Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
EXPLORATORY
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is that many workers in Mauritania belong to the informal economy and have little to no access to job opportunities, training, and financial resources. To address this challenge, we aim to explore solutions that connect informal workers with potential employers and provide them with access to relevant training and financial services. However, to effectively design and implement such solutions, we need first to understand the specific challenges that informal workers in Mauritania face, including issues related to low wages, lack of social protections, and limited access to resources and opportunities.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
The informal economy has been a significant contributor to Mauritania's economy for decades, over 70% of the economic activities are driven by the informal sector (ILO 2017), with many workers employed in informal activities such as street vending, small-scale trade, and informal labor. However, the lack of formalization and regulation of informal activities has led to various challenges for workers in the sector, including low wages, lack of social protections, and limited access to finance and training. The informal economy is driven by limited formal job opportunities, poverty, and weak enforcement of labor regulations, and involves various stakeholders, including workers, employers, government agencies, and civil society organizations. The current situation is characterized by poor working conditions, limited access to social protections and financial services, and a high incidence of poverty among informal workers, with inadequate access to resources and opportunities.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
There are some official data sources that can provide quantitative evidence of the challenge of informal workers in Mauritania.
- over 70% of the economic activities are driven by the informal sector (ILO 2017). This indicates that a significant portion of the workforce lacks access to formal job opportunities, training, and social protection.
- According to the world bank, 26% of the Mauritanian population lives below the 3.6$ a day poverty line. Informal workers are particularly vulnerable to poverty given the low wages and poor access to social protections such as healthcare, pensions, and insurance.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
There have been increasing and multiplying workers' clusters forming across Mauritania due to the growth of the informal economy. Informal workers, such as street vendors, market traders, and domestic workers, often work in clusters or groups to share resources, reduce costs, and increase their bargaining power.
These workers' clusters are particularly common in urban areas, where informal employment is more prevalent. In cities such as Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, for example, there are large markets where hundreds of informal workers come together to sell goods and provide services.
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
Acclab can bring added value by leveraging innovative approaches and technologies to address the challenges faced by informal workers in the country. For example, the lab aim to use digital platforms to connect informal workers with potential employers and provide them with access to training and financial services. We aim also to use data analytics to better understand the needs and preferences of informal workers, and to design more effective interventions.
One reason why Acclab is well-suited to work on this challenge is its ability to bring together different stakeholders, including informal workers, employers, policymakers, and civil society organizations. By fostering collaboration and dialogue among these groups, the UNDP CO through the lab can help to build more inclusive and sustainable solutions that are grounded in the needs and perspectives of all stakeholders.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
In Mauritania, many workers are in the informal economy, lacking access to job opportunities, training, and financial resources. Acclab aims to connect them with employers and provide access to training and financial services via innovation & Tech. To design effective solutions, we must first understand the unique challenges they face. #informalemployment #Mauritania #innovation #Acclabs
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The ministry of labor and vocational training stands as the main partner when it comes to informal workers. The collaboration consists of influencing policy-making processes within the ministry for the betterment of the informal workers' conditions.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Private sector (Innovators, incubators, startups, entrepreneurs)
What sector does our partner belong to?
Private Sector
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Collaboration with the private sector is crucial for understanding the challenges faced by the informal workers in Mauritania. The innovators and incubators can help us set up innovation challenges, experimentation designs and test innovative products that are relevant to address the informal workers' challenges.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Unites Nations agencies (ILO)
What sector does our partner belong to?
United Nations
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Collaboration with UN agencies such as ILO is central when it comes to access to data and information relevant to the understanding of the informal workers' challenges. In fact, the collaboration with, for example, ILO, is likely to culminate in influencing decision-making through reliable and evidence-based methods.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Academia
What sector does our partner belong to?
Academia
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Engaging in the informal workers' challenges requires an exploratory phase wherein a review of the existing literature and data is necessary for understanding and the learning process. This can be done in collaboration with the academia's research units in partnership with the UN ILO agency.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Civil Society
What sector does our partner belong to?
Civil Society
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The collaboration with civil society involves gathering data on informal workers to better understand the conditions under which informal workers operate such as working conditions, earnings, etc.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
What are the specific challenges that informal workers in Mauritania face, and how do they differ from those faced by formal workers?
What strategies or initiatives have been successful in connecting informal workers with potential employers and providing them with access to training and financial services in other countries or contexts?
How can technology be leveraged to create innovative solutions for informal workers in Mauritania, such as mobile apps or online platforms that connect them with job opportunities or provide training resources?
What role can the government and private sector play in supporting informal workers in Mauritania and creating a more inclusive economy? What policies or programs have been successful in other countries with similar challenges?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Sense, Explore
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
We envisage using innovative methods to learn about the challenges faced by informal workers. These methods can be deployed during workshops, hackathons, and innovation challenges we're exploring for this learning plan.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Data on the informal economy are scarce and substantial gaps remain to be filled. We intend to use these methods to generate and consolidate data from different sources to inform our expected interventions and influence decision-making based on the evidence.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
Possible growth would be to see our experimentations scaled up. For example, we intend to develop a platform that acts as an e-labor market maker for informal workers to speed up the matching process between workers and employers. This platform will serve as informal workers generating data source that is expected to benefit the informal workers and the employers as well as the government through access to the data and information for better decision making. Also, we envisage organizing an innovation challenge about informality in Mauritania, which is expected to contribute to the solutions mapping process and provide a range of solutions relevant to the challenges.
END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.
1No poverty
8Decent work and economic growth
10Reduced innequalities
Comments
Log in to add a comment or reply.