About

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.

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

Eligibility

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.

Post Date: September 16, 2024