UNCDF with wagely, Quizrr, and Ulula to create financial and digital literacy solutions for Bangladeshi garment workers

DHAKA,Bangladesh,May 12,2022 -- A new innovative business pilot will help 135,000 ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh,including at least 60 percent women,build their financial and digital literacy skills. The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) together with wagely and a consortium of Quizrr and Ulula have committed $556,000 toimprove thefinancialanddigitalinclusionofgarmentworkers.

Through this commitment,UNCDF will provide performance-based grants and technical assistance. The technical assistance will include mentorship for partners on human-centric product design,client outreach with a focus on women,partnerships,data analyticsandreportingsupport.

In Bangladesh,the ready-made garment manufacturing sector employs more than 4 million people,ofwhom 2.5 million are women. Following the devastating impact of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis during 2020-2021,the sector is now recovering,with opportunities to improve Environmental,Social and Governance sustainability to strengthen the sector's competitiveness,growth and potential for further investment. Utilizing digital services has the potential to accelerate these opportunities and improve the decency of work and livelihoods of people employed in the sector.

"With UNCDF's support,wagely will accelerate its 'Earned Wage Access' service in Bangladesh,whichallows employees to receive accrued wages before payday,and is proven to increase productivity andretention of employees. In addition,wagely will introduce additional financial wellness solutions,in particular for female workers,helping ready-made garment workers reach financial resilience and inclusion," says Tobias Fischer,CEO of wagely.

"Quizrr's gamified digital training,powered by real time data,allows participatory suppliers to effectivelyaccelerate their human rights due diligence efforts and engage their employees with training on severalkeytopicssuchasrightsandresponsibilities,worker engagementanddigital wages,tobuildcapacityandtrack worker's digital and financial literacy," said Sofie Nordström,Founding Partner and Dpt CEO ofQuizrr.

"The impact of the pandemic has demonstrated the need to put workers first in order to create moreresilient and sustainable supply chains. Through this project,we are combining our worker engagementtechnologywithQuizrr's digital capacity building system to create an integrated solution forRMGworkersinBangladeshandbeyond,"saidAntoineHeuty,CEOofUlula.

"UNCDFisproudtopartnerwithwagelyandQuizrrandUlulatoimprovelivelihoods,particularlyforwomen,and sustainability in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh through digitalization,following the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the sector with some $3 billion worth ofcancelledordersin2020-2021,"saidMariaPerdomo,Regional CoordinatorinAsiaforUNCDF.

These investments came as a result of the UNCDF project "Promoting Digital Ecosystem Solutions Addressing Women Livelihoods in Bangladesh through Ready-Made-Garment Sector Sustainability amidst COVID-19 and Beyond."

Launched in the wake of COVID-19,the project applies a market systems development approach to advance the digital service market ecosystem in Bangladesh with a focus on digitally-enabled business models to benefit ready-made garment manufacturers and their employees.

Under this project,UNCDF released an assessment of the Ready-Made Garment sector in Bangladesh that analyzed opportunities and suggested recommendations for digitalization to improve livelihoods and the sector's sustainability and,subsequently,selected partners to implement these recommendations.

Following the implementation of the two solutions by 2022,UNCDF can continue its work with themobilizationofinvestmentcapital,suchasloansandguarantees,andfurthertechnicalassistance.

UNCDF's work in Bangladesh is part of the global Leaving No One Behind in the Digital Era strategy,which aims to equip millions of people by 2024 to use innovative digital services in their daily lives that will empower them and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

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