Women Saving for Resilience

• Increased infection rates and death rates as frontline health workers or primary caregivers in the family and community
• Reduced access to reproductive health care
• Increase in intimate partner violence, its severity and frequency due to confinement
• Increased rates of unwanted sex and pregnancies in girls due to school closures
• Increased anxiety and symptoms of depression

• Disproportionate decrease in employment and income due to the types of sectors women are concentrated in (hospitality andtourism, for example), their disproportionate representation in informal jobs/sectors, and the gap in social protection provisions
• Increased burden for unpaid work and existing gender inequalities in time poverty as women are more likely to be primary caregivers

• Disproportionate impact of containment measures which restrict access to common areas as well as women's mobility and opportunities for socialization
• Decreased social interactions

• Demonstrated contribution to expanded body of knowledge, tools, or institutional capacity of sector stakeholders for gender intentional COVID response and recovery efforts related to Savings Groups in Africa.
• Demonstrated contribution to improved capacity of Savings Groups – and COVID response and recovery efforts – to meet the needs of women in targeted populations in Africa. We particularly welcome applications for proposed innovations that address health (reduced access to reproductive health care, increase in intimate partner violence, increased anxiety and symptoms of depression); economic (disproportionate decrease in employment and income, increased burden for unpaid work); and social dimensions (disproportionate impact of containment measures, decreased social interactions) effects of the COVID pandemic on women through Savings Groups.
• Potential for replication and scale of the proposed innovation.
• Organizational experience in designing and implementing gender intentional or gender transformative interventions related to economic empowerment, justice and rights – including, but not necessarily limited to, Savings Groups.
• Gender intentional in all phases – design, implementation, and monitoring. Gender intentional programs need to meet at least three of the following criteria:
  • gender equality and/or women and girls' empowerment is the main goal of the proposed project
  • the proposed project will contribute to a reduction in gender gaps or barriers in access to resources
  • the project will monitor the reduction in gender barriers and gaps through collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated data
  • the project is informed by or will incorporate a gender analysis
  • the implementation team includes someone with significant expertise in gender equality programming who is dedicated to ensuring effective gender integration
  • the project proposes an approach for monitoring gender-related negative consequences that may arise from the innovation and appropriate mitigation strategies
• Organizational experience related to Savings Groups programming, monitoring and results measurement.
• Addresses one or more of the 25 indicators for Measuring Empowerment and Economic Outcomes of Women’s Groups as established by the Evidence Consortium on Women’s Groups.
• Commitment to host at least one national stakeholder meeting and three local consultations with Savings Groups and community leaders, to both inform their work and disseminate results among key stakeholders, including targeted Savings Groups and communities.

The innovation fund will prioritize interventions where the limited and dedicated support from the fund will generate a strong added value.

The fund will support innovations that serve Savings Groups in Africa.

Between four and six 18-month grants will be awarded.

Between four and six 18-month grants will be awarded, worth a total of $600,000. Awards may range between $75,000-$150,000.

The expected start date of approved awards is March 1, 2021, with an end date no later than August 31, 2022.

Yes, the Word version of the application is available here.

Kindly note that all applications must be submitted through the online application form. If you are having extended difficulties with the online system, please get in touch with our team at SavingsGroups@seepnetwork.org.

No. The WS4R Innovation Fund is open to SEEP member organizations and non-members alike – and there is no preference based on SEEP membership.

No. Applicants need not be registered in Africa. Both locally registered and international organizations are encouraged to apply.

The grantee shall own the rights in and to any work created in connection with this agreement, including all data, documents, information, copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets or other proprietary rights in and to the work.

Under the SEEP Network’s Global Access Commitment, the grantee commits that: (a) the knowledge and information gained from the work will be promptly and broadly disseminated; and (b) funded developments (products, services, processes, technologies, materials, software, data, other innovations, and intellectual property resulting from the work, including modifications, improvements, and further developments to background technology) will be made available and accessible at an affordable price to people most in need within low-income countries. These commitments will survive the term of the agreement. 

The agreement between the SEEP Network and each grantee will be a fixed-price sub-award agreement, with a disbursement schedule based on the achievement of specific milestones.

The maximum allowable indirect cost rate for the WS4R Innovation Fund is 15%.

No. There is no preference between proposals based on geographic scope. However, proposed solutions must demonstrate a potential for replication and scale.

Yes. Proposals may be submitted in English or French.

The WS4R Innovation Fund webpage includes a complete description of the fund, the selection criteria and the application process.

A Word version is also available – for reference purposes only. Kindly note that all applications must be submitted through the online application form.

No. There is no budget template, and applicants may submit their financial proposal in any format.

Yes. An organization can submit or participate in any number of proposals, either as a lead (applicant), partner or sub-contractor.

No. All policies and selection criteria related to the WS4R Innovation Fund are included in the request for proposals – and any clarifications, as needed, are in the FAQs.

There is no requirement to work with existing Savings Groups – in other words, funds may be used for the establishment of new Savings Groups.

There is no requirement that Savings Groups engaged or established by the grantees be registered with local authorities, unless required by local regulators.

The application form requests that applicants “kindly indicate any other sources of funding related to the proposed solution, and how much of your own funds you are investing in this innovation.” Please note, however, that there is no requirement for co-funding. The grants committee simply seeks to identify and understand any existing investments related to the proposed solution.

There is no preference for stand-alone projects or developments of existing initiatives, as long as they satisfy the specified selection criteria. Please note that “the innovation fund will prioritize interventions where the limited and dedicated support from the fund will generate a strong added value.”

The maximum grant period is 18 months, with an end date no later than August 31, 2022. There is no restriction with regards to a shorter intervention period.