Trade and Market Intelligence Consultant

• Project:  Strengthening U.S.–Kenya Agricultural Trade through NASDA’s Efforts in Kenya
• Position: Trade and Market Intelligence Consultant
• Engagement type:  Short-term consultancy – individual consultant or firm (a named lead consultant is required)
• Duration:  Four (4) months, indicatively 10th August – 9th December 2026 (exact start/end to be confirmed on contracting)
• Location:  Kenya-based
• Reports to:  Rootooba Chief Executive Officer, working closely with the NASDA–Rootooba Project Lead
• Language:  All deliverables in English

1. Background and Context

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) is a nonpartisan association representing state departments of agriculture across the U.S. Through USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) funding under the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), NASDA is expanding market opportunities for U.S. agricultural products in Africa, including Kenya, where Rootooba, a Kenya-based trade and market systems advisory firm serves as its in-country implementation partner.

The project, “Strengthening U.S.–Kenya Agricultural Trade through NASDA’s Efforts in Kenya,” seeks to enhance U.S.–Kenya agricultural trade by improving access to market information, strengthening regulatory and institutional capacity, facilitating structured public-private dialogue, and promoting innovative approaches to agricultural extension and knowledge sharing. It is guided by four objectives:

1. Increase the visibility and footprint of U.S. agriculture in Kenya and the region through NASDA-led engagement and strategic communications.
2. Promote U.S.–Kenya trade through structured dialogue platforms aimed at identifying opportunities and addressing trade barriers.
3. Support NASDA and its partners with trade promotion activities, market intelligence, and information systems that strengthen future trade engagement.
4. Support the strengthening of agricultural extension systems in Kenya through assessment and adaptation of innovative extension approaches for local application.

A central asset under Objective 3 is a Market Information Dashboard – the project’s Trade Intelligence Platform (“the Platform”): a secure, product-led portal that consolidates market, trade, standards, SPS, certification, buyer, and opportunity information, organized around products and value chains and linked to authoritative sources. The Platform is designed to complement, not duplicate, official Kenyan and international systems, and is intended from the outset to be regionally and continentally scalable, evolving from a Kenya-focused resource into a trusted trade-intelligence asset for the East African region and the wider African market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The Trade and Market Intelligence Consultant is the intelligence and data architect for Objective 3. The role carries two intertwined mandates:

• Generate decision-grade market intelligence: produce credible, current, well-sourced analysis on the priority sectors to inform near-term stakeholder engagements, trade missions and buyer recruitment; and
• Define the data foundations of the Platform: specify the intelligence variables, taxonomy, data sources, repositories, and update logic that give the Market Information Dashboard its content and set out how that data foundation can grow from Kenya to a scalable, continental (AfCFTA-wide) trade-intelligence resource.

The Consultant is expected to understand the project and Platform vision as a whole, work in close partnership with the Software Developer engaged to build the Dashboard and apply a strict “source-before-assertion” discipline: every material statistic or compliance statement must carry a named source, retrieval date, effective/as-of date, update cadence, and accountable owner. The Consultant will avoid describing manually refreshed information as “real-time” and will direct regulatory transactions to the responsible official portals.

3. Scope of Work

This is a four-month assignment supporting Objective 3. The Consultant will provide NASDA and Rootooba with trade and market intelligence on the priority sectors – indicatively Premium Wines & Craft Beverages; Specialty Condiments & Gourmet Culinary Products; Hospitality & Food-Service Systems; Specialty Non-Alcoholic Premium Beverages; and Livestock, Feed & Fodder (final list to be confirmed at inception). The Consultant will generate the data and analysis needed to inform planned stakeholder engagements and will feed structured, provenance-tagged content into the Platform.

The assignment is deliberately designed across two horizons: (i) an immediate focus on Kenya and its East African neighbors; and (ii) a forward-looking data architecture that positions the Platform to scale to the regional (EAC/COMESA) and continental (AfCFTA) levels. The Consultant’s work on variables, taxonomy, and data sourcing should be built for that scaling path from the start.

4. Key Responsibilities

a) Inception review and alignment

• Review project documents, concept notes, the platform/proposal materials, stakeholder mapping and priority-sector information provided by NASDA and Rootooba.
• Review relevant USDA-FAS reports (including GAIN reports), market studies, trade statistics, policy documents and other secondary sources.
• Confirm priority value chains, geographies and target users, and identify information gaps requiring further assessment.

b) Trade and market assessment of priority sectors

Conduct detailed assessments of the confirmed priority sectors and product categories, including:

• Market size and growth trends; demand-drivers and consumption patterns.
• Import channels, distribution systems, and landed cost/tariff context (including the EAC Common External Tariff).
• Key market actors and competitors, and price/seasonality context where reliable.
• Regulatory and SPS requirements; opportunities and constraints affecting market growth.

c) Trade opportunity, SPS, and policy analysis

• Analyze trade opportunities and barriers affecting the selected sectors, including SPS, standards, certification, tariff, and non-tariff measures.
• Identify policy, regulatory, institutional, and market-related constraints, and assess opportunities to strengthen U.S.–Kenya (and regional) agricultural trade.
• Develop practical, prioritized recommendations for public and private sector stakeholders, and content that can feed the project’s policy dialogue agenda.

d) Buyer and trade-show identification

• Identify and profile potential importers, distributors, and industry stakeholders as targets for outreach.
• Prepare background materials for buyer-education sessions to support readiness for engagement with U.S. suppliers.
• Identify Kenyan buyers for two U.S. trade shows relevant to the priority sectors.

e) Contribution to planned stakeholder engagements

• Prepare data-backed briefing content for the delegation’s planned stakeholder engagements.
• Participate in these engagements as a technical resource, responding to questions on market intelligence.
• Summarize outcomes to inform follow-up recommendations.

f) Market Information Dashboard content and data-model contribution

• Prepare structured, provenance-tagged data and content for the Dashboard against an agreed product/value-chain content schema.
• Define update service levels (who owns each content item, review frequency, and refresh triggers), distinguishing high-risk regulatory/SPS content from market indicators and analysis.
• Provide a proposed stepwise approach and guidance for presenting value-chain data (e.g. infographics), and work with the Software Developer on dataflow and integration requirements.

g) Data architecture and definition of intelligence variables

• In collaboration with the Software Developer and the Project Lead and/or designated data steward, define the core intelligence variables and fields the Platform should capture for each product/value chain (e.g. market size and trends, demand drivers, trade flows, tariffs and landed-cost context, SPS/standards requirements, channel structure, seasonality, price context, key actors, opportunities and constraints).
• Contribute to the Platform’s canonical data model and taxonomy, including product/HS-code crosswalks and a governed agricultural product vocabulary – adopting international codes (HS, ISO country/currency/unit conventions) so records remain interoperable and regionally scalable.
• Define mandatory provenance fields for every published claim: source, source locator, jurisdiction, product/route applicability, retrieval date, effective/as-of date, update cadence, content owner, and validation status.
• Specify how each data type should be compiled, sourced, updated, and quality-checked over time, including realistic update frequencies and where export/trade data is drawn from.

h) Data sourcing and repository mapping

• Build and maintain a structured Source Register that identifies, for each source: publisher/authority, coverage, update cadence, licensing/terms, accessibility, reliability tier, and integration method.
• Systematically map data sources and repositories across four tiers, including where relevant:
  • Kenyan official sources: KEPHIS, KEBS, KenTrade, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), and KenInvest.
  • U.S. sources: USDA-FAS data, GAIN reports, and related trade resources.
  • International repositories: UN Comtrade, ITC Trade Map, World Bank WITS, FAOSTAT, and comparable trade/price databases, plus licensed commercial feeds and logistics/FX/weather services where justified.
  • Regional and continental sources:  the AfCFTA Secretariat and its tariff and non-tariff-barrier mechanisms, the East African Community (EAC) and its Common External Tariff, COMESA, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) framework.
  • Classify each source against the integration hierarchy: documented API/licensed feed; structured import (CSV/XLSX/JSON); curated official link with human review; or partner/submitted evidence – noting that no integration should be presented as committed before discovery, permissions, and licensing are validated.

i) Strategic recommendations

• Develop recommendations to support future NASDA trade-promotion initiatives and identify priority sectors and stakeholders for future engagement.
• Recommend areas for future market development and collaboration and highlight opportunities for regional expansion and future trade missions.

j) AfCFTA and continental scalability roadmap

• Define a phased blueprint for extending the Platform’s data coverage from Kenya to the EAC/COMESA region and, progressively, to the wider AfCFTA market.
• Identify continental and regional datasets, repositories, and potential data/content partnerships that would make the Platform a source of intelligence for agricultural trade across Africa.
• Specify the configuration-driven variables (geography, currency, units, taxonomy, content templates) required so new countries/regions can be added without redesign.
• Recommend prioritization and sequencing for regional expansion, and flag the data-rights, licensing, and governance requirements each step implies.

5. Deliverables and Indicative Timeline

All deliverables are submitted in English and reviewed against the agreed quality standard, with payment tied to accepted deliverables. Timing is indicative and will be confirmed in the inception report.

Deliverable	Description	Indicative timing
1. Inception report & refined methodology	Understanding of the assignment, refined workplan, data-collection and analysis approach, and confirmation of priority value chains, geographies and users (aligned with the program inception gate).	Week 2
2. Data Source Register & Intelligence-Variable Framework	An assessed register of data sources and repositories (Kenyan, U.S., international and continental), and a defined set of intelligence variables, taxonomy, HS crosswalks, provenance fields and update logic for the Platform — developed with the Software Developer and data steward.	Month 1
3. Priority-sector trade & market intelligence reports	Decision-grade market assessments for the confirmed priority sectors, covering market size, demand, channels, competitors, tariffs/landed-cost context and opportunities/constraints.	Months 2–3
4. SPS, regulatory & trade-barrier analysis	Analysis of SPS, standards, certification, tariff (incl. EAC CET) and non-tariff barriers affecting the priority sectors, with practical recommendations for public and private stakeholders.	Months 2–3
5. Dashboard content pack & visualization guidance	Structured, provenance-tagged content for the Market Information Dashboard against an agreed content schema, plus a stepwise approach and guidance for presenting value-chain data (e.g. infographics).	Month 3
6. Buyer longlist, profiles & tradeshow targeting	Profiled importers, distributors, and stakeholders, and identified Kenyan buyers for two relevant U.S. trade shows, with buyer-education background materials.	Months 2–3
7. Stakeholder-engagement briefing content & participation	Data-backed briefs for planned engagements, technical participation, and summarized outcomes to inform follow-up.	As scheduled
8. AfCFTA & continental scalability roadmap	A phased blueprint for extending the Platform’s data coverage from Kenya to the EAC/COMESA region and the wider AfCFTA market, with prioritized datasets, partnerships, configuration variables, and data-governance requirements.	Month 4
9. Final consolidated report & strategic recommendations	Synthesis of intelligence findings, dashboard/data-architecture recommendations, and priorities for future NASDA trade-promotion and regional-expansion initiatives.	Month 4

6. Guiding Principles and Standards

• Source before assertion – every material statistic or compliance statement carries a named source, retrieval date, effective date, update cadence, and accountable owner; conflicting sources are surfaced, not silently merged.
• No overclaiming – information is described as “real-time” only where the source genuinely supports it; refresh cadence and “last updated” status are always visible.
• Complement do not duplicate – the Platform interprets and links to official Kenyan and international portals; it does not issue permits, certificates or legal determinations.
• Data protection and ethics – work aligns with the Kenya Data Protection Act; personal or commercially sensitive data is minimized and never exposed without a lawful basis.
• Interoperable and scalable – international codes and open formats are used so content is reusable, and the Platform can extend across the region and continent.

7. Reporting and Working Relationships

The Consultant reports to the Rootooba Chief Executive Officer and works closely with the NASDA–Rootooba Project Lead. Day-to-day, the Consultant collaborates with the Software Developer (Market Information Dashboard), the designated SPS/regulatory resource, and the communications/design resource, and engages designated public and private stakeholders. All reports, briefs, presentations, and supporting materials are submitted in English.

8. Required Qualifications

Applications are invited from qualified individual consultants or firms (with a named lead consultant) with demonstrated experience in agricultural trade, market intelligence, agribusiness, trade policy, or related fields.

Education

• Advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, International Trade, Agricultural Policy, Development Economics, Business Administration, Public Policy, or related discipline.
• Additional qualifications in market systems development, trade facilitation, food systems, or agricultural value chains are an advantage.

Professional experience

• Minimum seven (7) years of relevant experience in agricultural trade, agribusiness, market systems development, value-chain analysis, trade policy, or related areas.
• Demonstrated experience conducting market intelligence studies, trade assessments, sector analyses, or value-chain studies.
• Demonstrated experience defining data variables, taxonomies, source registers, or market-information / trade-intelligence systems (a strong advantage, given the data-architecture nature of this role).
• Familiarity with international and African trade-data repositories e.g., UN Comtrade, ITC Trade Map, World Bank WITS, FAOSTAT, and USDA-FAS, and with the AfCFTA, EAC, COMESA, and AGOA frameworks.
• Demonstrated knowledge of agricultural trade systems within Kenya and the East African region; knowledge of Kenya’s livestock and feed/fodder sector is a strong advantage.
• Familiarity with market access issues, SPS measures, trade facilitation, regulatory systems, and private-sector development.
• Experience engaging public and private stakeholders, government agencies, industry associations, chambers of commerce, development partners, and private-sector actors, and supporting policy dialogue or public-private engagement.
• Previous experience on donor-funded, trade-promotion, or market-development initiatives, and familiarity with U.S.–Africa agricultural trade, are advantages.

Technical competencies

• Strong analytical, research, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to structure and define data and variables.
• Excellent report-writing and communication skills; ability to synthesize technical information into practical recommendations.
• Ability to prepare high-quality policy, technical, and briefing documents.

Leadership and management

• Strong stakeholder-engagement and consultation skills across government, industry, private sector, and development partners.
• Ability to work independently, manage assigned tasks, and meet agreed deadlines.
• Ability to coordinate and contribute to stakeholder consultations and technical dialogues.

Other requirements

• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Willingness to travel within Kenya, as required, to participate in planned stakeholder engagements.

9. How to Apply

Interested consultants or firms should submit a written proposal comprising:

1. A Technical Proposal outlining understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology (including the approach to data sourcing, variable definition, and the AfCFTA/continental scalability roadmap), workplan, and implementation approach.
2. A Financial Proposal detailing professional fees and any anticipated reimbursable costs.
3. Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the consultant or key personnel proposed for the assignment.
4. At least three examples of similar assignments undertaken within the last five years.
5. Contact details of at least three professional referees.

Deadline for submission (via email): 5:00 pm on 6th August 2026.

Address applications to:

The Chief Executive Officer

Rootooba Ltd, P.O. Box 8019, Nairobi, Kenya

Email: info@rootooba.com

Location: Rootooba Offices, Food Crops Research Centre (next to Plant Protection Offices), Waiyaki Way, adjacent to the Waiyaki Way–James Gichuru junction fly-over.

Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted.