Deadline: 20-Jun-22
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is inviting applications from local and global FinTechs with market-ready solutions that will address at least one of the identified problem statements of the implementing partners in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu or Solomon Islands that fall within the five areas of interventions and are interested in deploying their solutions.
The challenge aims to attract FinTechs to address identified problem statements which represent the challenges faced by Pacific Island Countries in developing the digital payments ecosystem.
The Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP) is a joint programme between UNCDF, UNDP and UNCTAD, in support of the development of inclusive digital economies in the Pacific. This unique partnership builds on UNCDF’s long-term work on digital finance in the Pacific region and UNCTAD’s extensive work in the area of e-commerce and the digital economy and is implemented with the administrative support from UNDP. The PDEP includes both country-specific activities, initially focusing on Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, and region-wide research and capacity building activities.
Focus Areas
Clearly indicate the areas targeted in your proposal
- Improving access to financial products and services
- Digitizing customer service
- Increase usage of financial products and services
- Streamlining of foreign exchange
- Enabling E-Commerce and in-person POS merchant payment services
Aims
The project aims for the following two core objectives:
- In a competition format, select the five most promising FinTech to test and scale their solutions in partnership with local financial service providers, that will directly benefit the respective PICs to address financial inclusion challenges
- To de-risk market entry through subsidizing the implementation of solutions and provide access to industry experts, market partners and regulators in the Pacific Islands
Funding Information
UNCDF will provide successful applicant/s:
- A performance-based grant up to 50,000 USD.
- Technical assistance and potential opportunities for market collaboration.
Outcomes
In addition to the above, the following qualitative results are expected for learning and insights:
- Level of impact and/or improvement in access/usage of financial products and services
- Type and impact of technology introduced in the participating countries (novelty, scale, applications)
- Level of user / customer satisfaction (includes level of engagement with the solution, challenges experienced along the solution-customer value chain, reasons for usage/non-usage, etc.)
- Solution assessment (includes milestones, scope changes, challenges faced, key takeaways, potential for further scale / scale-up plans, if any)
Duration: Projects are expected to have a 12-month duration. Activities are expected to be terminated no later than August 2023. Final and assessment report will have to be submitted no later than September 2023.
Geographical Focus: Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu
Eligibility Criteria
- Entity registration
- The applicant/ lead applicant must be a registered entity in any country with at least 2 years of operations as a FinTech company.
- The applicant/ lead applicant must have audited financial statements for at least one operating year; if audited financial statements are not available at the time of application, the applicant must provide the latest management accounts.
- Relevant operation licenses
- The lead applicant must be legally able to operate as a technology provider and have appropriate regulatory licenses in its home country.
- If the applicant plans to provide a financial product and/or service directly in the target geography, the applicant should either have licensing or a reasonable plan to partner with a licensed provider in the target country.
- Country of operation
- The applicant can be registered and conducting operations anywhere globally.
- Consortiums
- Applicants can apply only once under this RFA, whether independently or in a consortium.
- Joint applications between market players in the target country or countries are encouraged if the solution proposed will expand delivery networks and promote rural and/or other last-mile access to market and financial services.
- Applications from consortiums should be attached with the signed consortium Agreement.
- The lead applicant and their partners in the consortium must be registered entities with at least two years of operations, must have statutory accounts and audited financial statements for at least one operating year.
For more information, visit https://www.uncdf.org/article/7715/the-pacific-islands-fintech-innovation-challenge