Globally, an estimated 258 million people — roughly 3.4 percent of the total population — live and work outside their home countries. This number represents an increase of 50 percent since 2000. Remittances — the money sent back home to loved ones by migrant breadwinners living abroad — are a significant share of the total income flowing into many developing countries and a vital income stream for many households.

As new technologies have emerged in recent decades, a disconnect has grown between the remittance services on the market, the policies that govern them, and the needs and behaviours of migrant populations, which has resulted in limited adoption of digital remittance channels. The opportunity to transition migrants from cash to digital methods for sending money home that are safer, more affordable and more easily tracked, remains largely unrealized. To bridge this gap, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is committed to working with stakeholders to promote research and learning activities around building enabling ecosystems, designing migrant-centric products and facilitating evidence-based policy making for migrants and remittances.

UNCDF is seeking applications from customer research-focused consulting firms to:

I. Conduct comprehensive demand research on migrant remittances using data analytics from institutional databases,

II. Carry out a Lean Data Survey,

III. Conduct qualitative behavioural research using HCD techniques,

IV. Develop a HCD toolkit on inclusive digital remittances and financial service innovation; and

V. Develop a remittance focused digital financial literacy toolkit to be used by Remittance Service Providers (RSPs).

Location: Institution/ Home-based.

Deadline for Questions in Writing: 05 February 2021.

FAQ Document Published: 12 February 2021.

Application Deadline: 28 February 2021 23:59 EST

Submission: All applications must be submitted via email at uncdf.rfa@uncdf.org. The subject line of the email should be RFA – Demand Side Research on Migrant Remittances.