Deadline: 8-Nov-21
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is requesting for applications (RFAs) for the Agricultural Value Chain Digitization to support the development and growth of digital agribusiness models and solutions to alleviate financial and other constraints for agribusinesses and smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, in the region following the disruptions caused by COVID-19 in agricultural value chains.
UNCDF, through this RFA, seeks to develop inclusive digital economies in the countries of strategic interest in the Asia region. It is imperative to focus on agricultural value chains digitization given their contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employed population to achieve this goal.
Focus Areas
Focus intervention areas under this RFA will include:
- Access to finance: The facilitation of alternative digital financing solutions for smallholder farmers such as, but not restricted to, crowdfunding and digital credit. This could also include agricultural digitization services and models for generating the digital records of women smallholder farmers and their collectives and linking them with financial service providers.
- Digitization solutions for agricultural value chain: The connection of farmers and enterprises to input suppliers and agricultural processors such as backward and forward linkages through digital channels. This could also include agritech solutions piloting and scaling enterprises services such as B2B2C that digitize the agricultural last mile procurement and communications with women smallholders.
- Market linkages: The support for innovations for digitizing supply chains and connecting smallholder farmers to e-commerce platforms to channel their farm products directly to consumers.
- The improvement of public service delivery: The support for innovations in public agencies at national, provincial and local levels to manage the database of farmers, government subsidies agricultural extension and other support services using digital technologies for agricultural value chain ecosystem development.
- Innovative digital technology solutions and products: Agricultural insurance technology solutions to address the challenges of the lifecycle of an insured product: data and analytics, sales and distribution, and premiums &and claims. This could include providing agricultural micro-insurance to women smallholder farmers or developing innovations in livestock registration and insurance, or weather-based digital crop insurance schemes to curb climate impacts.
Funding Information
- The applications can range between US$50,000 and US$70,000.
- Projects are expected to last 12 months. Activities are expected to be terminated no later than December 2022.
Geographical Scope
Country-wide in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal.
Eligibility Criteria
- Entity registration
- The applicant or lead applicant must be a registered entity.
- Country of operation
- The applicant can be based anywhere globally, but the project implementation and solution must focus on agricultural value chain digitization in one or more of the target countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal.
- If the applicant does not have regulatory approval to pilot the proposed solution in the target country or countries, the applicant must partner with a regulated institution in the country or countries to deliver the solution.
- Consortium
- Joint applications between market players in the target country or countries are encouraged if the proposed solution will expand agricultural value chain digitization with a particular focus to benefit women and youth.
- Applicants may apply only once under this RFA, whether independently or in a consortium.
- Applications from consortiums of organizations must show that the partnership was established prior to this call for applications or due to this call for application with a letter of intent.
- The lead applicant and their consortium partner must be registered entities with at least one year of operations and must have statutory accounts and audited financial statements for at least one operating year.
- Solutions to be supported
- Applicants must have an existing solution having tested a proof of concept that is ready to undergo pilot testing for a duration of 12 months.
- The proposed solution must be implemented within a project duration of 12 months after the signature of the PBA.
For more information, visit https://www.uncdf.org/article/7258/rfa-agricultural-value-chain-digitization-in-bangladesh-cambodia-and-nepal