Amid the crisis triggered by COVID-19, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) launched in April 2020, a request for applications (RFA) for innovative digital solutions to support the resilience of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in West Africa. The objective of the RFA was to collaborate with the private sector and to leverage the power of digital technologies for MSMEs to:

(i) streamline their existing distribution channels;

(ii) optimise their stock management;

(iii) build online and home delivery distribution channels;

(iv) integrate digital payments;

(v) leverage other digital solutions and apps for better efficiency and revenue generation.

After a highly competitive selection process, the following six innovative solutions from Benin, Ghana and Senegal were selected.

1. Club Tiossane (Senegal)

Club Kossam, which will soon become Club Tiossane, is an online marketplace for agricultural products based in Senegal. The online ‘ClubKossam’ platform enables inhabitants of Dakar to have their groceries delivered on a weekly basis. More than 180 products, offered by some fifty Senegalese MSMEs, are just a few click away on a single web platform: www.clubkossam.sn (soon www.clubtiossane.sn )

The club’s vision is to simplify agricultural and food value chains to enable their suppliers and customers to have better lives. The objective is to mitigate COVID's economic impact on producers by increasing their sales to existing customers and adding new ones. This will have a positive impact on a larger number of MSMEs and diversify the supply chain for end customers. UNCDF is supporting Club Tiossane to expand the offer by partnering with new producers to reach 100 suppliers by the end of the project.

The ‘clubkossam’ webpage will soon become ‘clubtiossane’ webpage.

2. JALÔ Market ( Senegal)

JALÔ Market, another Senegalese company, enables MSMEs, particularly neighborhood shopkeepers, to maintain their activity and relations with their customers. JALÔ is a web and mobile platform integrating instant payment and logistics monitoring services. Merchants have access to an online shop to sell their products, track their sales and interact with their customers. Customers can make mobile payments, receive notifications (SMS, mobile and e-mail) and have their products delivered within 48 hours.

3. Baobab+ (Senegal)

Baobab+ is a social enterprise operating in the field of energy access through innovative digital products with financing solutions (Pay-As-You-Go or Top-up) in Senegal, Mali, Madagascar and Ivory Coast. It relies on two main distribution networks: the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) network and its partner network of the microfinance institution Baobab. Baobab+ equips small retailers with a visual and simplified digital checkout solution that optimizes business performance by keeping a track record of the sales, manage stock and monitor margins. This turnkey digital solution also enables retailers to place their product catalogue online in just a few clicks on an e-commerce platform. This consumption mode is perfectly adapted to all social distancing measures and allows retailers to maintain their activity during and post the COVID-19 crisis.

4. KKiaPay (Benin)

Open SI, KkiaPay's parent company, has been operating the KkiaPay solution since 2018. KkiaPay is an aggregation and facilitation service for remote digital payments. The service offers merchants two main functionalities depending on whether they have an e-commerce platform (web or mobile) or not. The first functionality allows MSMEs to integrate KkiaPay's programmatic interfaces and plug-ins into their e-commerce or online service sites or applications. The second functionality, called KkiaPay-direct, allows merchants to configure a shop online (www.kkiapay.me) giving them access to a payment link for all payment needs or a specific link for a particular collection. This functionality is developed for MSMEs, that do not have their own platform but need to accept remote electronic payments.

5. DIGISTORE IPay (Ghana)

DIGISTORE is an initiative of iPay Ghana in partnership with Ecobank Ghana that provides MSMEs with a simple point-of-sale solution to sell cashless (online, mobile and in-store) and deliver their goods to customers without contact. DIGISTORE facilitates online payment, inventory management and a web shop. Customers can order by going to the merchant's online shop or dial a short code USSD on their mobile phone to order and pay. The objective of this project is to empower MSMEs in Ghana to move to a digital business model and help them through the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on their business.

6. MicroEnsure (Ghana)

MSMEs face the highest level of risks and yet they have the least access to insurance. MicroEnsure creates innovative solutions that meet these insurance demands and extends insurance protection on an unprecedented scale. MicroEnsure offers 7-in-1 digital insurance that covers the risks related to the life insurance of the MSME owner, accidental disability for MSME owners, the MSME owner's hospitalization, maternity, daily call service to a doctor (telehealth advice), weekly health advice and income protection in case of flood, fire or loss of property.

Find the full video presentation of all these solutions here

The expected impacts?

The six partner companies will have a direct influence on more than 6,000 MSMEs and an indirect influence on more than 193,000 customers. Regional Digital Hub Manager, Sabine Mensah, stressed ‘UNCDF digital strategy’s ambitions of leaving no one behind in the digital era, MSMEs included. We look forward to reporting back on the impact of these innovative digital solutions on the resilience of the MSMEs served by the six partner companies.’