Deadline: 30 April 2020
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is accepting applications for the Innovative Digital Solutions for the Resilience of MSMEs in the COVID-19 Context in Senegal.
In line with the coordinated efforts of the United Nations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNCDF supports LDCs and other countries in need through its primary mandate to build and leverage stable and resilient local economies. a range of technical skills and investment instruments to reduce and limit the economic and social difficulties of communities in poverty.
UNCDF covers three main areas of work: (1) developing and financing inclusive digital economies through a market development approach, largely driven by digital finance and innovation; (2) financing local development through fiscal decentralization (including local financing for adaptation to climate change), municipal financing and financing of structured projects, to stimulate market transformation in economic development local; and (3) the financing of investments, to stimulate the transformation of the market in the “missing medium”, including investments, “due diligence”,
In the COVID-19 context, and in a period of uncertainty as to the duration and extent of containment measures, UNCDF is pleased to collaborate with private sector actors in Senegal , by leveraging the power of digital technologies to help MSMEs to:
- Streamline their existing distribution channels;
- Optimize their inventory management;
- Create online and home distribution channels;
- Integrate digital payments; and
- Leverage other digital solutions and applications for greater efficiency and revenue generation.
Solutions
The following non-exhaustive list of solutions corresponds to the objective of this Call for Proposals:
- Online shops for MSMEs (transition to electronic commerce);
- Home delivery services for MSMEs;
- Digital platform to provide instant credit lines to mobile financial agents, super agents and others;
- Cash-in / cash-out services at home;
- Electronic presale vouchers for MSMEs;
- Assistance to MSMEs to accept electronic money (transition to digital merchants);
- Mobile income protection insurance for MSMEs; and
- Electronic salary payments
Funding Information
- The financial assistance will reach a maximum of 100,000 USD and will be eligible to cover the following costs:
- Project management cost for a dedicated project manager within the organization (compulsory)
- Communication / marketing to MSMEs selected for the project (mandatory)
- Additional operational costs for the implementation of the proposed project
- The maximum project completion date is December 31, 2020.
Eligibility Criteria
- In accordance with the priority area of application, the applicant must be properly constituted and registered in Senegal;
- The applicant must operate in Senegal for at least one year;
- Applicants must have at least one Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or a fully fledged product on the market that resolves the problem statement;
- The candidate must have audited financial statements for at least the last year;
- Not be in a state of repair or have been subject to bankruptcy, liquidation, legal settlement, safeguard, cessation of activity or any other similar situation resulting from ‘a similar procedure;
- Not appear on the UN financial sanctions list, in particular in the fight against the financing of terrorism and against threats to peace and international security;
- Have fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions in force in Senegal;
The products to be delivered, as well as all the related correspondence exchanged by the organization and UNCDF, must be written in French.
For more information, visit https://www.uncdf.org/article/5563/rfa-solutions-numriques-innovantes-pour-la-rsilience-des-mpme-dans-le-contexte-covid-19-au-sngal