Request for Proposal for MSE Demand-Side Research (Center for Financial Inclusion)

About Accion:

Accion is a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a trailblazing legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. We catalyze financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the 1.8 billion people who are left out of, or poorly served by, the financial sector. For more than 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 200 partners in 63 countries. More at http://www.accion.org.

About Center for Financial Inclusion:

The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) works to advance inclusive financial services for the billions of people who currently lack the financial tools needed to improve their lives and prosper. We leverage partnerships to conduct rigorous research, test promising solutions, and advocate for evidence-based change. CFI was founded by Accion in 2008 to serve as an independent think tank on inclusive finance.

CFI's role in the inclusive finance space is to identify learning gaps that could advance the economic prosperity and resilience of low-income people and undertake research, co-creation of solutions and pilot testing to advance our collective understanding of what would drive progress. CFI partners with various stakeholders - donors, investors, policymakers, and providers - in its research and pilot testing work and during its advocacy phase. In areas where there is clear evidence of what works, CFI collaborates with partners to advocate and incorporate learning into their practices.

Overview of the Project and Mastercard-Accion Partnership (MAP)

As part of its COVID-19 research, with funding from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and under the MAP I project, CFI conducted research with micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in four countries: Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and Colombia. The research concluded in December 2022. Dashboards and knowledge products produced from the project can be found here.

In 2023, the MAP was renewed for another four years. In this next phase (MAP II), CFI will focus on three pillars of research: demand-side, enabling environment and consumer protection, and impact research. The project has an explicit focus on women-owned MSEs.

Demand-side research: The demand-side research will shed light on the characteristics of MSEs that thrive in the digital economy and help identify drivers and risks associated with digital adoption¹. It will also help deepen the inclusive finance sector's understanding of how digital adoption impacts the MSE's resilience and ability to manage climate shocks and other risks. The research will also hone in on the impact of digital adoption by women-owned MSEs.
• Enabling environment research and pilots: In light of the emergence of new players and business models in the digital economy, the enabling environment research will involve landscaping studies to understand the enabling environment for MSE financial health and digital adoption, including infrastructure, policy, regulation and supervision, investment context and drivers, consumer risks, climate-related risks, and social protection. This research will provide visibility on barriers and enablers to the financial health of MSEs and help inform the inclusive finance industry. Insights from enabling environment research will inform the development of pilots that help mitigate consumer risks and improve consumer protection. The pilots will focus on embedded finance platforms.
• Impact research: CFI will also partner with several investors to develop frameworks to assess outcomes for MSE customers of their portfolio companies. This approach will help a) integrate outcome measurement into the culture and design processes at early-stage companies, b) test outcome measurement with a set of champions, and c) share lessons with the broader community of investors and founders.

Please refer to the link to review the RFP in its entirety.

Submission deadline is December 12, 2023.