Volunteer Regional Climate & AgriTech Market Strategist

Volunteer Regional Climate & AgriTech Market Strategist

This is an exceptional opportunity to work with an Ashoka Fellow, part of a global network of leading social entrepreneurs rigorously selected for their innovative ideas and character. Ashoka Fellows are dedicated to building and spreading systemic social impact, tackling challenges to create a better world. This is an unpaid, volunteer opportunity.

About eKutir

eKutir was founded to address a fundamental flaw in global agriculture: the siloed operations of farmers, food systems, and climate solutions, despite their deep interconnections. While billions are invested in seeds, inputs, credit, insurance, and climate programs, smallholder farmers often remain excluded from crucial data, markets, and decision-making processes. eKutir's mission is to construct digital public infrastructure for agriculture, enabling land, crops, farmers, climate, finance, and markets to function on a shared, trusted data and transaction layer. This fosters an integrated agricultural ecosystem, moving beyond fragmented projects.

eKutir primarily serves:

• Smallholder farmers and farmer collectives (FPOs, cooperatives, producer groups)
• Agri-enterprises and buyers sourcing from these farmers
• Financial institutions and insurers financing rural livelihoods
• Governments and climate programs delivering public goods
• Food and nutrition actors seeking traceable, regenerative supply

These stakeholders are interconnected through a unified digital infrastructure, ensuring transparent value flow across the entire system. eKutir develops and operates eK Link, a Digital Agriculture Exchange—a neutral, interoperable infrastructure akin to a financial exchange, but tailored for agriculture and land.

Through the eK Link platform:

• Farmers gain: A digital identity, a land and crop record, and access to soil tests, advisory services, inputs, buyers, finance, and climate programs.
• Cooperatives and enterprises gain: Real-time farmer, land, and production data, traceable sourcing, and risk-reduced lending and procurement.
• Governments and climate programs gain: Verified, field-level data, outcome-based program delivery, carbon, soil, and livelihood impact tracking.

AI models (ALLIN, METSA, eK Acre, eK Link) transform raw field data into actionable decision intelligence for every actor in the ecosystem. Agriculture is central to three global crises—food insecurity, farmer poverty, and climate change—yet it remains one of the least digitized and least trusted economic systems. Without field-level data, digital rails, and interoperable platforms, trillions in climate finance, food supply chains, and public programs cannot effectively reach farmers. eKutir is building this crucial missing layer: the digital backbone that facilitates the trusted flow of land, food, climate, and money.

For more information, please visit www.ekutirsb.com

Job Description

This project involves expanding two impactful, climate-smart agriculture and digital ecosystem initiatives into selected countries across Latin America & the Caribbean (LACs), Africa, and ASEAN regions. These initiatives focus on establishing trusted digital infrastructure that connects farmers, cooperatives, agri-enterprises, financial institutions, and climate programs through data-driven platforms. The primary goal is to design and localize a country-specific market entry and ecosystem strategy to drive the structured adoption of climate-smart agriculture solutions. This includes strategically positioning the initiatives within national agricultural priorities, climate commitments, and digital transformation agendas to ensure scalable and sustainable implementation.

Key Responsibilities of our Volunteers:

• Conduct comprehensive market research and stakeholder mapping within the assigned country/region.
• Identify priority segments, including farmer organizations, agri-enterprises, financial institutions, government agencies, and development partners.
• Develop a localized go-to-market and partnership strategy tailored to regional dynamics.
• Support the adaptation of positioning, messaging, and outreach efforts for the ecosystem.
• Provide critical insights on regulatory, policy, and institutional dynamics that may influence implementation.

Your work will establish the strategic groundwork for responsible and scalable adoption of climate-smart digital infrastructure in your focus country. By aligning these initiatives with local realities, policies, and market dynamics, you will play a vital role in unlocking farmer income growth, enhancing climate resilience, improving ecosystem transparency, and fostering long-term sustainability.

Volunteer Logistics

• Estimated hours required per week: 12 hours
• Estimated duration of the project: 3-6 months
• This position is Virtual (Remote)

Language Requirements

English

Desired Skills and Experience

We are seeking individuals with the following skills and expertise:

• Market Research & Strategic Analysis: Proven ability to conduct structured market assessments, stakeholder mapping, competitor benchmarking, and ecosystem analysis within the agriculture, climate, or digital sectors.
• Go-to-Market & Partnership Strategy: Experience or strong understanding of designing country-level market entry strategies, developing partnership pipelines, creating positioning frameworks, and establishing engagement models, particularly in B2B, institutional, or development-sector environments.
• Agriculture & Climate Ecosystem Understanding: Familiarity with climate-smart agriculture, regenerative practices, food systems, agri-finance, carbon markets, or rural development programs within their country or region.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication: Strong capability in engaging with diverse groups such as farmer organizations, cooperatives, agri-enterprises, financial institutions, NGOs, and government bodies. Ability to clearly translate complex digital solutions into locally relevant value propositions.
• Policy & Regulatory Awareness: Basic understanding of national agricultural policies, climate commitments (e.g., NDCs), digital infrastructure frameworks, or investment environments that may influence adoption.
• Strategic Communication & Content Development: Ability to contribute to pitch decks, country briefs, impact narratives, and localized messaging for effective ecosystem outreach.
• Analytical & Structured Thinking: Comfortable synthesizing data into actionable insights and developing clear, practical roadmaps for implementation.
• Impact Orientation & Cross-Cultural Competence: Strong motivation to work on systemic change in agriculture and climate, coupled with the ability to operate effectively across diverse cultural and institutional contexts.

Key skills/competency

• Market Research
• Strategic Analysis
• Go-to-Market Strategy
• Partnership Development
• Climate-Smart Agriculture
• Digital Ecosystems
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Policy Awareness
• Impact Tracking
• Cross-Cultural Communication