UNICEF Afghanistan Country Office is conducting market research to understand market dynamics related to cash transfer services and about financial service providers.

1. Background

UNICEF implements humanitarian and resilience-building programs across Afghanistan, using cash transfers as a key modality to support children, women, and vulnerable households. Building on approaches widely adopted by UNICEF and the broader humanitarian community, cash assistance enables families to meet their most urgent needs with dignity, while strengthening household resilience, supporting local markets, and reducing negative coping mechanisms such as child labor, school dropout, child marriage, indebtedness, and other harmful survival strategies. UNICEF regularly uses humanitarian cash transfers as an effective mechanism to help children, women, and vulnerable families access food, health care, education, shelter, winterization support, and other essential services. UNICEF also supports incentives for front-line workers to sustain children’s and mothers’ access to basic services.

Cash assistance may be delivered through one-off payments or recurring cycles for emergency, development, or resilience-building objectives. Depending on the program scale and funding availability, annual transfers may reach approximately USD 50 million. This approach promotes beneficiary choice, improves access to basic household needs, and contributes to the recovery and resilience of vulnerable households and communities across Afghanistan.

2. Objective

The objective of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather market intelligence and identify qualified service providers operating in the cash transfer services market in Afghanistan, including information on market capacity, service coverage, delivery channels, prevailing market conditions, operational capabilities, and innovative payment solutions.

3. Information Requested in Response to this RFI

Interested companies are invited to submit their responses to this RFI by completing the online form available at the following link. Respondents are kindly requested to provide, to the extent possible, complete and accurate information in response to the questions in the RFI.

Please use this link to answer questions in response to this RFI:

https://ek.hope.unicef.org/single/63928223773a8b6c7ffe76a287f589b2 

4. Disclaimer

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely to gather information and understand the capabilities, experience, and availability of potential service providers in the market. Responses received through this RFI will be treated in accordance with UNICEF relevant procedures and used exclusively to assess market capacity, evaluate potential solutions.

Participation in this RFI will not result in any preferential treatment, vendor prequalification, or guarantee of inclusion in any subsequent solicitation or procurement process.

It does not constitute a commitment, obligation, or intent to procure, contract for, or otherwise acquire any services. UNICEF will not reimburse for any costs associated with responding to this RFI.