Call for Proposals: Fostering Secondary City Cooperation Along the Berbera Corridor

When: 1 April 2023

Where: Tba

Apply by: 10 February 2023

Cities Alliance is looking for proposals to foster secondary city cooperation along the Berbera Corridor that connects landlocked Ethiopia with the sea in Somaliland. The purpose of the project is to improve access to work and basic services for migrants and host communities. Proposals with a focus on women empowerment, climate resilience (water, energy, waste), and private sector ownership are of particular interest. 

Since the political reforms in Ethiopia in 2018, Jigjiga city and the Ethiopian Somali region have experienced significant economic growth, with crucial social and financial capital investments by the Somali diaspora and returnees. The same trend can be observed in neighbouring Somaliland (Somalia) region.

Over the past years, international development banks have invested substantially in the region’s infrastructure, which is part of the Berbera corridor. A new port in the Somaliland city of Berbera is set to become a major regional trade and logistics hub with trade volumes to increase sixfold by 2050.

This Call for Proposals (CfP) is part of the Cities Alliance's Cities and Migration programme, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).  The first phase of the programme (2018-2021) supported nine cities across five countries in the Horn of Africa, Tunisia, and Guatemala to design and test local migration management approaches. The second phase (2022-2026) will consolidate the cooperation with these partner cities and seek to expand from a city initiative to a corridor approach.

Through this CfP, Cities Alliance seeks project proposals which will support city stakeholders with three main objectives:

  1. Improve labour market integration for migrants, displaced persons, and host communities.
  2. Improve the gender-responsive, climate-resilient, and sustainable provision of basic services for migrants, displaced persons, and host communities.
  3. Address persistent gender inequalities by including a local organisation with a gender equality mandate for the decision, implementation, and evaluation of the project.

Interested parties are invited to check all the requirements and apply through the United Nations Global Marketplace website.