UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (UNCDF)

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA)

220517 - Ethiopia Training and Capacity Building for Humanitarian

Cash and Voucher Assistance

1. Introduction

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency operating in 46 least developed countries. It
creates new opportunities for underserved parts of the communities by making public and private
finance work to increase access to finance and investment capital. 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.
UNCDF’s financing models work through two channels: financial inclusion that expands the
opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local
economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their
financial lives; and by showing how localized investments—through fiscal decentralization,
innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance—can drive public and private funding
that underpins local economic expansion and sustainable development.

UNCDF has been working with national governments to improve access to financial services for
over 25 years. In the last decade, we have focused specifically on the role digital technologies play
in accelerating usage of financial services by low-income people. In our role as a technical
assistance provider and neutral broker, UNCDF works closely with global and national partners to
build capacity and support governments to engage with the industry to facilitate solutions to key
market constraints at local and regional level. For more information, please see:
https://www.uncdf.org/article/4944/enabling-policy-and-regulation-leaving-no-one-behind-in-the-
digital-era

Digital financial systems like mobile money and agent banking are useful tools to deliver large
volumes of cash in humanitarian contexts. However, in many countries like Ethiopia most of the
beneficiaries do not have handsets or experience using them. Further, humanitarian organizations
and government officials lack an understanding of the strategic operations of these banking
systems making it difficult to set realistic expectations for them or understand the detailed sets of
pros and cons from using them.

UNCDF is familiar with these problems as they occur in rural and remote locations with low-income
populations for which these systems were not designed. Furthermore, these areas do not have
the supportive infrastructure needed to enable these systems to function conveniently for
customers. For example, customers might not be able to make transactions when the network is
down, or they may travel long distances to agents who end up not having the cash available they
want to withdraw. Low-income customers often have not had many years of formal education and
may be uncomfortable with USSD interfaces or have trouble remembering their PIN numbers
exposing them to errors and fraud. The low population densities in rural areas, and the small
number of transactions low-income people make means that mobile money and agent banking
providers cannot afford to customize these systems to those situations. However, in humanitarian
contexts where few or no other options are available, it is crucial to enhance their correct function.

The world is suffering from the socioeconomic repercussions of the pandemic of coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19). The pandemic has affected a substantial portion of the global
community, specifically marginalized groups. UNCDFs Digital financial services in Ethiopia aims to
support humanitarian interventions by building the last mile distribution finance arrangement for
DFS providers in Ethiopia with a focus in its Somali region.

This initiative will help to create capacity for digital solutions providers in the intervention areas and
the country in general. The strategy that will be developed as an outcome of this project is expected
to support the inclusion of innovative initiatives for humanitarian interventions in the country, in
other settings or in general for financial inclusion while supporting the country to meet SDG goals.

2. SUMMARY OF THIS REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA)

2.1. Purpose of the Project

The purpose of the project is to provide adequate support to digital financial service providers that
are operating in Ethiopia, specifically in Somali region of Ethiopia, for the humanitarian
interventions conducted by different organizations. The project will be implemented in partnership
with the World Food Programme (WFP) and its intervention localities in the region.

2.2. Scope of the work

This RFA will engage institutional partner/s to expand the agent network through capacity building
trainings, strategy design and on ground support to selected financial institutions that are selected
by WFP for the humanitarian intervention in Somali region and other institutions in the country. The
scope will be in the areas of Distribution network implementation strategy design, capacity
development on site training/s, on ground implementation of the strategy and development of
research paper on distribution network in Ethiopia as a tool kit.

2.3. Areas of intervention

For this request for applications (RFA), UNCDF invites applications from registered entities that
can offer innovative and scalable solutions addressing the following challenges:

Areas of intervention Challenges/ Problem Statement and Objectives for solution

Strategy/toolkit for the
network of distribution
agents
Improved strategy or toolkit to
onboard and manage agents
in the intervention areas or
similar settings
Capacity on distribution
network management
Increased FSP ability to
manage agent distribution
network, monitor its growth
and use by different services.
Challenge:
Lack of fixed financial service access points due to the absence
of detailed strategy for the delivery of digital financial services
and the contextualization of humanitarian support both in urban
and rural settings.
Objectives:
• A tool kit/strategy to support the distribution network
management in Ethiopia.
• Support humanitarian interventions with a strategy to tackle
the challenge of expanding digital financial services access
points.
• Training material for service providers on the strategy and
or tool kit
Challenge
It is observed that there is lack of capacity for service providers
in the Somali region to support the humanitarian intervention.
Managing the distribution network for mobile money for other
services in the other parts of the country is similar.
Objective
• Design, adopt and publish training materials to support
FSPs in achieving a better distribution network
(Including articles with editorial support from UNCDF)
 • Deliver on-site trainings to build the capacity of FSPs
and their employees in building and managing
distribution network agents
• Support on the on-site execution of the strategy/toolkit
use in the Somali region to recruit agents and its use for
humanitarian cash disbursement.

The examples of solutions in the identified areas of intervention are not exhaustive. The team at
UNCDF is excited to hear from potential applicants with ideas that can serve the purpose in an
innovative and inclusive manner.

2.4. How UNCDF works with partners

UNCDF takes a tailored approach to engage with partners, working with each one thoroughly to
identify business and customer needs, and helping to design, pilot, and scale up the solution along
the way. Some examples of how UNCDF works with partners include:
• Product Research: Sharing market research and knowledge to deepen partners’
understanding of customers’ behaviors, needs, constraints, and aspirations. This also includes
providing transactional data analysis and training to the business teams.
• Product design: Providing human-centered design expertise to better understand the
customer journey - physical and financial – for better product design and use-case
development tailored to the needs of low-income customers and their families. The efforts may
also involve analyzing the transactional data from a customer lens.
• Provisioning: Providing technical assistance to help design, pilot, deploy, and scale-up
solutions for impact. Technical assistance is provided by digital finance experts who are
experienced in product design, business model development, and go-to-market strategies in
some of the most challenging markets in Africa and Asia.
• Partnerships: Facilitating strategic partnerships with stakeholders – including cross-border
payment hubs, mobile network operators, financial institutions, and non-bank financial
institutions – to enable partners to reach last-mile customers and to grow sustainably. UNCDF
is uniquely positioned to be a neutral broker of partnerships and has a record of building strong
relationships with private and public organizations across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
• Policy and Advocacy: Convening efforts to support an enabling environment and build policy
and advocacy capacity for human-centered products and services to be piloted and potentially
scaled.

In this RFA, the focus will be on solutions that will support the intervention area as described in this
RFA and as it will be signed in the PBA. Applicants may identify and suggest areas where technical
support from UNCDF and its network of expertise is sought.

3. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCESS

Only applications that meet the eligibility requirements and minimum criteria for the submission will
be scored.

3.1. Eligibility Requirements

• Any type of legally registered educational organization (commercial for-profit firms,

educational institutions, non-profit organizations, universities) is eligible to apply
• Demonstrated experience and capability of proposed staff members in designing and
delivering courses, strategies, and papers on inclusive digital financial services
• Successfully delivered similar in person and online courses with proven excellent results
• Work experience in Africa
• Ability to work in English and preferably in one other local language
 • Commitment and ability to provide resources (e.g., tutors, coaches) as needed and at the
start of the project

Consortiums (when applicable)

• 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 will expand delivery networks and promote rural and/or other last-
mile access to [include the type of services the RFA is promoting].
• Applications from consortiums of organizations must show that the partnership was
established prior to this call for applications.
• The lead applicant and their financial service provider 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

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, 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

UNCDF 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.

3.2. Structure of the application

The applicant must submit a complete application form online. Please be sure to prepare the
following documents:
 • Business registration
• Latest audited financial statements
• Official document proving that the candidate does not have outstanding tax or social
security payment debts
• Technical proposal using UNCDF templates
• CV form using UNCDF templates
• Budget and workplan using templates
• Samples of course materials, specifically on the topics relevant to this RFA
• Description of learning support provided for participants such as tutors, coaches, during
the in-person training session

Only applications that follow the Submission Formats and include all the necessary
documentation will be considered.

3.3. Application deadline

All applications must be submitted by 17th of June 2022, 23:59 ETD time through UNCDF e-
investment platform:

https://apply.uncdf.org/prog/220517_-
_ethiopia_training_and_capacity_building_for_humanitarian_cash_and_voucher_assistance

However, please visit UNCDF’s Apply platform to see if this deadline has not been extended.

3.4. Expected results from the applicant

All applications must include targets on the indicators in the table below. The targets must be
disaggregated for the selected target groups. Applicants who are not able to report on one or
multiple indicators or provide disaggregated data should include a note with the reason.

The targets will be considered in the evaluation of the applications. During the negotiation process
of the performance-based agreement, selected applicants and UNCDF shall develop a monitoring
framework. This may include additional indicators and targets, tailored to the scope of the proposed
solution, activities and expected results.

Please note that during the negotiations process of the Performance based- Agreement, applicants
shall be required to integrate the monitoring framework with additional KPIs.

Indicators Disaggregation Number Remark

Number of training courses N/A Applicants are expected to
developed adjust their training for a
minimum of three segment
groups.
Number of staff selected Total Applicants are expected to
service providers that Women adjust their training for a
completed the training Youth minimum of three segment
groups.
 Number of Trainings N/A The number should include
delivered the duration of each
training.
Number of agents trained Total
(new and existing) Women
Youth
Number of new registered Total
agents Women
Youth
Number of new registered Total
agents that are active (30 Women
days) Youth

The applicant is expected to deliver the training in person and should be able to provide on ground
support in the Somali region to see the impact of the toolkit/strategy in the intervention location.

3.5. Proposed solution

The applicant should demonstrate that they have an already existing capability, strategy
development tools, training courses and materials with adequate team members who will produce
the expected deliverables in a brief period, on site at the location of intervention. The applicants
should make sure that:

• Their deliverables are practical with deeper current knowledge of the industry drawn from
direct experience and engagement in research and practice.
• The assigned experts can deliver the expected outputs of the project as described in the
proposal
• Assist participants in curating strategies along with its guidance and direction to
implementation in the solution in the intervention areas
• Deliver high-level and detailed training for different segments of experts and institutions.
• Follow up assistance in the strategy implementation to ensure sustainability of the solution.

3.6. Evaluation criteria

The Evaluation Committee will score the applications according to the evaluation criteria below.
Only applications that score at least 70 out of 100 will be considered successful and move to the
assessment of the financial proposal.

S.No. Criteria Max score

1 Organization profile and experience 15
Applicant’s profile, a record of accomplishment, reputation, experience in
similar projects and the country/region. Experience in the implementation
of other projects with UNCDF or other development agencies. Product
readiness for pilot or launch, the closer to scaleup the higher the score.
2 Team 20
Applicant’s proposed team structure and experience suited for the RFA
(skills for management, technical know-how, on the field footprint,
monitoring, and RM capacities…) What is the team composition? Size
and roles? Relevant experience in the industry?
3 Methodology 35
The applicant’s proposed methodology and approach: if the proposal is
suited for the RFA, if the work-plan is realistic, that the project strategy
covers risk management, quality control, reporting, and other project
management good practices.
 4 Additionality 10
UNCDF funding to the applicant will create:
• Financial additionality: If the applicant cannot obtain funding from
local or international private capital markets with similar terms or
quantities without official support.
• Non-financial value: Value that the private sector is not currently
offering, and which will lead to better outcomes e.g., by providing or
catalyzing knowledge and expertise, promoting social or
environmental standards, or fostering good corporate governance…
• Impact: Faster, larger, or better development impacts than the
applicant would be able to achieve working alone.
5 Marginalized group perspective 10
Applicant proposal has overseen marginalized group component in the
proposed intervention, to have them benefit equally with the other
segments of the community.
6 Sustainability and business plan 10
Applicant’s proposal sustainability on financial perspective and business
plan that could generate an investment pipeline for UNCDF.
Total 100

Depending on the need, applicants with a score of above 70% might be summoned to conduct a
short presentation on their solution.

4. AGREEMENT PARAMETERS

Potential applicants shall give evidence that their solutions are aligned to the following parameters.

4.1. Applicants

Eligible candidates can apply alone or as the lead applicant in a consortium of firms, if they comply
with the eligibility requirements outlined in section 3.1 in case of a consortium of entities applying
to the RFA, the lead applicant shall comply with the eligibility requirements. The lead applicant will
be responsible for:

i. submitting the application form on behalf of the consortium

ii. ensuring that each partner is fully aware of the composition of the partnership and the
contents of the Application Form.
iii. signing the Performance-based Agreement with UNCDF.
iv. fulfilling all obligations set out in the Performance-based Agreement.
v. ensuring the allocation and the fulfillment of the funds amongst the partner in the consortium
in compliance with the Performance-based Agreement.
vi. ensuring the allocation and the fulfillment of the tasks amongst the partner in the consortium
in compliance with the Performance-based Agreement

4.2. Target segment

Applicants should focus on strategy development in the context of Ethiopia with an extended
emphasis in Somali region. A proposal that promotes inclusivity of youth and women within the
strategy document to support the distribution network development training tools and financial
service providers is highly encouraged to submit for the RFA.

4.3. Geographical scope

The selected applicant will work with project financial institutions in the Somali region of Ethiopia
while training will be conducted in Addis Abeba Ethiopia.
 4.4. Project duration

Project is expected to have a maximum of 12-month duration, assuming a start in July 2022.

4.5. Language

The deliverables and any correspondence between the applicant organization and UNCDF must
be in English.

4.6. Budget

UNCDF will provide a performance-based grant to the selected applicants with the highest
technical score and financially compliant under the Evaluation Criteria as outlined in section 3.2
UNCDF's grant will range from 140,000 to 190,000 USD depending on the proposed solutions and
fund availability.

4.7. Project output parameters

• The partner is expected to sign a performance-based financing (grant) agreement with UNCDF
• Written outputs and deliverables of the work are considered a public good and therefore should
be placed in the public domain for use by other parties, including UNCDF and its partner
domains.
• The strategy and/or the toolkit document should be published and publicly available for use by
industry players

5. ELIGIBILITY FOR APPLICATION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

5.1. Application structure

Inquiries to this request for applications may be submitted by email to

endashaw.tesfaye@uncdf.org cc uncdf.rfa@uncdf.org

All applications must be submitted by 17th of June 2022, 23:59 ETD time through UNCDF e-
investment platform:

https://apply.uncdf.org/prog/220517_-
_ethiopia_training_and_capacity_building_for_humanitarian_cash_and_voucher_assistance

However, please visit UNCDF’s Apply platform to see if this deadline has not been extended.

5.2. Selection process

Step 1: Eligibility screening: Eligibility will be assessed according to the eligibility requirements
as outlined in section 3.1.
Step 2: Technical Evaluation: The technical Evaluation Committee will evaluate eligible
applications based on the evaluation criteria set out in section 3.2.
Step 3: Due diligence: Due diligence on the applications and their applicants will be conducted
on applications that receive the minimum qualifying score (70/100).
Step 4: Notification of applications: All applicants will be notified of the status of their applications.
Step 5: Pre-Grant negotiation and Performance-based Agreement. The selected applicants will
finalize the scope of the grant and finalize budgets, indicators, and targets, work plans, and
disbursements of the Grant that will be released on achievement of each milestone.
Step 6: Approval of the selected applications by the Investment Committee Applications will be
reviewed, discussed, and approved by the Investment Committee. Any further due diligence
requirements, risk analysis, or milestone recommendations from the Investment Committee will
be followed in later steps.
Step 7: Notification of applications: All applicants will be notified of the status of their applications
after final approval from UNCDF board / Investment Committee.

5.3. Timeline

S.No. Date Activity

1 May 30, 2022 Opening of the start of online application

2 June 13, 2022 Deadline for inquiries

3 June 17, 2022 Application deadline

The above timeline is a tentative timeline, a detailed one will be developed with the selected
applicant during the negotiation phase including their KPIs.

5.4. Real-time assistance from UNCDF

Applications and any questions about this RFA should be submitted to UNCDF by email to:
endashaw.tesfaye@uncdf.org cc uncdf.rfa@uncdf.org