Deadline: 18-Aug-21
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is requesting for applications for Transitioning Local Micro and Small Enterprises to an Aggregator E-Commerce Platform.
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are looking to work with legally established aggregator e-commerce platform operators that can support local entrepreneurs and microenterprises in Fiji, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu to migrate their business online. Applications can be for one or multiple of the listed countries. This initiative is part of UNCDF and UNDP’s socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. Successful applicant/s for the respective country is expected to sustainably expand the e-commerce platform and continue the operations as a commercially viable venture beyond the life of the partnership.
Scope
The e-commerce platform and execution should include the following components/considerations:
- Include a mobile based platform (mobile app) to host the micro and small enterprises which can run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.
- Develop a sustainable operational model that can be scaled up over the years, which should include the criteria, cost structure for on boarding local micro and small enterprises, and registration of retail and wholesale customers on to the e-commerce platform. The framework to include cost structure for transactions, and ongoing maintenance fees, etc. as applicable. It is important that costs for on boarding and using the platform is affordable for low income earning entrepreneurs.
- Develop and implement detailed plan consisting of marketing, communications, promotional, and outreach strategy that will raise awareness of the aggregate e-commerce platform, attract local entrepreneurs, and retail/wholesale customers to get registered on the platform.
- Include a practical and realistic integrated payment system for local/overseas buyers and local sellers.
- Implement an appropriate and effective end to end delivery system capable of locally delivering small packages to retail consumers or consignments to wholesale customers.
- Include well defined policies and procedures applicable for the return of damaged goods, refunds, and customer complaint handling.
- Commit on the maximum number of locally owned micro and small enterprises that can be trained and onboarded to the e-commerce platform prior to completion of this project based on the budget being proposed.
- Provide quarterly management analytics and statistics on the performance of the ecommerce platform for a period of 24 months to measure impact and sustainability. Ability to provide disaggregated data will be an added advantage.
Funding Information
UNCDF will provide successful applicant/s for the respective country:
- Performance-based grant up to 60,000 USD to implement the project;
- Technical assistance and potential opportunities for market collaboration.
Eligibility Criteria
- Entity registration
- The applicant/ lead applicant must be a registered entity.
- 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 latest management accounts.
- Country of operation
- The applicant can be based anywhere globally and duly registered and having at least one year of operations.
- Consortiums (when applicable)
- Applicants may 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 usage of digital services.
- Applications from consortiums of organizations must show that the partnership was established prior to this call for applications.
- The lead applicant and their 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. If audited financial statements are not available at the time of application, the applicant must provide latest management accounts at the due diligence stage and provide UNCDF with audited financial statements during the partnership. Project funding
- Selected applicants are encouraged to share part of the total project cost in cash (for costs such technical resources, staff, and operational expenses).
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