Deadline: 28-Feb-2022
The United Nation Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is now requesting for applications “Increase access and usage of innovative financial services in Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana”.
Under Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn), UNCDF will support providers and partners in the development and /or expansion of innovative use-cases, products or business models4 to facilitate access and usage of financial services for the Ghanaian diaspora as well as youth, women, returning migrants and MSMEs in Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana.
Pillars
Solutions should address one of the two following pillars:
- Driving diaspora investments: UNCDF is open to proposals from applicants to provide innovative, scalable and commercially viable financial services and products that enable diaspora groups to channel their financial flows at the benefit of local economies in Western and Ashanti regions.
- Innovative lending solutions: UNCDF is open to proposals from applicants to provide innovative, scalable and commercially viable financial services and products that enable the entrepreneurs and/or MSMEs in Ashanti and Western regions to access financing.
Funding Information
- UNCDF will select technically-compliant applicants, providing a grant or technical assistance for an amount up to US$ 200,000 per applicant.
- Project duration can vary from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 18 months. All activities are expected to be completed by the end of the project period and no later than September 2023.
Eligibility Criteria
- The lead applicant must be a service provider duly registered (i.e. a bank, microfinance institution, insurance company, payment service provider, agent banking aggregator, mobile network operator, fintech company, non-banking financial institutions, remittance providers, money transfer operators, etc.) and be able to perform the project proposed.
- The lead applicant and its partners 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.
- The lead applicant can be based anywhere globally, however the operations of the lead applicant’s organizations should target the vulnerable groups identified by this RfA i.e. Ghanaian diaspora, youth, women, returning migrants and MSMEs in Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana.
- The lead applicant and the consortium partners must have fulfilled all obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or obligations relating to the payment of taxes per the legal provisions in their registration country.
- Depending on the main area of activity, the lead applicant or the consortium partners must have the relevant operating licenses to work and operate in Ghana.
- The lead applicant and the consortium partners may apply only once under this RFA, whether independently or in a consortium.
- The lead applicant and the consortium must contribute at least 20 percent of the project’s cash costs (costs may include technical infrastructure, resources, and operations).
- The lead applicant and the consortium must have at least an existing solution having tested a proof of concept that is ready to undergo pilot testing.
Consortium
- Joint applications between market players (including those examples of registered entities given above and non-governmental organizations, public institutions, associations) in Ghana are encouraged if the solution proposed will expand delivery networks and promote last-mile access to the target groups.
- Applications from consortiums of organizations must show that the intention of the partnership was established prior to this call for applications (e.g. memorandum of understanding between said legal entities which must be attached to the submission form). The members need to designate a party as the main entity.
- The applicants can be based anywhere globally, however the operations of at least one of the consortium’s member organizations should target the vulnerable groups identified by this RfA, namely youth, women, returning migrants and MSMEs in Ashanti and Western in Ghana.
- Depending on the main area of activity, the lead applicant or the consortium partners must have the relevant operating licenses to work and operate in Ghana.
- UNCDF Financing Grant Agreement will be signed by the entity appointed by the other members of the consortium as the lead applicant.
For more information, visit https://www.uncdf.org/article/7447/rfa-increase-access-and-usage-of-innovative-financial-services-in-ashanti-and-western-regions-of-ghana