Call For Proposals: UN Women Fund for Women Entrepreneurs

Call For Proposals: UN Women Fund for Women Entrepreneurs

Deadline: 27-Sep-24

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) India Country Office plans to contract an organization (Civil Society Organizations, registered in India) to create a ‘UN Women Fund for Women Entrepreneurs’ under the Innovation Grant initiative, to enable women from disadvantaged communities’ access affordable /low-cost customizable and regulated credit for increased credit worthiness to access credit from formal financial institutions.

Key Result Areas

• Identification/mobilization of women borrowers
• Development of customized credit product
• Creation and Operationalization of Fund for Women Entrepreneurs
• Mobilization of individual and institutional investors to top up UN Women’s grant five-fold
• Disbursement of loans of INR 1 Cr. mobilized from social investors
• Disbursement of loans of INR 4 Cr. of mobilized from social investors
• Disbursement of loans of INR 3 Cr. mobilized from social investors
• Disbursement of loans of INR 2 Cr. mobilized from social investors
• Organization of 200 financial trainings covering 40 women per trainings
• Ensuring business development trainings are imparted by partner organizations
• Development and implementation of robust monitoring and evaluation systems to track the impact of loans on women’s economic empowerment and social well-being.
• Disbursement of Incentives for responsible financial behavior to borrowers

Funding Information

• The budget range for this proposal should be INR 1,90,00,000- 2,00,00,000

Target group

• Out of the total target of at least 2500 women entrepreneurs
• 50% are first time credit borrowers from disadvantaged communities.
• 50% are those who need credit for expanding their businesses.
• Eligible women entrepreneurs from UN Women’s existing programmes to be prioritized.

Expected Result

• At least 2500 women entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban areas access affordable and regulated credit and become credit worthy for formal financial institutions.

Timeframe

• October 2024- December 2025

Expected Roles and Responsibilities

• Civil Society Organization (CSO):
  • Borrower Identification:
    • Engage with local women’s groups, NGOs, community leaders, and networks to identify and mobilize potential women borrowers, particularly first-time borrowers and those from disadvantaged communities.
    • Ensure that eligible women entrepreneurs from UN Women’s existing programs are prioritized.
  • Incentives Management:
    • Develop and manage a system for disbursing incentives for responsible financial behaviour with the NBFC partner
  • Documentation Handling:
    • Oversee the collection, management, and maintenance of all necessary documentation related to borrowers, including loan agreements and financial records.
• Non-Banking Financial Company – Peer to Peer (NBFC-P2P):
  • Borrower Identification:
    • Partner with the CSO to identify and vet borrowers through its network, ensuring they meet the criteria for accessing formal financial services.
  • Investment Mobilization:
    • Mobilize and manage investments from socially conscious individuals and institutional investors to top up UN Women’s grant and expand the fund for women entrepreneurs.
  • Financial Training:
    • Provide financial literacy training to women borrowers, helping them understand loan terms, manage finances, and build credit histories.
  • Loan Disbursement:
    • Disburse loans to approved borrowers, ensuring adherence to the established terms and conditions, and manage the repayment process.
  • Monitoring and Evaluation:
    • Develop and implement robust systems for tracking the impact of the loans on women’s economic empowerment and social well-being.
    • Provide regular reports on loan performance, default rates, and social impact metrics to ensure transparency and accountability.
  • Product Development:
    • Design and offer customized credit products that cater to the needs of women entrepreneurs, including sector-specific loans and flexible repayment options.

Competencies

• Technical/functional competencies required:
  • The proponent civil society organization should have significant expertise and experience of working with rural women especially in livelihoods and have access to mobilized networks/groups of women.
  • The civil society organization should have capacity and resources to deliver business development/entrepreneurship trainings to women
  • The proponent should work across geographies in India to create community level impact, directly, or through a robust partner network.
  • The regulated NBFC-P2P partner licensed by RBI should have the following track record to enable seamless and legitimate formal sector credit:
  • Formal lending to the most vulnerable and un/underbanked women.
  • Simple Interest rate of not more than 8% p.a.
  • Processing Fee of not more than 2% (inclusive of taxes)
  • No collateral or security deposit
  • No coercive collection of repayments
  • No late repayment penalty fee
• Other competencies, which while not required, can be an asset for the performance of services
  • A wide partner network across India to connect to genuine borrowers with legitimate livelihoods/enterprise support.
  • An established women borrower community across sectors such as farming, artisans, nano enterprise and those dominated by women.
  • A track record of continuous innovation with a focus on solving the problem of affordable credit.

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following are not eligible to apply:
  • The applicant does not have legal status in India.
  • The applicant is on the Consolidated UN Security Council Sanctions list.
  • The applicant is being investigated for fraud, corruption, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or other wrongdoing.
  • The applicant is a government agency or institution, UN agency

For more information, visit UN Women.