In Acknowledgement of IWD#2021, UNCDF is Presenting Four Models of Gender Responsive Local Economic Development That Have Been Successfully Implemented Through our Partnership with UNDP and UN Women

1. Direct financing to women SMEs/gender responsive businesses/social enterprises through grants, loans and guarantees

UNCDF has completed 17 deals with women owned/gender responsive local businesses in programme countries (Bangladesh, Tanzania and Mali) since 2018 and disbursed over $1.6 million to support local women enterprises with an average grant/loan size of $85K. The businesses focus on wide range of sectors, including agri-businesses, dairy farming, fisheries, RMG and social enterprises such as elderly/geriatric care. UNCDF has developed in-house investment assessment tool (WEEI) to select most viable WEE projects.

2. Setting up financing mechanisms including funds and guarantee schemes with local banks and other partners to finance local women SMEs

WEE funds with local partners including Banks are set up by UNCDF to provide easy access to financing to women businesses. This includes establishing guarantee funds with Bangladesh Bank and Mali Development Bank and a WEE Fund at FONSIS, which is Senegal’s sovereign wealth fund. These mechanisms have been extremely beneficial to reach out to the most deserving women SMEs specially those affected disproportionally due to COVID-19.

3. Financing local infrastructure projects with the primary objective of supporting local women businesses and female entrepreneurs

As part of UNCDF’s work with municipalities to create an enabling environment for women enterprises, UNCDF invested in municipal infrastructure projects such as local market structures that are built entirely with women at the center of the design. Four such markets including two cross-border markets have been financed in Tanzania to directly support small business run by women. Local women entrepreneurs can engage in business in a clean environment, with safety built in, provision of child-care, easy access to water and sanitation and most importantly, local women are provided share in the market special purpose vehicle.

4. Financing women led institutions to drive local economic development:

This model focuses on driving local economic development through mobilizing local institutions such as Women Development Forums in Bangladesh, a group of elected women representatives at the municipality level spread all over the country. The WDF members, often under-utilized, are closest to the communities and their knowledge and connection to local women make them a natural valuable partner. UNCDF partnership with two pilot WDF’s demonstrate that these local institutions have a tremendous untapped potential to unlock additional local financing and they play an incredibly important role to support local women businesses.

Additionally, UNCDF and UNDP have developed a new initiative to support post Covid-19 economic recovery of women SMEs as well as to strengthen municipality investments and systems geared towards promoting gender responsive economic recovery. The program focuses on creating an enabling environment, deploying local investments, supporting municipalities to develop economic opportunities and social safety net systems, and promoting women’s local leadership.