Fellow - India Green Entrepreneurship Business Advisor

TechnoServe is seeking a Fellow for its Green Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program in Mumbai, India, for a duration of three to six months. The role involves supporting small green businesses in waste, textiles, and forestry sectors to scale operations and enhance environmental impact. Responsibilities include developing strategies for entrepreneur attraction, selecting high-potential businesses, and facilitating training. Candidates should have 3-5 years of relevant experience and strong communication skills.
Fellow Program Implementation - Green Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program




Duration: Three to six months



Location: Mumbai, India



Fellowship: This is a fellowship and is pro bono. Travel-related expenses will be covered such as flights, housing, and per diem.






A) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:



The program is designed to address the unique needs of Green Enterprises (Small & Growing Businesses - SGBs). The intensive program will unlock the potential of SGBs in waste, textiles, and forestry sectors across India. It will aim to support Green SGBs to successfully scale up and create new jobs, and also achieve greater environmental impact from their products and services. The program will provide intensive, medium-term support to Green SGBs, and aim to create lasting impact at scale. The program aims to achieve this goal through the following outcomes/impacts:



Green SGBs successfully scale up revenue by increasing production capacity, accessing new markets, targeting new customer segments, etc. Given the green nature of these SGBs, their scale up will itself lead to greater environmental impact.
Green SGBs achieve greater environmental impact from their products and services by introducing new green products or services, adopting emerging green technologies, further greening their current products and services, etc.





B) ROLE DESCRIPTION:



Each Fellow is expected to work with the core program development, program management and implementation teams of TechnoServe India. The overall expectation is to help with the following functions:



Develop and implement a strategy to attract high-quality entrepreneurs from across India, through potential partnerships with industry associations that support small enterprises such as FICCI, green financing firms and national news media channels
Develop and initiate the process to select Green SGBs in textile, waste, or forestry sectors that have high potential to grow and improve their environmental impact
Mobilize high number of entrepreneurs for the first cohort
Liaise with reputed business schools for structured trainings for the selected entrepreneurs in the program
Play a crucial role in assessing and identifying opportunities for markets and value chains, crafting business and funding strategies, and strengthening operations and/or organizational capacity for Green SGBs.
Develop a PR and social media strategy for the program to ensure higher participation of entrepreneurs and potentially expand the program through other supporting partners



C) TYPICAL REQUIREMENT:



This role calls for an intrinsically motivated and passionate individual, looking to work in program implementation. Preferred skills and mindset include, but are not limited to, the following:



At least 3-5 years of work experience with progressively responsible roles
Demonstrated excellence in academics and professional capacity
Degree from a top tier University (preferred)
Adaptable people management and team working skills
Ability to work in a diverse team (preferably international) under resource constraints
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Willingness to work within the local constraints of the project team – including reporting and compliance requirements of the project as needed





ABOUT TECHNOSERVE:



TechnoServe is an international non-profit that promotes business solutions to poverty in the developing world by linking people in underserved communities to information, capital and markets. Launched in 1968 by Ed Bullard, we are based in Washington, D.C. and are currently operational in 29 countries across the world.



We work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries, and have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities with 50 years of proven results. In 2021 alone, TechnoServe facilitated incremental financial benefits in excess of $ 25 Million for its 54,000+ beneficiaries across 8 states in India. Internationally, our work has been recognized for its high impact and returns on donor investment. In November 2019, we were awarded as the “#1 Non-Profit” among 1,000 non-profit organisations in the category of “reducing poverty” by ImpactMatters, an independent charity evaluator which rates charities on impact and cost-effectiveness. TechnoServe has won numerous awards for the work in India and all information can be found in our website: www.technoserve.org (Learn more in our Impact Report)

TechnoServe India partners with international development organizations, corporations and grant-making foundations to execute large-scale, multi-year programs with staff deployed at the frontlines. Present in India since 2007, we:



STRENGTHEN AGRI VALUE CHAINS: We enable smallholder farmers to grow high-value products, engage with private-sector, and sell to profitable markets.
FOSTER SKILLS DEVELOPMENT: We provide business training and skills development to people in poor communities in order to improve livelihood opportunities for them.
PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: We increase incomes in target communities and in turn further catalyze economic and social development.
SUPPORT GENDER-INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES: We integrate custom support for women into our programs to expand their capacity and opportunity for sustainable livelihoods.

Some of our programs include:



The Sustainable Guar Initiative in partnership with Solvay, L’Oreal, HiChem and Henkel, which works to enhance the livelihood opportunities of guar farmers by creating a competitive guar market by linking farmers to institutional buyers.
WARDA (Women Advancement in Rural Development and Agriculture) program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which develops market led approaches to empower smallholder women farmers through Farmer Producer Companies.
Project Saathi in partnership with Cargill, which works to catalyze local economic development in the Davangere district of Karnataka.
Nirmal Dhara Dairy Demonstration, in partnership with Abbott. The shared-value program engaged 1500+ smallholder dairy farmers via interventions in the supply chain to enhance the quantity and quality of milk, and increased their revenues by 110%
Youth Employability Program works to make youth from urban slums job-ready and offers them access to lucrative employment opportunities, and has reached 10,000+ students in urban India till date of which 77% beneficiaries are women

IMPORTANT NOTE: To apply, you will complete the general TechnoServe Fellows Program application. If we determine that your experience and availability match this particular project, we will alert you of that. If not, you may be placed in the general pool of Fellow candidates and considered for other projects. Please see below for details on the general TechnoServe Fellows Program application.







TechnoServe Fellows Program (https://www.technoserve.org/work-with-us/fellows-program/)



TechnoServe is seeking qualified candidates to join our Fellows Program. Fellows take part in field-based projects ranging from 3 to 12 months in which they engage with entrepreneurs, industry experts, TechnoServe field staff, and other stakeholders. Please note, we review Fellow applications for our general candidate database on a rolling basis, and encourage qualified, enthusiastic candidates – especially those with French and/or Portuguese fluency – to apply.



While no two projects are exactly alike, typical Fellow roles often involve:



Assessing and identifying opportunities for markets, value chains, and industries
Crafting business and funding strategies in partnership with TechnoServe clients
Strengthening the operations and/or organizational capacity of TechnoServe clients
Designing innovative TechnoServe projects and proposals
Evaluating program impact

Other, less frequent projects include researching and writing communications materials, developing training curricula, and designing strategic research for our clients and partners.



Review our detailed sample project descriptions (https://www.technoserve.org/work-with-us/fellows-program/sample-projects/) to understand the skills and capabilities most often required. View our Fellows FAQ page (https://www.technoserve.org/work-with-us/fellows-program/faq/) for more information.



This application is designed to give you the opportunity to tell us about your experience, skills, interests, and motivation to become a Fellow. We will use the information you provide to determine if a potential project match exists. Please complete the questions as accurately as possible to give yourself the best chance for consideration.



To be eligible for the Fellows Program, you must:



Have successfully completed your undergraduate studies at an accredited four-year program.
Have at least two to three years of professional, full-time work experience.
Be available to volunteer for a minimum of ten weeks on the ground.

When completing the application, please keep in mind:



You cannot change your responses once your application has been submitted. Please send an email to fellows@tns.org (mailto:fellows@tns.org) if your dates of availability or other required information changes.
You must attach a PDF document containing the responses to two essay questions before submitting your application. The essay questions will be provided within the application.
Your application will be reviewed within two weeks of submission. You will be contacted if your background is found to be a potential match with a Fellow role.

Please send questions about the Fellows Program or the application form to fellows@tns.org.