NIGER STATE GOVERNMENT CASH TRANSFER UNIT
PROGRESS COURT 84 BUILDING, OPPOSITE ZARUMAI MODEL SCHOOL, MINNA, NIGER STATE.
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) FOR PROVISION OF PAYMENT SERVICE TO BENEFICIARIES OF RESULT AREA ONE (DLI1.1 AND DLI1.3), N-CARES PROJECT

INTRODUCTION
The Federal Government of Nigeria is seeking financial assistance from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group to support the implementation of Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme. The Programme development objective Is to expand access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms.

The facility will use the Investment Project Financing (IPF) at the Federal, while at the States it will use the Programme-for-Results (PforR) lending instrument. The NG- CARES is to the tune of US$750 million and it shall be implemented over a period of 24 months This is a short-term response to the COVID-19 induced economic crisis affecting poor individuals, households and firms in the country.

It is designed to support budgeted government interventions at the state level—targeting existing and new poor and vulnerable individuals, groups and households, agricultural value chains, and micro and small enterprises (MSEs) affected by the economic crisis. The Programme, a two-year financial support to the States is designed to fulfill Programme Objectives in 3 key Results Areas (RAs), These are (RA1) Increasing cash transfers and livelihood support to poor and vulnerable households; (RA2) Increasing food security and safe functioning of food supply chains for poor households; and (RA 3) Facilitating recovery of MSEs.

The Credit facility is fully aligned with the World Bank 2020-24 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Nigeria, as well as Nigeria’s Economic Reform and Growth Plan and Government’s Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) designed to respond to the economic crisis induced by COVID-19.

The Niger State Cash Transfer Unit (SCTU) will implement RA1 in achieving the objective of the delivery indicators as follows:
Disbursement Linked Indicator (DLI) 1.1: Niger State Social Transfer (NSST).

The objective of the NSST Programmes is to enhance consumption and support to vulnerable groups: aged, persons with disabilities, chronically ill, and urban poor households. Niger State Cash Transfer Unit (SCTU) will implement the transfer schemes. Beneficiaries of the social transfer Programme will be targeted using clear and objective criteria drawn from the Stale Social Register (SSR). The SCTU will enrol and register all selected beneficiaries in a State NG-CARES Social Transfer Register. Twenty Thousand Naira (N20,000.00) only will be paid bimonthly to selected beneficiaries using mobile money agents, card-based payments, or e-payment such as e-wallets. The SCTU, with support from Desk Officers and Cash Transfer Facilitators (CTF), will monitor the Programme at the LGA level. Monitoring indicators will include (a) total number of households receiving transfers, disaggregated by gender and disability profile and (b) frequency of the transfers. The SCTU will provide monthly, quarterly and annual reports to the State CARES Coordinating Unit (SCCU).

Disbursement Linked Indicator 1.3: Livelihood grants.