| Overview : The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 47 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their small businesses by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital. UNCDF 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 – water systems, feeder roads, schools, irrigation schemes – that will improve poor peoples’ lives. UNCDF programmes help to empower women, and are designed to catalyse larger capital flows from the private sector, national governments and development partners, for maximum impact toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Making Access Possible (MAP) is a multi-country diagnostic and programmatic framework to support expanding access to financial services for individuals and micro and small businesses. MAP has been initiated by UNCDF as one of its main programmes to enhance financial inclusion in LDCs. Through a dialogue and evidence-based process, MAP aligns a broad range of stakeholders from within government, private sector and the donor community to create a set of practical actions aimed at extending financial inclusion tailored to that country. Importantly, financial inclusion is pursued not as an objective in and of itself, but for its role in achieving the core public policy objective of enhancing household welfare, supporting livelihoods and contributing to economic growth and employment. The MAP Programme has been running for the past 5 years at UNCDF with a midterm evaluation conducted last year. The consultant will be required to provide strategic reflections and inputs to the MAP Global Hub, relating to the evaluation outcomes, programme document, and future strategic direction of the MAP Programme. |
