Request for Proposal – Empowering Women Artisans Through Digital Technology (NASSCOM Foundation)

BACKGROUND

As the social arm of NASSCOM, NASSCOM Foundation (NF) works with the technology industry in achieving its goals of social transformation and impact through technology. Since over a decade of its existence, the foundation has touched more than one million lives through its efforts towards providing digital literacy, skills for livelihood, supporting persons with disabilities, fostering innovation, empowering non-profits with technology and engaging in volunteerism.

NASSCOM Foundation’s ‘Skills Initiative and Entrepreneurship’ department works to bridge the skilling gaps and support in building and upskilling entrepreneurship ecosystem in India towards its goals of social transformation and impact through technology.

AN OVERVIEW

Asia and the Pacific is considered the “engine of global growth”, as it is home to six of the world’s top ten fastest growing economies. Yet, this growth is hampered by inequalities across the Asia-Pacific region, in particular gender inequalities. Hindrances, whether structural or social, limit women’s economic participation, denying communities and countries of greater socioeconomic growth that is of benefit to all elements of society. Entrepreneurship is a key means of redressing this inequality and the associated impediments to equitable, inclusive and sustainable development.

In the national economies of Asia and the Pacific, entrepreneurs are critical drivers of growth through innovation and job creation. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) employ between 60 to 80% of the national workforces in more than ten countries in Asia and the Pacific, including China, Japan, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. According to the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation, small and medium enterprises account for 90 percent of businesses and over 60 percent of employment in countries of the Pacific Rim. Between 2000 and 2009, MSMEs in East Asia and the Pacific grew by eight percent, which is two per cent above the global average. Women entrepreneurs have been critical contributors to the economic growth. The many forms of structural and social barriers to their economic engagement that women encounter in the form of access to credit to opportunities to acquire skills need to be addressed in order to realize the potential contribution of women to the equitable and inclusive growth of their societies.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

NASSCOM Foundation plans on implementing a project through NGO/for profit partners in Madhya Pradesh (preferably in artisan cluster). The objective of the project is to improve digital literacy, financial literacy and entrepreneurship skill development of women beneficiaries by using online/offline medium. The aim of the project is to reach out 200 women beneficiaries out of artisan clusters. Identified beneficiaries will be supported withtraining of functional enterprise skills, mentoring and support. The program aims to empower the rural women with digital skills, financial skills and entrepreneurship skills training resulting in increased income and economic independence.

INVITATION FOR PROPOSAL

Inviting proposals for executing women empowerment program for 200 rural women artisans from the artisan tribal community on using digital devices and applications to enhance their livelihood opportunities. We are looking at implementation partner/s with below mentioned criteria:

• Local Know How / Understanding of Rural entrepreneur Eco System 
• Experienced at working closely with target rural communities 
• Experience in counselling entrepreneurs from rural parts of India 
• Financial Sustainability 
• Standard Adherence

With help of the implementation partners, we are looking at: 

• Upskilling existing rural based 200 women artisans on digital literacy, financial literacy and entrepreneurship leveraging technology in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India 
• 75% of these women are empowered towards using e-commerce and social media platforms for marketing and selling 
• 75% women trained have knowledge and access for government welfare schemes. 
• 100% of trained women to have access to market linkages for enterprise marketing 
• 75 ‘Human impact stories’ (case studies) of successful enterprises by women

Interested Organization are invited to submit their proposals for the assignment, which must include the following, as detailed subsequently in this document. 

• Implementation partner details 
• Proposal with Implementation Plan 
• Detailed timeline (1-year is overall project timeline) 
• Financial Proposal 
• Monitoring and MIS tools and framework 
• Basic ‘human impact stories’ (case studies) framework 

RFP SUBMISSION SCHEDULE & TIMELINE

The following table is an overview of the selection activities and timeline.