Title: Strategic Advisor, IHUZO Platform

Consultancy Duration:  6 Months, Renewable

Expected Start Date:  September 9, 2025

1. Background

The Commons Project, in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, is launching a transformative program to create 14,000 jobs for youth in Rwanda. This initiative centers around training and equipping young people to run micro-enterprises, selling goods through a custom-built IHUZO platform, developed by the Rwanda ICT Chamber ( as a digital public good). Youth will access startup capital through recoverable grants, and their progress, including sales, repayments, and business growth, will be tracked through integrated digital systems. The platform will unify payments, inventory management, logistics, and data analytics to support youth in operating successful businesses.

2. Objective of the Consultancy

The Strategic Advisor, IHUZO Platform, will bridge the TCP business development and ICT Chamber technology teams. This role advises on translating business needs into technical requirements and platform features into actionable tools for youth entrepreneurs while also mapping out potential features for integrations with existing marketplaces. The advisor will also be responsible with onboarding product suppliers through delivering executive training on digitalization while advising the technology team on key adjustments.

3. Scope of Advisory Support

A. Platform-Product Alignment

• Advise on translating product and business needs into precise, technically actionable platform requirements.
• Advise on the alignment of product onboarding flows, transaction logic, and platform architecture with the capabilities and limitations of youth sellers.
• Support the development of features and interfaces that reflect the real-world context of sales, logistics, payments, and repayments.

B. Payments & Revenue Integration

• Guide the design and integration of robust, low-barrier payment systems that handle micro-payments, installments, and grant tracking.
• Ensure the system captures real-time revenue data, supports transparent recoverable grant processes, and aligns with field realities.

C. Product Ecosystem & User Readiness

• Assist in structuring product portfolios that match platform constraints, youth capabilities, and local market demand.
• Provide insight into packaging, pricing, digital FMCG, and essential goods listings.
• Ensure each product is optimized for the platform’s visibility, trust, and mobile-first access.
  
  
  

D. Entrepreneur & Ecosystem Support

• Advise on platform features that support financial literacy, repayment tracking, and business coaching.
• Provide input on tools that reduce youth failure rates, including mentorship integrations, AI-enabled FAQs, or crisis alerts.
• Help define key platform-user interaction models and support loops.

E. Data & Feedback Loops

• Advise on designing systems and processes that link platform usage data to actionable business intelligence for program improvement.
• Facilitate real-time communication bridges between product managers, youth users, and platform developers to improve services continuously.

4. Expected Deliverables

• Tech-Product Integration Briefs linking user needs with platform functionalities.
• Youth Seller Journey Maps across product lines, with UX and operational touchpoints.
• Operational Alignment Reports on youth feedback, product experience, and tech solutions.
• Executive Training Manual on Digitalization for FMCGs
• 2 Training Workshops ( for executives)
• Final Advisory Report summarizing platform-product synergy, user feedback insights, and scale-up strategy.
  
  
  

5. Desired Profile of the Consultant

The ideal candidate will possess a potent blend of strategic insight, hands-on digital expertise, and an understanding of youth entrepreneurship and product ecosystems in African markets. The advisor should be a systems thinker with a demonstrated ability to link business needs with technology development.

1. Educational Requirements:

• Master’s degree in business, Finance, Technology Management, or related field.

2. Professional Experience:

• At least 10 years of leadership or advisory experience at the intersection of digital platforms, payments, FMCG, and financial services.
• Proven ability to develop or advise on digital marketplaces that support youth-led or commission-based sales models.
• Strong background in NDFI (Non-Deposit Financial Institutions) or recoverable capital frameworks.
• Experience working with social enterprises or inclusive business models targeting low-income or underserved populations.
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical features into marketable tools, and vice versa.
• Track record of success in digitizing value chains, particularly in rural or informal economies.
• Experience mentoring tech founders, product teams, or ecosystem builders in emerging markets.
• Ability to work across functions and mediate between tech and business priorities effectively.
• Thought leadership or public speaking experience in inclusive digitalization, youth enterprise, or platform-based commerce is a plus.

6. Supervision and Collaboration

The Strategic Advisor will report to the Project Lead and work collaboratively with the ICT Chamber technology development team and the program’s product/business team. This role emphasizes alignment, facilitation, and real-time feedback over direct implementation, focusing on actionable advisory support, team capacity building, and outcome coherence.

7. Supervision and Collaboration

Application deadline: All interested applicants must submit their CVs and Motivation Statement to employment@ict.rw, mentioning the position in email subject by Sunday, September 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM.