Deadline: 15-Jan-24
UN Women is actively seeking to collaborate with national, regional and local organizations, preferably women-led and managed, and service providers to work for women’s economic empowerment through localized and innovative initiatives reaching to women from communities at risk and least served.
The objective of this call for proposals is to support Afghan women to have increased knowledge and capacities to benefit from livelihood opportunities including through access to entrepreneurship skills, finance and markets. Afghan women entrepreneurs, home-based businesses, to startup or sustain and grow their businesses or women seeking for suitable income generating activities – in any kind of initiative – to build their capacity, awareness and promote their business and provide access to resources and finance.
Areas
- The proposal is expected to focus on one or more following areas of work:
- Area 1: Livelihood opportunities for women and women headed households as part of emergency response (early recovery) specially for earthquake response or forced returnees, IDPs in Nanghahar and Kandahar
- Area 2: Support Afghan women entrepreneurs with running businesses to improve quality of their products, marketing and networking including expansion of trade opportunities, both domestically and internationally including support for business registration, international certification, and quality compliances etc.
- Area 3: Initiatives promoting climate smart businesses, livestock and agri-businesses focusing on rural settings and women farmers (agriculture/livestock/fisheries) to contribute to food security of their communities and generate income.
- Area 4: Financial literacy and skills for women to manage their finances effectively, to access loans including knowledge about Islamic finance, current banking/micro finance rules/regulations and facilitating their access to loans.
- Area 5: Initiatives to enhance digital literacy and to introduce technology and innovations e.g. online markets, digital financial services, climate controlled indoor/greenhouse farming, use of new tools and techniques for handicrafts or other production etc.
- Area 6: Support women through financial inclusion linkage involves empowering them with access to financial services, resources, and opportunities.
- Area 7: Support to businesswomen associations and their spaces (women only markets, business centres etc.) with provision of additional basic services such as provision of other basic services (psychosocial support, health support).
Funding Information
- The budget range for one proposal should be between a minimum of USD 50,000 and a maximum of USD 100,000.
Timeframe
- UN Women is seeking one or multiple partner(s) to implement projects from 6 months up to 12 months.
All applications must demonstrate how the project(s) will:
- Ensure that women and girls from hard-to-reach populations and provinces are included and that an intersectional approach is undertaken (women with different backgrounds, religious beliefs, women with disabilities, women from diverse geographies, and various age groups.
- Embed conflict sensitivity in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project, considering the safety and security of project personnel and beneficiaries; and ensuring risks are not exacerbated through project activities.
- Adjust to contextual challenges related to working in the Afghanistan context, including the ability to deliver and operate in-country.
- Undertake monitoring, including collection of baselines and end-line data to measure intended project outputs.
- Have a robust risk management approach to mitigate risks in a rapidly changing context.
Competencies
- Technical/functional competencies required
- Demonstrated expertise in livelihood, women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, women’s rights and gender equality in Afghanistan.
- Demonstrated experience bringing women together in restrictive contexts for women’s rights.
- Experienced in implementing adaptive programming that embeds conflict sensitivity.
- Strong understanding of convening livelihood activities for women from a safety and security perspective – online and offline.
- Ability to work across Afghanistan’s diversity, including women from diverse backgrounds, religious beliefs, ages, geographies, and abilities.
- Capacity to deliver expected results in current context (governance and management competencies, and financial and administrative competency).
- Relevance of the mandate and the role of the organization to implement expected results and to contribute to the sustainability of said results.
- Legally registered (active registration status) with necessary documents in place.
- Other characteristics, which will be an asset for the performance of services
- Submitted by women-led and/or gender-focused organizations.
- (Women-led and/or gender-focused organizations are those that are able to demonstrate that they are governed and led by women, where a minimum of 51 per cent of leadership positions in various decision-making levels, including in management, senior management and board levels are held by women and their work is focused on promoting gender equality in Afghanistan and women focussed organizations are those who have proven track record working for women and gender equality).
- Submitted by Afghan organizations with proven expertise and experience in advancing women’s economic empowerment, women’s rights and promoting gender equality in Afghanistan.
Ineligible
- The following are not eligible to apply to this call for proposals:
- The applicant does not have legal status in Afghanistan.
- The applicant is on the Consolidated UN Security Council Sanctions list.
- The applicant is being investigated for fraud, corruption, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or other wrongdoing.
- The applicant is a government agency or institution, UN agency.
For more information, visit UN Women.