MSEs are one of the strongest drivers of economic development and employment creation but access to finance remains a significant constraint for MSEs globally to survive and grow their business.

Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) calls on interested partners to pilot technology-enabled business models for advancing excluded or underserved micro and small enterprises’ (MSEs’) access to responsible credit with the aims of supporting six firms that are using technology in innovative ways to serve MSEs.

The pilots which aims to understand how technology can push the barriers of financial inclusion in a scalable manner will test technology enabled innovations which will allow the firms to introduce, improve or expand responsible digital credit offerings to underserved or excluded MSE segments which is expected to result in significant impact for the targeted MSEs, measured in terms of improved cost of credit, loan terms tailored to the needs of individual MSEs, product diversification and increased accessibility, client centric product design and others.

CGAP will provide financial support for this project, which can be used towards either:

  •  technical assistance delivered through an external expert or group of experts jointly selected by the firm and CGAP to support the development of the new products or processes; or
  • project delivery by a dedicated team from within the firm, which will take the lead on developing and implementing the pilot.

SELECTION CRITERIA

CGAP is seeking to partner with

  • fintechs, traditional financial services providers and retail firms that offer technology-enabled financial or non-financial services or intend to do so.
  • the above mentioned firms who aim to improve, expand or introduce responsible, affordable, tailored digital credit offerings to a target group of underserved and excluded MSE segments. The target group should be MSEs with less than, or in the range of, five full-time employees, and that are currently underserved or excluded from responsible and affordable business loans. Within this target group, CGAP is particularly (but not exclusively) interested in reaching women-owned businesses.
  • these firms who are committed to the success of the project and willing to draw on internal resources as required.
  • Preference will be given to partners that are ready to start the project within two months of being selected and are open to sharing non-sensitive data and lessons learned from the project.

CGAP has hired an internationally renowned company to execute this work, which will collaborate with the firm in designing client surveys. Interested organisations can apply and submit forms by deadline of February 27, 2022.

Source: CGAP

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