Nine new partnerships invited to full project proposal phase

The 2020 DMDP application round is nearing its close, following two weeks of interviews with the highest-scoring applicants. Out of 70 initial applicants, nine have now been invited to the final stage of the process. The consortia now have six months to prepare their full project proposals, during which period they will receive support and guidance from the DMDP Secretariat. Subject to final approval in May 2021 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DMDP will have new projects in Bangladesh, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, the Philippines, and, for the first time, Indonesia and Afghanistan. Congratulations to all consortia and best of luck in the next phase.

The partnerships who have been invited to submit full project proposals are:

• Access2innovation and BM Silo – The Integrated Grain Handling Project will introduce commercially viable ‘grain hubs’ to farming communities in Uganda, which will improve the quality of grain handling, drying and storage in an effort to minimalise post-harvest losses.
• Solidaridad and Aller Aqua – The partnership will develop the aquaculture value chain in Nigeria, through capacity-building and improved access to markets and software, and will develop an online education, trading and farm-management platform and a demonstration farm.
• Landbrug & Fødevarer F.m.b.A. and Arla – The Market-Driven Organic Dairy project will introduce organic dairy production to Indonesia, and will work with farmers in East Java to increase production and sales and improve livelihoods.
• ICCO and Lionheart – ‘More with Less’ in the Philippines will develop the coconut sap value chain by introducing innovative technologies and farming practices and by integrating Good Agricultural Practices, with the goal of improving productivity and generating jobs.
• BRAC and Grundfos – The Safe Water for All project will see the installation of Water Treatment Plants and Effluent Treatment Plants with the dual aim of creative a commercially viable business model for cleaning industrial effluent and ensuring safe drinking water in Bangladesh, both of which will create jobs in the water sector.
• CARE and Out-Growers – This project will improve human and infrastructure capacity to locally process quality cashew products in the Mkinga region of Tanzania, eliminating raw material waste and unlocking untapped commercial opportunities in the cashew value chain.
• Danish Refugee Council and Unilever – The Fair Recycling project will integrate informal and marginalised waste pickers and refugees to a formalised plastics recycling value chain in Kenya, contributing to safer working conditions, increased income and decent jobs and driving the transition to a localised circular plastic economy.
• Hand in Hand and Conflictfood – This project will establish the first-ever line of certified organic saffron produced and processed in Afghanistan, responding to the growing international demand and in recognition of the climate-resilient and labour-intensive nature of saffron, thereby contributing to improved livelihoods and unlocking new markets.
• Practical Action and RiverRecycle – This project introduces pyrolysis technology to the most polluted points of the Padma River in Bangladesh, and will integrate waste pickers into a plastic-collection and processing workstream, creating new jobs, improving working conditions and creating commercial value out of plastic waste.

Photos from existing partnerships: Women in the Shea Industry by MEDA partnership (top left); Innovating Sesame Production by ICCO partnership (top right); Waste-to-Value by WWF partnership (bottom left); Financial Empowerment of Women by BoP partnership (bottom right).