1. NFI Cash Voucher Fairs – D.R.Congo
Global Shelter Cluster – Non Food Item (NFI) Workshop
Nairobi, 7-9 December 2016
NFI Cash Voucher Fairs – D.R.Congo

2. Transformation, Adaptation, and Scale up Today Lessons Learned
Content
Beginnings
Transformation, Adaptation, and Scale up
Today
Lessons Learned
Lessons to be Learned?

3. What is an NFI Cash Voucher Fair?
Artificial market allowing NFI-vulnerable families to access essential household, personal and hygiene-related items
Not a standard kit
Value vouchers redeemable for NFI of the families choice
Sometimes in combination with some direct distribution
Selected vendors; no guaranteed payment or subsidy
Vendor agreements to respect basic principles, price ceilings for certain items
Certain items not allowed – food, seed, livestock, medicines
Women represent the family as primary registered beneficiary

4. Diversity of NFI needs; every family is different
Beginnings
Diversity of NFI needs; every family is different
Possible to provide more choice, options without comprising quality ?
Seed Fair experiences  “Can we try it for NFI?”
2008: Pilots through a UNICEF IDP return program - 2 different provinces with CRS, Caritas Butembo-Beni, NRC

5. Beginnings Initial Skepticism : 2009-2010: Scaling up through
Market capacity and vendor willingness?
Quality of items?
Time needed to prepare?
Beneficiary comprehension?
: Scaling up through
existing NFI programmes with dedicated technical support (AVSI, Caritas Kindu, CRS, IRC, NRC, Solidarites International)
Others experimenting - Concern Worldwide, Care
Overwhelmingly positive feedback – beneficiaries, donors, vendors, NGOs  ‘Let’s do more fairs!’

6. Beneficiary Appreciation of Quality of Articles
Source: Day-of-fair interviews

7. Transformation, Adaptation, & Scaling Up
Promotion through the DRC NFI/Shelter Cluster at national and provincial levels
Case studies (CaLP) and Learning
Adapting monitoring and Information Management (HAP/HRP)
Post-intervention Monitoring showing same/better outcomes than distributions
Increased donor interest and questioning of distribution programmes – ‘Have you considered fairs?’
Organizations’ finance and procurement adapt to accommodate the approach

8. Transformation, Adaptation & Scaling Up
Collaboration with Food Security actors-joint NFI and Food Fairs
Experiences with vouchers in open markets and pilots in e-vouchers
Promotion of locally made NFI
Better practices on setting price ceilings of key items with beneficiary and vendor committees
Some actors - inclusion of services – school fees, health
Better market analysis
Adapting voucher value to purchasing power
Combined with distributions of some items

9. Locally-made Cooking Pots NRC Fair –
Mangina, North Kivu- July 2016

10. Today
Every NFI actor in DRC now uses both distribution and fair approaches; used in all provinces and territories
Since 2013, over 50% (in terms of families assisted) of all NFI assistance delivered through voucher fairs
Jan – Oct. 2016
over 775,000 households assisted (over 3.8 million people) via NFI voucher fairs
$55,311,051 – injected into local markets through thousands of NFI vendors

12. January – October 2016 – NFI assistance in eastern DRC – Fairs and Distributions

13. January – October 2016 – NFI assistance in Katanga province– Fairs and Distributions

14. Today
Increased sophistication and sharing of good practices – Thematic Technical Workshops
Selecting vendors
Setting price platforms
Mitigating fraud
Promoting locally made NFI
Best Practice: Adapting to family size
1-3 persons: $50
4-6 persons: $75
7 and more: $90.
Collaboration with Cash Working Group and Minimum Expenditure Baskets (MEB)

15. Today Developing a ‘How To’ Guide book on NFI voucher fairs
Continued studies/learning – through post-fair-monitoring (e.g. use of shelter and livelihood materials)
Using androids, tablets for better purchasing pattern analysis
Monitoring Outcome and ‘Impact’
Sharing beyond DRC

16. Lessons Learned
Do not underestimate dynamism, flexibility, and efficiency of the commercial sector
It’s not about what’s in stock, but what they can get
Convince a vendor to come to one and he/she will want to participate in more
No need to subsidize vendor costs – transport, credit, warehousing on site, etc.

17. Lessons Learned
You don’t need to pay cash at the site; vendors prefer delayed payment through ‘safer’ modalities – check, bank transfer
Be wary of local commercial organizations
Be wary of local authorities – ‘taxation’
Concern of poor quality – not a significant issue

18. Lessons Learned Be flexible – adapt voucher values
include in-kind distribution (tarps, jerry-cans, ..) or required commodity vouchers
Programme people need new skill sets – markets, commercial sector, but you don’t need to be an expert
Finance and procurement systems can adapt and still meet requirements for rigor

19. Lessons Learned
Opening markets ; vendors going to new areas ; even contributing to community reconciliation
One size does not fit all – vast diversity of beneficiary choice
Appropriate for a range of affected population – returnees, IDPs in sites/camps, IDPs in host families, host families themselves, survivors of natural disaster
The value of choice to dignity and normalcy

20. Lessons Learned Gender considerations Livelihood recovery options
Understand household decision-making and gender dynamics
Woman adults in household coming to fairs as best practice
But evidence does not show considerable differences in purchasing patterns between men and women
Livelihood recovery options
Opportunity to ‘repay’ real and social debt

21. Lessons to be Learned ?
Understanding / Analyzing / Quantifying the multiplier effect on local economies – are there negative implications?
Items to allow and to forbid? Based on what criteria?
How best to measure purchasing patterns?
When do people simply need cash?

22. Thank You!