Applications Invited for UN Women Fund for Women Entrepreneurs

Organization: UN Women
Apply By: 27 Sep 2024
Grant Amount: 20,000,000 INR

About the Organization

• UN Women is dedicated to eliminating discrimination against women and girls, empowering women, and achieving gender equality.
• The India Country Office in New Delhi focuses on accelerating gender equality through strategic partnerships, policy advisory services, and advocacy.
• The Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) unit expands women’s access to safe employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

About the Grant

• Women entrepreneurs in India face barriers in accessing institutional credit due to gender biases and lack of collateral.
• Formal financial institutions meet only a fraction of the demand, leaving a large credit gap for women-owned enterprises.
• UN Women aims to establish the UN Women Fund for Women Entrepreneurs, offering affordable, low-cost credit for women from disadvantaged communities to improve their creditworthiness.

Objectives of the Fund:

1. Enable unbanked women’s access to affordable, regulated credit.
2. Increase their creditworthiness for formal financial institutions.
3. Target group: At least 2500 women entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban areas.
   • 50% first-time credit borrowers from disadvantaged communities.
   • 50% those needing credit for business expansion.

Key Components of the Project:

• Component A: Targeted Outreach and Marketing.
• Component B: Customized Credit Products.
• Component C: Incentives for Responsible Financial Behavior.
• Component D: Financial Literacy and Capacity Building.
• Component E: Monitoring and Evaluation.
• Component F: Investor Engagement.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Civil society organizations (CSO) with experience working with rural women and livelihoods.
• Ability to deliver business development/entrepreneurship training to women.
• Geographical reach across India for community-level impact.
• Partnership with an NBFC-P2P, licensed by the RBI, with the following capabilities:
  • Lending to vulnerable and underbanked women.
  • Simple interest rate of not more than 8% p.a..
  • Processing fee of not more than 2%.
  • No collateral or security deposit.
  • No late repayment penalties or coercive collections.
  • Digital onboarding and cashless transactions.
  • Public online dashboard to track project progress.

Additional Competencies (Preferred but Not Required):

• A wide partner network across India.
• Established women borrower communities in sectors like farming, artisanship, and nano enterprises.
• Proven track record of continuous innovation in affordable credit solutions.

How to Apply:

• Submission deadline: 27 September 2024.
• Call for Proposal: UNW-AP-IND-CFP-2024-04 (Downloadable document available on UN Women’s website).
• For more information, visit: UN Women Fund for Women Entrepreneurs

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