Provision of Study on the use of remittances and their impact on resilience in Mali and Senegal

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Rome, Italy, hereby solicits proposals for the Provision of Study of the Malian and Senegalese diasporas in Italy and their investment practices.

This procurement process aims to select a consulting firm or a consortium of consultant firms to conduct a 4-month study (starting in late October 2025) on how remittances are used within Senegalese and Malian households to mitigate climate risks.
The study will provide answers to the following research questions:

1 Is there a link between receiving remittances and/or being a migrant returnee and climate resilience and adaptation?
2 To what extent does receiving remittances — and especially receiving them digitally — foster formal financial inclusion beyond remittance use?
3 To what extent does financial inclusion and access to digital remittances impact households’ climate resilience and ability to adapt to climate risk/changes?
4 What financial and non-financial services, will best support remittance receivers and returnee migrants to be resilient and adapt to climate risks and changes? Is it worth focussing on these target groups in rural areas?

The study will draw on household surveys in Senegal and Mali (with more than 800 respondents per country). The survey results will be examined in relation to the current supply of financial and non-financial services available to rural populations, with the aim of generating evidence-based recommendations on how such services can be designed and implemented to support household adaptation strategies in the context of climate change.

It is the subject of a single lot and a single contract with the same service provider.

Specific objectives of the study

● Provide insights into prevalence of households receiving international and domestic remittances at the national and decentralized levels (region, department/circle, commune/arrondissement) levels, as well as households with one or more migrants returnees, based on existing statistics from the national statistics agencies ANSD in Senegal and INSTAT in Mali and other sources, where applicable.
● Measure the use of remittances for consumption, health, education, productive uses (including agriculture) and long-term investments, assess the impact of remittances on the level of education and financial inclusion and the implementation of adaptation strategie;
● Evaluate the impact of remittances on the implementation of strategies to adapt to the short- and long-term effects of climate change, highlighting also the opportunities to use remittances as a tool for agricultural risk management, following PARM (Platform for Agricultural Risk Management) holistic approach.
● Evaluate the existence and nature of adaptation strategies by migrant returnees, particularly those from Italy.
● Identify the financial, information, advisory and training services available to and used by households receiving remittances and migrant returnees in rural areas, and the barriers to their use.
● Propose the most appropriate options and potential partnerships to strengthen the financial and climate resilience of households receiving remittances and migrant returnees.
● Initiate a consultative and collaborative process to share the results of the study with the various stakeholders.