Thematic Expert- Digital Economy (Kenya)

Job description

**About Busara** Founded in 2014, Busara is a leading behavioral science and research organization dedicated to improving development outcomes by understanding and influencing human behavior. Busara Uganda partners with governments, development agencies, foundations, research institutions, NGOs, and private sector organizations to design solutions that are evidence-based, contextually grounded, and capable of achieving impact at scale. Over the past decade, Busara has grown into one of the largest behavioral science organizations globally, combining global expertise with deep local knowledge and implementation experience. Busara's mission is to advance and apply behavioral science to help people and organizations make better decisions. The organization's distinctive value lies in its ability to connect rigorous research with practical implementation. Busara combines behavioral science, adult learning principles, human-centered design, systems thinking, and applied research methods to identify the behavioral, social, and institutional factors that influence program outcomes. This enables partners to move beyond understanding what challenges exist to understanding why they exist and how to address them sustainably. Busara supports partners across the full program lifecycle, including assessments, behavioral diagnostics, curriculum development, training and capacity strengthening, program design, monitoring and evaluation, adoption measurement, and knowledge generation. The Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works Strategy aims to enable 7 million young women and men across Kenya to access dignified and fulfilling work. Through partnerships with financial institutions, training providers, enterprise support organizations, and other ecosystem actors, the initiative supports programs designed to expand employment opportunities and strengthen pathways to sustainable livelihoods for youth. Over its implementation, the scale and diversity of supported programs have grown substantially across sectors and geographies. As the strategy has matured, the Foundation’s learning priorities have shifted to place greater emphasis on understanding the nature and durability of the outcomes these programs generate. The central evidence question has shifted from assessing how many young people are reached to examining whether they can access and sustain dignified and fulfilling work as a result of these interventions. In this context, the Foundation wants to understand several interrelated dimensions of program outcomes. These include the sustainability of employment and livelihood outcomes over time, differences in outcomes across youth segments, and the extent to which interventions contribute to broader institutional and ecosystem changes. Busara is partnering with Mastercard Foundation as its Impact Partner Organization (IPO) in Kenya to conduct Program Outcomes Assessments (POA) and Strategic Reviews across Foundation-supported programs under the Young Africa Works Strategy. These assessments and reviews combine quantitative and qualitative inquiry structured around four core POA question areas, including Reach and Access, Progression to Dignified and Fulfilling Work, Improvements in Quality of Life, and Systems and Institutional Contribution, alongside program-specific objectives for each Implementing Partner reviewed. Busara seeks the services of a Digital Economy Thematic Expert on a short-term basis to support work across the Digital Economy portfolio, whose programs strengthen digital economy transformation and technology adoption, access to finance, and growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises among youth participants. **Purpose of the Role** The expert will support Busara and Mastercard Foundation Kenya to establish: - How digital trends (digital skilling, digital jobs and gig work, e-commerce, digital financial services, and platformisation of work) are affecting the sectors and value chains where the strategy is active. - The extent to which the current strategy, its partnerships, and investments are positioned to respond to and capitalize on these trends. - The barriers, gaps, and opportunities for meaningful participation of young women, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and refugee communities in the digital economy. - Opportunities, risks, and gaps in the initiative’s digital economy positioning, and practical, prioritized recommendations to strengthen it. ### Key Responsibilities - Conduct a literature review of Kenya’s digital economy ecosystem and review relevant Young Africa Works Strategy documents, reports, and implementing partner results data, including Kenya’s digital economy policy and regulatory context. - Provide technical input to the assessments and reviews relating to Digital Economy indicators, including measurement and interpretation of youth employment, inclusion, and ecosystem outcomes. - Map current trends in Kenya’s digital economy relevant to youth employment, such as digital skills development, online and platform-based work, e-commerce, digital financial inclusion, and county-level variation; and benchmark against relevant digital economy strategies in East Africa. - Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and consultations with relevant stakeholders and ecosystem actors, including government, private sector, youth, and intermediary organizations. - Assess the extent to which current programs prepare young women and men for digital employment, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and labor market-relevant digital skills. - Assess the relevance and positioning of the strategy’s current partner portfolio and flagship interventions, their alignment with national digital economy policy priorities, and the adequacy of implementation capacity and resourcing. - Identify barriers, risks, and strategic opportunities for the strategy to enhance digital economy outcomes, including risks of exclusion, affordability constraints, and weak ecosystem coordination, and explore ways to deepen integration into the digital economy. - Evaluate the effectiveness of digital economy training, mentorship, and linkages to job markets and finance, and assess whether these interventions lead to sustained progression into work or enterprise outcomes. - Produce a report with findings, recommendations, and a prioritization framework for dissemination to Busara and the Young Africa Works stakeholders, including an actionable roadmap with sequencing, ownership, and monitoring considerations. ### Indicative Deliverables - An inception report covering the methodology, work plan, and budget. - Key Informant Interview (KII) discussion guides tailored to various stakeholders. - Audio recordings and notes from Key Informant Interview (KII) discussions. - A draft narrative report including an executive summary, findings, learnings and recommendations, and a prioritized action matrix. - A PowerPoint slide deck for presentation to the Foundation. - Hold a validation and dissemination session with the Foundation. - A final PowerPoint slide deck incorporating input from the validation and dissemination session. - Participate in sensemaking sessions with the Foundation, Implementing Partners, and other relevant ecosystem actors, as required. - A final narrative report incorporating input from the validation, dissemination, and sensemaking sessions. ### Required Qualifications and Experience - Minimum of a Master’s degree in a relevant field such as Information Systems, ICT Policy and Regulation, Economics, Development Studies, Digital Development or Innovation, or a related field. - Minimum of 8-10 years’ experience working in digital economy strategy, digital inclusion, or technology-for-development, with a deep understanding of Kenya or the East African digital landscape. - Proven track record and consulting experience conducting strategic reviews, evaluations, or advisory assignments for large-scale development programs in the digital economy sector. - Strong understanding of Kenya’s digital economy landscape, including digital financial services, e-commerce, gig/platform work, and relevant policy and regulatory bodies. - Familiarity with youth employment and digital economy adoption programming preferred; familiarity with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works is an added advantage. - Excellent analytical, writing, and facilitation/stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information for both technical and donor/board audiences. ### Duration and Level of Effort Twenty-four (24) working days over a period of three (3) months (starting September 2026). *The timelines above are indicative and will be finalized jointly with the successful consultant during the inception phase, in line with the specific review cycle for which they are engaged.*