

• Cover letter outlining capacities and experience

• Detailed (proposed) design and work plan  that includes timeline and budget

• CV/Resume of consultants

• Two samples  of previous work done if applicable

NOTE: Applications received after the deadline will  not be considered

If you have any questions, or need any additional information, kindly email us at jobs@jpalmliberia.com