| Overview : The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital. UNCDF focuses on Africa and the poorest countries of Asia, with a special commitment to countries emerging from conflict or crisis. It provides seed capital – grants and loans – and technical support to help financial service providers reach more poor households and small businesses, and local governments finance the capital investments that will improve poor people’s lives. Financial inclusion means universal access, at a reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable institutions. The range of financial services includes savings, credit, insurance, payments, local money transfers and international remittances. UNCDF with the financial support from Government of Denmark is implementing an Access to Finance (A2F) component of UNNATI Programme in the seven hilly districts of Mechi and Kosi corridor – Taplejung, Paanchthar, Ilam, Dhankuta, Terhathum, Bhojpur and Sankhuwasabha through National implementation modality (NIM) in partnership with Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). This programme has been designed to basically enhance and improve agricultural sector in Nepal. The objective of UNNATI is “Promotion of sustainable inclusive growth that reduces poverty and raises living standards.” Within the context of UNATTI, the purpose of the A2F project is to support financial service providers to more effectively serve the agricultural value chain actors with appropriate financial products thereby enabling smallholder farmers and MSMEs to invest into their value chain activities leading to the sustained improvement in competitiveness of selected value chains. The A2F project interventions will have national impact with a specific focus given to the Eastern Development Region of Nepal. Further the activities of A2F should be, primarily, coordinated with the activities of “Commercialization of selected value chains” Component 1 – sub-component 1.1. UNCDF is leading the communications and knowledge management of UNNATI A2F project. For which radio programs broadcasted through the leading FM stations in the target districts has been identified as effective tool in creating awareness and informing public about the financial services available in their vicinity. Radio is an ideal medium to reach-out to the rural people who do not have access to any other means of communications, thus, it can be regarded as the most effective means of mass communication to inform and educate the rural unbanked population of the UNNATI target districts. The radio program will be made in magazine format consisting information about the project partners, products and services being offered, voices of the beneficiaries and information about Agricultural Financial Literacy in an interesting way with the use of local content and voices. The programs will also be a platform to capture the project events, activities and impacts in audio format- helping the UNNATI partners to promote their products and services. The radio programs will introduce the concept of agricultural financial literacy to the general public and so that they are well informed on the topic and make sound financial decisions accordingly. The concept of financial literacy will be linked with the training manual developed by the project on Agricultural Financial Literacy and work of UNNATI project in developing the four value chains and how the Access of Finance component is supporting the development. Likewise, the programs will cover the activities, products and services being offered by the partner BFIs and how the products and services can be accessed along the requirements that are attached to accessing them. |
