The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has announced a call for applications for the Feasibility study for setting up a single identification system for financial service users in the WAEMU (UEMOA).

The overall goal of the regional financial inclusion strategy is to open access to a diversified range of suitable financial services, at affordable prices, for use by 75% of the UEMOA population, within a five-year horizon. The strategy lays special emphasis on women, rural and young people, SMEs and people with little financial education.

The main purpose of this study is to propose an approach of setting up a single system for identifying financial service users in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) that will offer an opportunity to increase the use of electronic means of payment and help to improve financial inclusion. The approach will include scenarios of implementation and recommendations based on an analysis of advantages and disadvantages. The resources necessary to implement the system will be estimated. Each scenario will be backed by a risk assessment, relating especially to breach of data privacy and cyber crime.

Specifically the study will:

• include a survey and in-depth diagnostics of the existing identification systems in the UEMOA countries, deriving both from government initiatives and from the private sector, UN agencies and/or technical and financial partners;
• establish a benchmark for the single identification systems set up by the central banks at ECOWAS level, in other African countries and worldwide;
• propose several scenarios for the implementation of the system and suggesting which option might best suit the UEMOA context, in the light of the international standards, in terms especially of reliability and security;
• describe in detail the technical equipment to be put in place to make the single identification system operational and the preconditions for its set-up;
• conduct a needs assessment based on in-depth analysis of the requirements of the system proposed for the UEMOA and on the type of support needed to carry the project forward;
• identify interdependencies and possible synergies with similar ongoing projects within the UEMOA;
• offer a plan for the set-up of the single identification system and a high level workplan of its deployment;
• identify the inherent risks of proceeding with the project;
• define the framework of accessibility and protection of the gathered data;
• propose a regulatory, institutional and governance framework for the system to be set up, conforming to each UEMOA country’s biometric data laws;
• prepare a business plan fit to establish the long-term future of the single identification platform and encourage the financial institutions and money transfer operators to adopt it. This business plan should specify the capital investment, running costs, and expected ROI duration.

Funding Information

• The UNCDF contributions may be up to two hundred thousand United States dollars (USD 200,000).
• The duration of the project will be six (6) months. The activities must finish no later than 31 July 2021. The final report and evaluation report must be submitted no later than 31 July 2021.

Geographical Scope

The study will be carried out in the UEMOA countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants can submit their applications alone or as lead Applicants within a business consortium, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. If a consortium of bodies submits an application in response to the RfA, the lead Applicant must meet the conditions of eligibility. The lead Applicant will have the following responsibilities:

• submit the application form on the consortium’s behalf
• satisfy itself that each partner is fully aware of its membership of the partnership and of the contents of the application form;
• sign the Performance-Based Agreement with UNCDF;
• meet all the obligations stated in the Performance-Based Agreement;
• satisfy itself that the funds are allocated among, and used by, the consortium partners in accordance with the Performance-Based Agreement;
• satisfy itself that the tasks are distributed among, and performed by, the consortium partners in accordance with the Performance-Based Agreement

For more information, visit UNCDF.