UNCDF has partnered with the World Food Programme (WFP)-Agriculture Market Support (AMS) program to deliver on a project funded by the Mastercard Foundation with the ultimate objective of creating job opportunities for 90,500 youth in rural Uganda. UNCDF, together with WFP AMS, will collaborate to contribute to the Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works strategy which aims to create decent and fulfilling work and business growth opportunities for the youth, especially young women, and increase financial inclusion through a combination of capacity strengthening strategies in the agricultural sector in Uganda.
UNCDF has contracted a private entity with expertise in business skilling (BDS), to customize and digitize their BDS content and delivery mechanisms to suit the needs of Micro and Small agribusiness Enterprises in the targeted regions. Through this partnership, UNCDF, envisages improving business performance of the agribusiness MSEs through trainings, mentorship and coaching that will be delivered by last mile BDS providers recruited and trained by The Innovation Village.
The BDS providers are tasked with preparation of these businesses to access financing either through loans or seed grants. During the coaching and mentorship phase, the BDS providers will support the agribusinesses to prepare and apply for either loans or seed grants.
For the Seed Grant Fund Initiative, UNCDF aims to engage a qualified, experienced and skilled Grant Fund Manager to facilitate the disbursement of micro-grants, and overseeing the grant fund utilization, to at least 4,000 beneficiaries in the Northern, Southwestern, West Nile, and Karamoja regions of Uganda. This intervention seeks to enhance access to finance among small and micro-enterprises (MSEs) within the agribusiness sector, focusing on empowering youth, women, and refugee-owned businesses who will be considered as grant recipients of the micro grants.
The grant recipients (targeted for agribusiness MSEs) will be selected through rounds of call for competitive applications run by the grant fund manager, designed to identify high-potential agribusinesses that have demonstrated strong business acumen and growth potential. These applicants will emerge from a pipeline of agribusinesses that have undergone comprehensive business development services (BDS) training, equipping them with the skills to develop viable business plans and strategies. The BDS providers will also be expected to conduct monitoring, collect data and report on the usage of the grant funds to the grant fund manager.
This TOR intends to bridge these gaps by providing financial access through micro-grants to agribusinesses with viable business plans and high potential for social and economic impact. By facilitating the selection of grant recipients through innovation challenges, the project will identify and support agribusinesses that have benefited from capacity-building services, creating a pathway for more sustainable and impactful outcomes. Through this approach, the project aims to achieve larger development outcomes, including increased employment, food security, and economic stability in target regions, while contributing to gender equality and economic inclusion.
UNCDF is seeking to engage an entity, which has a legal authorization and track record to perform the role of a Grant Fund Manager, to administer the disbursement of funds that will support access to finance for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) owned by youth, women, and refugees in selected underserved regions of Uganda.
This partner entity will be responsible for the administration, disbursement, and monitoring of micro-grants, ensuring that the target beneficiaries are empowered to overcome financial barriers and sustain their agribusiness ventures. Through this selection process, UNCDF aims to identify an organization with the capacity to effectively manage grants, deliver technical assistance, and drive the development outcomes central to this initiative.
A performance-based payment (PBP) grant implies that no advance payments will be made. Grants amounts that are contingent on the successful achievement of pre-determined milestones and targets. Achieving the milestone (s) and the target (s) 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 and targets. The Grantee will be responsible of providing a comprehensive and compliant financial report reporting all the financial transactions relating to the grant. The Grantee will need to keep supporting documents related to these transactions to justify all actual costs incurred.
For queries write to the following address: [email protected] with the following subject:241125 – UGA – Administration and Disbursement of Seed Grants to Micro and Small Agribusinesses in the Northern, Southwestern, Westnile and Karamoja regions of Uganda.
