WDFI Coalition Application for Funding in Ethiopia

Deadline: 22-Jun-23

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is pleased to announce a call for applications to support advocacy efforts and practical solutions to advance women’s digital financial inclusion in Ethiopia.

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 Women’s Digital and Financial Inclusion Advocacy Hub is a catalyst for collective action to increase women’s digital financial inclusion. Led by Women’s World Banking (WWB) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Advocacy Hub is a collective of local, regional, and global partners that unify and amplify advocacy through coordinated campaigns, resulting in targeted and scalable impact

The WDFI Hub has a grant making facility to help build advocacy capacity and advance innovative solutions with organizations based in Ethiopia and Indonesia. The funding facility is administered by Women’s World Banking, with UNCDF acting as a technical advisor for partner pre-selection, monitoring and evaluation. As a founding partner of the WDFI Advocacy Hub, UNCDF is pleased to announce a this call for expressions of interest (EoI) for the Ethiopia coalition.

Scope Of work

• The Global Hub’s call to action highlights the four priorities listed:
  • Access to Technology
  • Access to Skills
  • Access to Digital Financial Services
  • Establish Data Collection About Women Entrepreneurs
• The grant mut be used within four to six months of disbursement and all projects need to gather evidence of impact in line with key indicators for measurement, and report within six months and key indicators for measurement outlined.

Areas of intervention & Challenges/ Problem Statement and Objectives for solution

• Access to Technology
  • Challenges: Women are less likely to have access to and use digital technologies, e.g., mobile phones, due to a myriad of barriers such as affordability, skills, social norms, etc.
  • Objectives: Ensure Every Woman Can Leverage Technology, and Access Financial Services
• Access to skills
  • Challenges: Women often lack the skills to use digital financial services due to multiple barriers, such as e.g., limited education and confidence, mobility challenges, etc.
  • Objectives: Ensure every Woman Has Access to Education and Initiatives That Increase Her Confidence and Digital Financial Capabilities
• Access to Digital Financial Services
  • Challenges: There is a substantial gender gap in access to financial services due to a wide range of barriers such as as affordability, limited digital skills, safety concerns, insufficient relevant content, etc.
  • Objectives: Ensure That Every Woman Can Trust and Leverage Digital Financial Services by Designing Protection Mechanisms That Address Consumer Risks
• Establish Data Collection About Women Entrepreneurs
  • Challenges: There is a lack of gender disaggregated data when it comes to access to DFS globally and in Ethiopia in particular.
  • Objectives: Ensure That Every Women is Seen, Recognized, and Understood at Both the Local and Global Level Through Data Collection and Measurement Methodology

Funding Information

• WWB contributions may range from 5,000 USD to 30,000 USD.
• Projects are expected to have a maximum of 6 months’ duration. Activities are expected to be terminated no later than 12/23. Final and assessment report will have to be submitted no later than 01/24.

Geographical Scope: All Applicants must be registered in Ethiopia. The primary grant recipient must be a registered civil society organization or non-governmental organization.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entity registration
  • The applicant/ lead applicant must be a registered civil society organization, registered under the relevant authorities in Ethiopia.
  • Relevant operation licenses (when applicable)
  • The lead applicant must be a non-for-profit organization (civil society organization or non-governmental organisation), private sector or government stakeholders are also accepted, if the primary implementing organization is a CSO or NGO
  • Country of operation: Ethiopia
  • The lead applicant must have at least one year of operations and must have statutory accounts and audited financial statements for at least one operating year.
  • Applicants can 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 expands delivery networks and promote further collaboration.
• Exclusionary Criteria:
  • Applicants shall not have been the subject of bankruptcy, liquidation, judicial settlement, safeguarding, cessation of activity or any other similar situation resulting from a similar procedure.
  • Applicants and any of their staff or member of their board of directors shall not be included in the United Nations financial sanctions lists,5 particularly in the fight against the financing of terrorism and against attacks on international peace and security; and
• Applicants must not be involved in any of the following activities:
  • Manufacture, sale or distribution of controversial weapons or their components, including cluster bombs, anti-personnel mines, biological or chemical weapons or nuclear weapons
  • Manufacture, sale or distribution of armaments and/or weapons or their components, including military supplies and equipment
  • Replica weapons marketed to children
  • Manufacture, sale or distribution of tobacco or tobacco products
  • Involvement in the manufacture, sale and distribution of pornography
  • Manufacture, sale or distribution of substances subject to international bans or phase-outs, and wildlife or products regulated under the CITES
  • Gambling including casinos, betting etc. (excluding lotteries with charitable objectives)
  • Violation of human rights or complicity in human rights violations
  • Use or toleration of forced or compulsory labor
  • Use or toleration of child labor
• Applicants shall have fulfilled all the obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with legal provisions in force in the country of incorporation
• Women’s World Banking will conduct due diligence on selected applicants. Applicants must have documents ready for confirmation that they meet the eligibility criteria including certificate of compliance with the tax authorities and any other documentary evidence that might be requested by UNCDF besides the application form, with UNCDF acting as a technical advisor for grant partner pre-selection, monitoring and evaluation.”

For more information, visit UNCDF.

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