BACKGROUND 

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.  

This Call for Proposals (CFP) is specifically related to the UNDP Kurima - Embracing the Transformation of Rural Economies" / TRAC 2 in Bembe_Uíge Province and Dombe Grande_Benguela Provínce  

"Kurima[1] - Embracing the Transformation of Rural Economies" aims to transform selected rural communities through enhanced access to off-grid solar energy, skills development for resilient agriculture, and better access to business and financial and digital services, with a priority on female-led businesses.

In Angola, agricultural development is a major national priority set out in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2023-2027 as an engine for economic diversification in the oil-dependent country. The agricultural census 2019-2020 revealed that over 83% of the rural villages analyzed face of villages do not have any source of electricity, around 11% use private generators and only 3% of villages have a public grid as their source of electricity, 2% of villages have community generators as their source of electricity and 1% have solar panels as their source of electricity. Moreover, nearly 2% of villages have mechanized agricultural equipment, only 3% of them have any storage or processing unit for agricultural products and less than 0.5% of villages have any banking institution.   

Access to clean energy is expected to benefit especially women and young girls. Lack of access to electricity often results in their disproportionate participation in unpaid, time and labor-intensive household chores. Access to alternative sources of energy should ease their burden and free up their time for self-development opportunities. These can include new business development opportunities, and digital and financial services, thus transforming rural economies through the increase in productivity. 

Limited connectivity is a significant constraint that curbs the potential for well-connected and dynamic rural economies that are attractive to investments. Rural communities and cooperatives are still lacking opportunities for business, digital and financial skills development that can enable cooperatives and smallholder farmers to go beyond agricultural production. 

Moreover, the Government of Angola is gradually transferring competencies from national to sub-national institutions, including energy. However, local governments face large knowledge and capacity gaps, particularly in the municipalities that have no access to electricity. 

Within this context, UNDP Angola is 2024 implement the Kurima project in four provinces, including Uíge and Benguela, to improve the productive capacities of the cooperatives through access to off-grid renewable energy, business development services that strengthen their capacities, access to finance and digitalization, addressing gender differences and maximizing opportunities for youth and women participation.

OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS/ DELIVERABLES  

Objective/Purpose

UNDP Angola, through its grant mechanism, is supporting community-led initiatives that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the success of Phase 1, Phase 2 of the Kurima project aims to strengthen the socio-economic development and resilience of rural women and their families in Bembe municipality_Uíge Province, and Dombe Grande_ Benguela Province, through sustainable agricultural processing, digital literacy, increased access to solar energy, addressing gender differences and maximizing opportunities for youth and women participation, ensuring the sustainability of the project based on an exit strategy.

To achieve its objective of strengthening the socio-economic resilience and development of rural communities in Bembe and Dombe Grande municipalities, the UNDP-supported intervention will focus on the following three interlinked main results:

·        Result 1: Clean energy access solutions identified and leveraged and off-grid female-led cooperatives and communities electrified with renewable energy sources to enable sustainable livelihood and economic growth.

·        Result 2: Capacities of key national partners are strengthened, leveraging, and unlocking critical support services to accelerate the transformation of rural economies.

·        Result 3: Promoted productive capacities for resilient agriculture through enhanced access to business development and digital and financial services.