World Bank Group Launches 2014 Development Marketplace in India

IndiaCSR News Network

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NEW DELHI:  The World Bank Group announced today the launch of the 2014 India Development Marketplace (DM) call for proposals (CFP Link) so that organizations in India can access overall funding of over US $ 1 million for implementing innovative service delivery approaches in the Northeastern states of Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya.

The DM is a competitive grant-based program that identifies and supports nonprofit and for-profit organizations that effectively deliver crucial services to the poor. The DM also analyzes effective practices of these enterprises in order to expand innovative solutions in getting crucial services to poor populations.

Following the success of the 2013 India Development Marketplace (http://dm-india.com/grantees-list/), the 2014 competition focuses on enterprises that target the Northeastern states of Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. In 2014, the Development Marketplace will award approximately 10 organizations with grant funding up to US $ 150,000 (INR 94 lakhs) each. In addition to the financial resources, the grantees will be supported through a tailored capacity development program delivered with the local partners. Jointly with the South Asia Inclusive Business Models Group of the International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, the DM will contribute analytical work, evaluation of results, dissemination of lessons of experience from peers, and dialogues with investors and governments.

“IDM 2014 will provide an opportunity for innovative and committed social enterprises from across the country, especially those in the North East, to share their work and scale up and/or replicate them for improving delivery of key services in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram,” said Onno Ruhl, The World Bank’s India Country Director. “From providing medical services on boats in the flood affected areas of Assam, to increasing access to cost effective microcredit for rural entrepreneurs in Madhya Pradesh, previous editions of IDM have demonstrated how, with the right kind of financial, knowledge and managerial support, social enterprises can have a profound impact in the delivery of critical services to the poor.”

The 2014 India Development Marketplace is inviting proposals from social enterprises that epitomize the objectives of the program; innovative organizations that offer solutions to the most pressing social, environmental, and economic problems. The final selection of grantees will be carried out by a jury of well-known development experts. The jury will award approximately 10 social enterprises with cash grants and technical assistance services for capacity building. The specific details on eligibility and selection criteria are available on the 2014 India Development Marketplace website (www.dm-india.com). The final date to submit proposals is March 10, 2014.

“Innovative inclusive businesses have the potential to provide sustainable last mile delivery to the underserved segments. We are very pleased that the 2014 India Development Marketplace is focusing on North Eastern India where we are increasingly seeing the need for such enterprises to address crucial development needs,” said Anil Sinha, Regional Head, Inclusive Business, IFC South Asia.

India Development Marketplace has been recognizing and supporting a range of highly effective social enterprises since its inception. For example, 2013 India Development Marketplace grantee organizations include Alternative for India Development (AID) that fosters financial literacy and inclusiveness for rural women; Real Medicine Foundation that mobilizes communities to increase awareness of severe and moderate acute malnutrition and their causes, and provide access to public treatment services; and WaterLife India (WLI) that establishes community water systems in rural areas to provide safe drinking water at an affordable price. Over the past three years, the Development Marketplace has granted more than US$3 million to 34 projects.

World Bank in the North East
The World Bank’s first state specific project in the North East region was the IDA assisted US$8 million Assam Agricultural Credit Project which closed in 1985. Since then, the World Bank has provided support to projects in a wide array of sectors such as health, power, transport, rural development, livelihoods and education, together amounting to about US$750 million in assistance (on state specific projects). The World Bank is also engaged in Assam on technical assistance activities for sustainability in public service delivery, transport and governance.

As of January 2014, the World Bank has two ongoing state projects in the North East in Assam – the Assam State Roads project and the Assam Agricultural Competitiveness project. Apart from this, the World Bank also has one multi-state North-East Rural Livelihoods project in Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

About the Development Marketplace
The Development Marketplace is a competitive grants program, supported by the World Bank and the IFC that identifies, supports, and promotes innovative social enterprises that effectively deliver services to the poor. Selected organizations demonstrate the potential for growth and are provided strong need-based technical assistance in order to replicate and expand their efforts. Since its inception in 1998, the Development Marketplace has awarded more than US$65 million in grants to more than 1,200 social enterprises identified through country, regional, and global competitions.