Deadline: 19-Feb-21
The Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is pleased to announce the 2020 National Calls for Proposals: Supporting Remittances in Times of Crisis in Africa.
In this context, the FFR intervenes in Africa through the Platform for Remittances, Investments and Migrants’ Entrepreneurship in Africa (PRIME Africa), a programme co-financed by the European Union, with the aim to reduce inequality and enhance financial inclusion in Africa through the reduction of remittance costs and the maximization of their impact.
Through this year’s national Calls, the FFR seeks to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on remittance markets and flows in Africa, and foster a sustained recovery and resilience for remittance families. In doing that, the awarded proposals are expected to increase economic opportunities for the rural poor through support and development of innovative, cost-effective and easily accessible international or domestic remittance services, to and from the targeted countries and their respective remittance corridors.
Objectives
This first set of national calls for proposals will focus on three targeted countries, namely The Gambia, Ghana and Senegal, and will finance initiatives that will support at least one of the following objectives:
- Reduce international remittance transaction costs – Contribute to reducing international remittance transfer costs to The Gambia, Ghana and Senegal and increase access to and use of transparent and gender-responsive low-cost services.
- Accelerate digitization of international remittances – Accelerate the use of digital products and the digital payments ecosystem to support international remittances to The Gambia, Ghana and Senegal.
- Leverage remittances to deepen financial inclusion – Use international remittances to The Gambia, Ghana and Senegal as a conduit for increasing financial inclusion and the resilience of remittance senders and recipients.
- Expand formal channels for international remittances – Promote greater access and use of formal international remittance transfers in The Gambia, Ghana and Senegal.
Funding Information
- These National Calls for Proposals 2020 will finance grants from €150,000 up to €500,000.
- The implementation period should not exceed 24 months with committed results demonstrated within this period.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following types of institutions can apply to this CfP20: private sector entities (i) for-profit entity or (ii) non-profit entity.
- Entities interested in responding to this CfP20 must bear in mind the following condition: as co-funders, IFAD shall be entitled to promote and disseminate information on any activity or product financed by the grant. Exceptions shall be explicitly stipulated in the grant proposal upon submission.
- Grants for for-profit organizations will include partial pay-for-performance mechanisms under which specific IFAD disbursements will be linked to successful key performance indicators of implementation as well as effective and dedicated co-financing.
- This CfP20 welcomes strategic partnerships linking public (central banks, financial sector regulators) and private sector organizations providing remittance support activities with formal financial intermediaries, money transfer operators, microfinance institutions, FinTechs, financial cooperatives, postal networks, diaspora networks, banks, Telcos, investment funds, and non-profit institutions, among others.
For more information, visit https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/news-detail/asset/42217312
