RFA: Digital Ecosystem Agriculture Markets Initiative in Myanmar

RFA: Digital Ecosystem Agriculture Markets Initiative in Myanmar

Summary

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.

Project description

Myanmar’s agriculture sector is one of the country’s major economic drivers, contributing to ain important percentage of the country’s employment. Despite its potential, the sector has been experiencing low productivity, inequality, and high volatility, as a result of decades of insufficient investment in basic infrastructure and financial services.

After Covid 19 pandemic and political crisis in 2021, Myanmar’s agricultural sector is now at its most vulnerable point. Agri-productions have greatly decreased because of the arm conflicts, restriction of imported goods such as Agri-inputs, and increasing goods price due to a shortage of foreign currency in the country.

Many small holder farmers are facing substantial constraints for their Agri-production and have limited access to timely and quality inputs, including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and post-harvest infrastructures. This is putting the country at risk of high food insecurity.

In terms of financial service and Agri-value chain supporting opportunities situation, most of the financial product designs are poorly aligned with the needs of the agricultural sector and there are still significant gaps in the availability of affordable credits, eligibility requirements for borrowings and suit services in order to support the smallholder farmers and rural women.

The Digital Ecosystem and Agriculture Market (DEAM) initiative, part of the Expanding Financial Access (EFA) programme, is designed to support and improve the digital service platform for the agricultural sector and expand access to financial services and non-financial services related to good quality agri-inputs, fair price, buyers/ sellers linkage and grantee services for farmers and rural women groups.

Under this Initiative, UNCDF will provide a grant for the improvement and enhancement of a digital service platform that aims to focus on the Agri-value chain ecosystem, development, and expanding Agri-related quality services and financial services to offer better customer experience and attract new customers.

This project intends to collaborate with industrial key stakeholders, agri-businesses, and financial services providers to expand different types of digital services for low-income people, farmers, and rural women.

Under this initiative, UNCDF will support in improving the digital service platform(s) that drive the broadening and deepening of Agriculture Value Chain (AVC) system(s) – with a focus on farmers and women.

UNCDF would like to increase its support for the DEAM initiative through the following interventions.

Areas of intervention:

Improving and supporting the digital service platform for the agricultural value-chain(s) and expanding the partnership linkages between Agri-market stakeholders.

Enhancing the digital system services for agricultural sector and reducing the digital gap for the rural areas and facilitating the growth of digital ecosystem for rural women and farmer groups.

Geographic focus

The Digital Ecosystem and Agriculture Market (DEAM) initiative is being implemented in Myanmar. Under this project, UNCDF is working with AgriTech providers, Agri-actors and FSPs (Financial Services Providers) to offer digital payment use cases for their clients, with a focus on clients living in rural areas. The geographic focus for this RFA remains Myanmar.

Contract award

UNCDF will select one applicant to implement the project activities.

UNCDF will provide a performance-based grant to the most suitable applicant for the implementation of the DEAM initiative,

UNCDF will sign a Performance-Based Agreement (PBA) with the select applicant. UNCDF’s contribution will be up to US$200,000. The final amount will depend on the investment readiness, the outreach potential of the proposed solution, and applicant’ contribution.

Selected applicants are encouraged to contribute to part of the project’s in-kind costs. (Costs may include technical infrastructure, resources, and operations).

Applicants may apply independently or in a consortium, provided that the consortium has a pre-established partnership prior to when this request for applications was issued, or for this RFA.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; RFA: Digital Ecosystem Agriculture Markets Initiative in Myanmar

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