Transform Together Fund

Social innovations for fair green and digital transition.

Project description

It is observed that key target groups of social economy are left behind green and digital transition in Europe. It is particularly true for the most vulnerable : microentrepreneurs, low-income people, migrants, women. They lack knowledge and skills to introduce digital and/or green solutions which could expand their business and/or make them more resilient to climate change and environmental threats. The Transform Together Fund project addresses this by supporting social finance actors in ideating and implementing solutions, that will help the target groups to bridge the gap.  

Project status: Active 

Project duration: August 2023- July 2025 

Project partner: Cerise+SPTF (France) 

Project regional focus: EU Member States (and their overseas countries and territories), Norway 

Project Objective

The heart of Transform Together Fund is all about supporting positive change in the field of green or digital among the vulnerable groups!  

MFC and Cerise+SPTF will issue up to €50,000 grants for social finance actors. With support of the grants, the social finance actors will develop and test a variety of innovative solutions – each of them should aim at helping the target group to improve their knowledge or practices in green or digital area.  

The Programme will provide up to 90% co-financing (on the grant contract basis) for the projects  approved by MFC and Cerise+SPTF. 

Apart grants, MFC and Cerise+SPTF will provide opportunities for grantees to participate in trainings and peer exchange related to green and digital solutions.  

Meet Grantee Organizations and Learn about Their Projects

ADIE (France) – Development of remote and digital support services on Green Transition

General objective of the project is to offer clients and prospects an integral support for the implementation of a green focus in their business strategy. This will include design and implementation of a digital tool that would advise clients on the topic of green transition, design of a workshop “Green transition a lever and opportunity for my business”, and support through individual coaching.

Confeserfidi (Italy) – GreenShift: Empowering Microentrepreneurs for a Sustainable Tomorrow

In its project Confeserfidi will focus on educating entrepreneurs on climate change, energy crisis, and the importance of sustainable business practices. They will offer: audits to evaluate businesses’ environmental impact and recommend sustainable alternatives, Green Tech Trainings, workshops on sustainable supply chain management, and create Sustainable Community Forum, which will become a platform to share green initiatives, collaborate, and seek advice.

Coopfin (Italy) – The development of new female cooperatives in the rural areas of Sardinia Island by increasing digital skills

In its project Coopfin focuses on raising awareness of the importance of digitalization to improve women’s’ work quality in the rural areas of Sardinia Island. With their activities they aim to increase number of working women. The project relies on the combination of on-line (video courses) and one to one tutoring on digital and cooperative management skills.

FAER (Romania) – Life through our soil!

In its project FAER aims at creating trainings on good soil management practices and circular economy and implementing basic soil chemical analysis for farmers that will help them create a medium-term plan in good practices and management on soil. What is more, FAER will also train their staff members, so that they can provide better consultancy on good soil management and practices.

FDPA (Poland) – Digitalization as an opportunity for efficiency of enterprises in rural areas

In its project FDPA will test professional digital ICT solutions among 23 employees, as well as a group of 10 micro-entrepreneurs, and improve their e-competence (for example, digtal signature), which will translate into strengthening the capacity of FDPA. The new skills will be used by the staff in their work with microentrepreneurs in rural areas, in particular promoting among them the use of digital tools in running their businesses. During online meetings FDPA will teach 300 entrepreneurs about the opportunities offered by precision agriculture, energy efficiency, and new challenges reagrding soil.

Microlab (Italy) – EmpowerHer:FosteringWomen’sDigitalEntrepreneurshipforSustainability

The project’s objective is to foster women’s employability and facilitate self-employment, specifically by supporting the establishment of micro-enterprises through digital and sustainability training, mentoring, and financial assistance. The project addresses 40 women who live in Italy – 20 female entrepreneurs who already have an established business and wish to enhance it with a focus on sustainability and digitization and 20 aspiring female entrepreneurs who have a business idea but need guidance. MicroLab will offer training, mentoring, and networking opportunities for these entrepreneurs.

OMRO (Romania) – Filbo eCopilot – Business Copilot For a Green, Sustainable Future

The goal of OMRO’s project is to build and promote the Hermina eCopilot, an AI Chatbot designed to guide small entrepreneurs towards green and sustainable investments. The chatbot will be designed to teach, guide and assist small entrepreneurs in aspects of Green, sustainable investments that will benefit their business, for example, projects that involve Solar / Green Energy, Environmental-friendly construction, recycling, sustainable or intelligent farming, recycling. The chatbot will validate (or invalidate) ideas that entrepreneurs have, will perform basic education, and ultimately guide the user to apply for a Filbo Green Loan while making clear the benefits, returns on investment and potential positive benefits.

SIS Credit (Bulgaria) – Enabling vulnerable micro entrepreneurs apply green and digital practices in their businesses and households through tailor-made consultancy and online loan application process

The project aims at offering comprehensive approach in supporting the target clients of SIS Credit through digitalization of the consultancy and on-boarding process of clients (virtual branch that could be approached even from the most remote parts of the country) and in the meantime improve the consultancy towards AI solutions for starting entrepreneurs (with focus on women and other vulnerable micro entrepreneurs), green solutions for small businesses and households and free-of charge consultancy on available EU programs for innovative and green projects. The outcome of the project will be an online tool that will offer the target clients tailor-made service: free-of-charge consultancy and on-boarding for loan application (if the client needs funding apart from consultancy).

3Bank (Serbia) – Digitalization of AGRO loan process (farmers digital literacy)

This project is aimed at enabling digital signing of documents in loan process for small registered farmers (by qualified electronic signature provided by e-Government of Republic of Serbia), as well as electronic archive of loan documentation (paperless process).The digital sign will be integrated in existing loan process retaining personal touch with client advisors who visit small farmers households, deliver loan decision on a tablet device and train farmers to sign documentation by mobile Consent ID application (e-sign). This business approach that combines digital and physical elements maintains key values for rural clients where trust and support of advisors is foundation for accepting new digital solutions and encourages them to experience new technologies/digital skills.

Social finance actors

Social finance actors include microfinance institutions, national microfinance associations, NGOs working on financial inclusion as well as clients/beneficiaries of those institutions with focus on low income: micro entrepreneurs, migrants, women. 

Key Activities

The selected social finance actors will have a chance  to develop and test exciting new ways to embrace green or digital solutions among their clients. To achieve this, the project will facilitate the following key activities: 

  • testing innovative solutions by selected social finance through grants (each up to €50,000 of value).   
  • raising awareness activities (webinars, local meetings, dissemination activities).
  • capacity building (trainings on digital and green), expert mentoring, peer to peer learning meetings among project grantees .

Our goal is to see at least 10 social finance actors successfully testing new digital and / or green solutions, directly benefiting the people they support. Depending on the grant activities, up to 10,000 beneficiaries, including micro-entrepreneurs, low income individuals, migrants, and women, will be positively impacted. Together, with our partners, we’ll gain valuable knowledge to be shared with broad social economy sector and create a greener, responsible digital world, where businesses thrive responsibly and income opportunities flourish! 

For more information, please contact ttfgrants[at]mfc.org.pl or maria[at]mfc.org.pl

Watch Our Webinar

  • Transform Together Fund & Digital Skills Building among vulnerable groups

Transform Together Fund timeline

About Cerise+SPTF –  Project Partner

Cerise+SPTF, a French nonprofit created in 1998, has been a long standing partner of MFC, pioneered the implementation of social performance management. As a social innovator, Cerise+SPTF works with actors in inclusive finance, social business and impact investing to co-create social standards and social assessment tools that are free to all. Cerise+SPTF is a pioneer in Social and Environmental support for microfinance.  

As the developers and champions of interdependent and complementary tools and products, Cerise has worked closely with SPTF, the Social Performance Task Force, since the mid-2000s. Cerise have formalized a formal cooperation with SPTF via a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021, and now both organizations operate under a common strategic plan.

Cerise+SPTF has significant experience in training and supporting microfinance actors to assess green practices, develop environmental strategies and policies, and propose green products. Cerise+SPTF is also working with vulnerable groups to propose solutions adapted to the needs and preferences of low- income customers, women, microentrepreneurs in the informal sector.  

About Cerise –  Project Partner

Cerise, a French nonprofit created in 1998, has been a long stand partner of MFC, pioneered the implementation of social performance management. As a social innovator, Cerise works with actors in inclusive finance, social business and impact investing to co-create social standards and social assessment tools that are free to all. Cerise is a pioneer in Social and Environmental support for microfinance.  

As the developers and champions of interdependent and complementary tools and products, Cerise has worked closely with SPTF, the Social Performance Task Force, since the mid-2000s. Cerise have formalized our cooperation via a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021, and now operate under a common strategic plan.

Cerise has significant experience in training and supporting microfinance actors to assess green practices, develop environmental strategies and policies, and propose green products. Cerise is also working with vulnerable groups to propose solutions adapted to the needs and preferences of low- income customers, women, microentrepreneurs in the informal sector. 

MFC and Cerise+SPTF role in the project: 

MFC as the project leader is responsible for overall implementation of the project, as well as for digital dimension of the project. Cerise+SPTF is responsible for green dimension, including delivering capacity building activities and technical support related to green topics.  

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.