SMME Ecosystem Consultant
High-level Overview
The client is seeking an experienced individual consultant to strengthen the SMME ecosystem around South Africa's Just Energy Transition Funding Platform. Reporting to the Funding Platform Manager within the project management unit, the consultant will formalize partnerships, establish a clear enterprise graduation pathway, and connect beneficiaries to appropriate business-development support and finance. The role will translate recent ecosystem-mapping findings into practical coordination architecture, with particular attention to Mpumalanga, women-led enterprises, youth entrepreneurs, and transition-affected communities. The ideal candidate will bring deep experience in SMME development and ecosystem coordination, a strong network across enterprise-support and funding organizations, and applied knowledge of investment readiness, blended finance, and South Africa's Just Energy Transition landscape.
Role & Responsibilities
Role: SMME Ecosystem Consultant – Energy Transition
Direct Report: Funding Platform Manager within the project management unit
Candidates required: 1
Deliverables:
Experience required:
Location: South Africa (hybrid, with a delivery focus on Mpumalanga)
Travel requirements:
Periodic travel within South Africa, particularly Mpumalanga, as required for ecosystem engagement, workshops, clinics, and beneficiary support.
Terms of agreement
Required start date: July 2026
Contracting period: 12 months, with an estimated level of effort of up to 180 days. The timeline may extend to 18 months if the underlying grant is extended; the allocated days would remain unchanged.
Budget: TBC
The client is seeking an experienced individual consultant to strengthen the SMME ecosystem around South Africa's Just Energy Transition Funding Platform. Reporting to the Funding Platform Manager within the project management unit, the consultant will formalize partnerships, establish a clear enterprise graduation pathway, and connect beneficiaries to appropriate business-development support and finance. The role will translate recent ecosystem-mapping findings into practical coordination architecture, with particular attention to Mpumalanga, women-led enterprises, youth entrepreneurs, and transition-affected communities. The ideal candidate will bring deep experience in SMME development and ecosystem coordination, a strong network across enterprise-support and funding organizations, and applied knowledge of investment readiness, blended finance, and South Africa's Just Energy Transition landscape.
Role & Responsibilities
Role: SMME Ecosystem Consultant – Energy Transition
Direct Report: Funding Platform Manager within the project management unit
Candidates required: 1
Deliverables:
- Review existing ecosystem-mapping findings and data, map relevant actors by sector, support stage, and geography, and submit an inception report with a 12-month workplan.
- Develop a coordinated SMME graduation framework that defines support pathways from ideation through investment readiness and scale, aligned with funding windows and accredited partner services.
- Formalize partnerships with at least 20 JET-aligned incubators, accelerators, hubs, business-development service providers, funders, and other actors, supported by clear referral and coordination protocols.
- Provide hands-on beneficiary navigation, facilitate workshops, clinics, and bilateral engagements, and work toward pairing 100 projects with appropriate ecosystem support services.
- Develop and maintain a centralized platform resource covering active partners, eligibility criteria, support programs, blended-finance options, and Mpumalanga-specific initiatives.
- Support the design and adjudication of future expressions of interest for projects and programs seeking project-preparation support services.
- Submit four quarterly progress reports and a final report covering partnerships, referrals, beneficiary support, graduation progress, KPI performance, lessons learned, and next-phase recommendations.
Experience required:
- A postgraduate degree in business development, development studies, economics, public policy, environmental science, or a related field.
- At least eight years of experience in SMME development, enterprise support, ecosystem coordination, or a closely related field.
- Demonstrated delivery experience with incubators, accelerators, hubs, business-development service providers, or comparable enterprise-support organizations.
- A proven record of developing and managing formal partnerships, including memoranda of understanding or letters of agreement, within development or enterprise-support ecosystems.
- Experience working in Mpumalanga, coal-affected communities, or comparable transition-affected geographies, with an understanding of their socioeconomic dynamics.
- Strong knowledge of South Africa's Just Energy Transition landscape, including relevant actors, programs, priorities, and grant-funded project pipelines.
- Ability to design practical SMME graduation frameworks, define stage-appropriate support tiers, and align enterprise-development milestones with funding and investment-readiness requirements.
- Applied understanding of investment readiness, blended-finance instruments, business-development services, and the constraints affecting enterprises across their growth lifecycle.
- Ability to establish fair referral, accreditation, and coordination mechanisms across multiple partners while reducing duplication and fragmentation.
- Strong program and evidence management, including KPI tracking, partner registers, referral logs, beneficiary records, and concise reporting.
- Soft skills: Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement across government, funders, enterprise-support organizations, and SMMEs.
- A collaborative and credible operating style, with the ability to build trust and convert discussions into formal commitments and practical referrals.
- Strong organization, initiative, sound judgment, and sensitivity to women-led enterprises, youth entrepreneurs, and transition-affected communities.
- Additional information about desired profiles: Candidates may be based anywhere in South Africa, provided they can travel regularly to Mpumalanga. Profiles combining hands-on SMME support, formal partnership development, and investment-readiness experience with direct knowledge of the South African JET ecosystem will be prioritized. Mpumalanga or comparable coal-transition experience, and work supporting women-led enterprises or youth entrepreneurship, are strongly preferred.
Location: South Africa (hybrid, with a delivery focus on Mpumalanga)
Travel requirements:
Periodic travel within South Africa, particularly Mpumalanga, as required for ecosystem engagement, workshops, clinics, and beneficiary support.
Terms of agreement
Required start date: July 2026
Contracting period: 12 months, with an estimated level of effort of up to 180 days. The timeline may extend to 18 months if the underlying grant is extended; the allocated days would remain unchanged.
Budget: TBC