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.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are looking to work with legally established aggregator e-commerce platform operators that can support local entrepreneurs and microenterprises in Fiji, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu to migrate their business online. Applications can be for one or multiple of the listed countries. This initiative is part of UNCDF and UNDP’s socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. Successful applicant/s for the respective country is expected to sustainably expand the e-commerce platform and continue the operations as a commercially viable venture beyond the life of the partnership.

Candidates can apply independently or in a consortium. Please verify the eligibility conditions on Section 3.1 of this Request for Application (RFA).

E-commerce platforms must be operational in the target countries i.e., Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and/or Vanuatu.

UNCDF will provide successful applicant/s for the respective country:
• Performance-based grant up to 60,000 USD to implement the project;
• Technical assistance and potential opportunities for market collaboration.

Selected applicants will be signing a Performance-Based Agreement [1] (PBA) to the selected applicants who will be technically responsive to this Request for Application. UNCDF’s contributions can range up to 60,000 USD per country per applicant and UNCDF will award to one (1) or exceptionally more than one (1) applicant per country, who scores the highest in accordance with the Evaluation Criteria as set forth in section 3.2. applications depending on the investment readiness level and outreach potential of the solution proposed.

Selected applicants are encouraged to share part of the total project cost in cash (for costs such technical resources, staff, and operational expenses). 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.

Inquiries to this request for applications may be submitted by email to uncdf.rfa@uncdf.org and cc ajay.jagannath@uncdf.org

All applications must be submitted by 23.59 hours EDT time zone on 25 AUGUST 2021 through the UNCDF e-investment platform:

https://apply.uncdf.org/prog/transitioning_local_micro_and_small_enterprises_to_an_aggregator_e-commerce_platform_in_fiji_palau_papua_new_guinea_solomon_islands_tonga_and_vanuatu_as_a_covid-19_economic_response_strategy/

[1]A performance-based grant implies that grant amounts that are contingent on the successful achievement of pre-determined milestones. Achieving a milestone will therefore trigger a grant payment. Grant payments will be reimbursements for funds spent by the grantees, according to the project implementation plan and pre-agreed milestones. The Grantee will be responsible of providing a comprehensive and compliant financial report reporting all the financial transactions relating to grant. The Grantee will need to keep supporting documents related to these transactions to justify all actual costs incurred.