In the ongoing project aimed at strengthening FPOs and farmers, GFI has developed and tested various training modules tailored to meet the specific needs of farmers and FPOs, aligning them with the requirements of the TRAGE UP project. Additionally, GFI has created knowledge products for the benefit of various stakeholders, with the intention of extending these resources to FPOs and farmers to enhance their knowledge.

GFI is now committed to enhancing the professionalism and user-friendliness of these tested modules. This effort aims to make the modules accessible to a wide range of stakeholders, including the Agriculture Department of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The goal is to promote a Food Systems approach, implement gender-responsive agricultural practices, facilitate the adoption of women-friendly and climate-smart technologies, establish market linkages to increase income, and ensure improved nutrition.

The primary objective of this assignment is to complete and prepare the final, printable, and designed versions of three distinct training modules, along with the development of three separate compendiums

Last date to apply: October 05, 2023
How to Apply: Please email detailed Technical and Financial proposal to ssingh1@grameenfoundation.in. GFI retains full rights to accept or reject the proposals or shelve the assignment, at any point of time.

With the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Grameen Foundation India implemented BCNM Experiment and Demonstrating Scale (BEADS) project during 2021 – 23. The endline evaluation of the project was conducted between Dec 2022 and Mar 2023 by surveying 433 BC agents and 434 customers. The survey was conducted across seven states from six partner financial service providers in India.

One of the critical learning hypotheses for the project was to understand the business case for women agents. Our recent research offers compelling answers to this question, providing strong evidence on two fronts. Firstly, it emphasizes the value of investing in designing and developing products and services tailored specifically for female customers. Secondly, it advocates the need to hire more female agents by establishing a strong business case for them.

India’s last-mile delivery of financial services is hindered by the digital and gender divide, posing significant challenges. While basic access to financial services has been achieved, there remains a disparity in the usage and quality of these services, especially among low-income and vulnerable groups. A critical factor in ensuring sustainable usage and maintaining service quality is the role of Business Correspondent (BC) agents. However, the gender gap in BC agents delivering affordable financial services is a pressing concern. To enhance their viability and bridge the gender gap, Grameen Foundation USA and Grameen Foundation India, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, launched the BCNM Experiments & Demonstrating Scale (BEADS) project.

About BEADS project

The project was implemented between Sep 2020 to March 2023 with the aim to address challenges faced by all stakeholders, e.g., the BCs, the BC customers, and the BCNMs, with the following objectives:

• Drive informed pilots with established BCNMs to test more cost-effective, agile, and inclusive ways of selecting, recruiting, and training BCs.
• Improve the viability of individual agents by testing various approaches to diversifying and increasing revenue.

With a focus on addressing the challenges BC agents face, especially women, and leveraging the insights gained from the baseline study, three pilots, in collaboration with six partners, were conducted as part of the action research.

Findings from the Endline Study