Community-Driven Projects Reduce Poverty and Empower Youth in Nigeria

STORY HIGHLIGHTSng-community-driven-projects-reduce-poverty-and-empower-youth-in-nigeria-780x439.jpg

  • To combat poverty, the Commercial Agriculture Development Project for Nigeria involves beneficiaries as key players and partners.
  • The project supports the strengthening of skills and capacity of Local Government Authorities and sectoral public agencies to provide support to communities.
  • The community-driven, development approach has resulted in 3,435 micro-projects, of which more than 50 percent are completed and in use.

Continue reading

eC2: Ethiopia Malt Barley Supply Chain – Cooperative and Lead Farmer Business Management Training

Deadline:  04-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) ml-can-a-nation-build-its-future-if-it-cannot-feed-its-children-five-policy-actions-to-transform-crop-and-livestock-farming-in-mali-780x439

IFC plans to assist a large domestic buyer to increase the quantity of malt barley procured from local smallholder farmers by aggregators such as cooperatives or “lead farmers”. Part of the project includes improving the professionalism of approximately 80 aggregators so that they can function more effectively as businesses and provide better services to their members and/or smallholder farmer clients.

Continue reading

eC2: SE4All Least-Cost Electrification Global Platform

Deadline: 07-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)logo

Specifically, the objectives of this assignment are threefold:
1. Develop a set of industry compatible data standards for electrification models data inputs and modelling outputs, primarily to facilitate data inputs reuse and comparability of outputs across models and countries;
2. Develop a scenario-based global model of least-cost electrification planning for universal access for all countries with electrification rate below 90% (as per World Bank Global Tracking Framework 2017)
3. Develop a web mapping application that demonstrates the global models results, and allows users to adjust certain parameters that affect least cost electrification planning, such as but not limited to:
a. Technology costs
b. Cost of diesel
c. Electrification level targeted
d. Timeline considered for universal access
The web mapping platform will need to ensure compatibility leveraging data standards specified as part of this assignment, notably to allow users to visualize other or future modelling results.

Continue reading

eC2: Benefit Sharing in Hydropower

Deadline: 28-Aug-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) HYDRO

Social license to operate is a critical issue for renewable energy projects, particularly in the hydropower sector which can pose significant environmental and social impacts. Numerous cases in developing and developed countries demonstrated that stakeholder support for hydropower projects is often closely interwoven with the perceived balance of impacts and benefits to the host communities. Perceived absence of benefit sharing can cause objection to the development and lead to stagnation of projects and loss of social license to operate. The objective of the study is to highlight benefit sharing frameworks and document lessons from global experiences. This will help the private sector understand the different models of benefit sharing and how its implementation can support gaining social license to operate for hydropower projects.

Continue reading

eC2: GFDRR Challenge Fund Data Exploration Tool

Deadline:  07-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) logo1

GFDRR is supporting the development of an open data schema for hazard, exposure and vulnerability data through the Challenge Fund(https://www.gfdrr.org/challengefund). This Consultancy will support the project by developing software that will allow for extracting a subset of hazard, exposure and vulnerability data from external databases using an API, and then subsequently downloading and interactively analyzing the extracted data. The software should allow the user to save and/or print the analysis results. It should permit a variety of means for exploring and understanding the data. The overall goal is to provide a non-expert user with the ability to simply extract, explore and understand hazard, exposure and vulnerability data relevant to a country or region of interest. The desktop versions should be compatible with common operating systems. The software should be based on open-source software such as R or Python. This will need to be delivered by March 2018.

Continue reading

Women and finance: unlocking new sources of economic growth

From basic financial services to board rooms, strengthening women’s role in finance is women-finance-blogpost.jpgone of the keys to boosting economic growth.

In every country, women and men alike need access to finance so that they can invest in their families and businesses.  But today, 42% of women worldwide – about 1.1 billion – remain outside of the formal financial system, without a bank account or other basic tools to manage their money.

Poor financial access makes it harder for these women to get ahead, but it also holds back development in many countries.  This is because women tend to invest more of their money in education, health care and children’s welfare.  These priorities not only strengthen their families but also underpin a society’s long-term strength.

eC2: Market Monitoring System for the Colombian Wholesale Electricity and Natural Gas Markets

Deadline: 22-Aug-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) GAS

Definition, design, and deployment of a Market Monitoring System (MMS) able to give accurate, automatic, and timely signals to the participants in the natural gas and electric power markets of Colombia by gathering, storing, processing, analyzing, and reporting information from different sources, including transactions of financial products related to the energy markets. The MMS is expected to contribute to the economic efficiency of the markets and prevent opportunistic anti-competitive behavior affecting market prices.
Continue reading

Supporting data for development: applications open for a new innovation fund

I’m pleased to announce that applications are now open for the second round of a new uganda_stills_006data innovation fund which was announced last month at the UN’s High Level Political Forum. The fund will invest up to $2.5 million in Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development – ideas to improve the production, management and use of data in poor countries. This year the fund’s thematic areas are “Leave No One Behind” and the environment.

Details on eligibility, criteria and how to apply are here: bit.ly/wb-gpsdd-innovationfund-2017

Continue reading

eC2: Exploring options for a back-up supply system for essential medicines in Sierra Leone

Deadline: 21-Aug-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) medical-appointment-doctor-healthcare-clinic-health-hospital-medicine[7]

It is for the development of a tentative business plan for a back-up medicines supply system for public health facilities in the Kailahun and Koinadugu districts.
The consultant is expected to conduct interviews with stakeholders (including those in the two districts) and review existing documentation from various sources, with the goal of: 1, dentifying the list of medicines that is offered through the back-up system
2, Identifying the manufacturers of these medicines that are already licensed in Sierra Leone and verifying the quality standards
3, Identifying potential service providers for the back up system
4, Quantifying the potential demand based on the best possible assumptions of consumption/need and availability in the public supply chain
5, Comparing pros and cons of different pricing/compensation models for a contract with private importers
6, Addressing issues of financing for buffer stock
7, Finding solutions to ensure timely payment.

Based on the findings, a business plan is expected.
Continue reading

eC2: Lilongwe Water PPP Technical Consultant

Deadline: 17-Aug-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) PPPs

IFC will hire the services of specialist consultants to support the IFC Project Team in delivering the advisory mandate, which is currently under negotiation. The IFC is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) at this early stage to ensure timely appointment of technical consultants. The RFP will be issued once the mandate has been signed with the Government of Malawi. The assignment will be to provide technical support to the IFC team in undertaking this transaction advisory project. The transaction advisory will be implemented in phases: Phase 1 to update and refine the due diligence that was previously undertaken and to revise the Transaction Structure. Phase 2 will be the implementation of the transaction including preparation of necessary tender documents and supporting the full procurement process.
Continue reading