‘Enabling interoperability for low-income people in Myanmar: Building a production grade Mojaloop Integration Platform to facilitate a COVID-19 response’ project is a key component of UNCDF “Leaving no one behind in the digital era” strategy in Myanmar. It is designed to support the digital transformation of Myanmar’s financial sector, with the microfinance sector in particular, through a common payment Level One aligned platform.

Currently, there is an ongoing pilot phase of the Level One Aligned Platform that is designed to integrate microfinance institutions (MFIs) based in Myanmar through an interoperable payment system with other types of financial services providers (FSPs), such as mobile financial service providers, banks, among others. The project also prepares FSPs to integrate to the future National Payment System. The integration platform is currently in a “pilot-phase” as a test environment.

As a next step for the existing pilot, the project aims to build a production grade Mojaloop integration platform aimed to provide real-time affordable digital financial services (DFS) for the people living at the bottom of the pyramid in Myanmar. This will be done through expanding the range of digital financial services that MFIs can offer to their current and future clients (mostly low-income women and the rural population). The current project is attempting to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 health and economic crisis by enabling different types of digital payments for low-income people, leveraging the MFIs, starting with electronic cash transfer (e-CTs) initiatives.

This project will support MFIs based in Myanmar to integrate with the country’s National Payment System. The scope of project and its impact to beneficiaries is nation-wide.

UNCDF will provide a grant to the most suitable organization to support the implementation of a real-time payment platform for MFIs and other types of digital financial services providers (DFSPs) in order to enable payments.

Selected applicants will sign a Performance-Based Agreement (PBA) with UNCDF. The selected applicants will be technically responsive to this Request for Application. UNCDF’s contribution can be up to USD$1,420,000 based on the investment readiness level and outreach potential of the solution proposed. UNCDF will not consider any proposals for more than this amount. Applicants are encouraged to submit the best quality results and proposal within this envelope. UNCDF will only select one applicant to implement the solution.

Selected applicants will be expected to fund at least twenty percent (20%) of the total project cost in-kind or cash contribution. Applicants may apply independently or in a consortium provided that the consortium has a pre-established partnership prior to when this request for applications was issued.

All applications must be submitted by 19 October 2020, 23:59 EST time to uncdf.rfa@uncdf.org with subject line: “Enabling interoperability for low-income people in Myanmar: Building a production grade Mojaloop Integration Platform to facilitate a COVID-19 response”.