Start Financing Facility
The Start Financing Facility is the financial infrastructure of Start Network, with innovative crisis financing mechanisms to deliver faster, more efficient, and more effective global humanitarian action.
What is the Start Financing Facility?
The Start Finance Facility connects frontline responders to risk data and finance, so they are better prepared to respond to crises at scale.
In addition to Start Network's existing financing mechanisms, such as the Start Fund, the Start Financing Facility includes a new service that will provide pre-agreed funding at scale for predictable crises – using innovative risk analysis, collective planning and pre-positioned financing.
Local knowledge and leadership are integral to the success of this new model. Start Network hubs will work with the Start Financing Facility team to develop a risk strategy and then apply for funding. Funds are pre-allocated, so if the need is there, the funding will be too.
The Start Financing Facility uses global finance principles to make every pound go further. For example, by risk pooling, we use funding more efficiently. Instead of having pots of funding pre-positioned for specific crises or particular countries, which are not always needed, we can pool risk making the funding stretch further.
This new service is not yet operational, we are now seeking funds to bring this new model for crisis action to the sector. To find out how you can support, please contact fundraising@startnetwork.org
SFF Financing Mechanisms
In addition to the new SFF service, the wider facility includes a variety of funding mechanisms.
Migration Emergency Response Fund
The Start Network’s Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF) allows organisations to provide a rapid response to changes in needs along the migration route.
Start Fund
The Start Fund provides rapid financing to underfunded small to medium scale crises, spikes in chronic humanitarian crises, and to act in anticipation of impending crises, filling a critical gap in humanitarian financing.
Start Fund Bangladesh
The Start Fund Bangladesh is a £10 million rapid emergency response fund created by the Start Network in 2017 with support from UK aid from the British people.
Start Fund Anticipation
Start Fund Anticipation enables NGOs to prepare when they see a crisis coming and respond early to mitigate the predicted impacts. It is the first NGO funding mechanism to be available for anticipatory interventions.
FORECAST BASED FINANCING: MADAGASCAR
Allowing Start Network members to model and predict drought, access funding, and act early in Madagascar.
ARC Replica Programme
African Risk Capacity (ARC) is an organisation mandated by the African Union to help African Union Member States proactively manage natural disaster risk.
DISASTER RISK FINANCING PAKISTAN
We are supporting civil society innovation in Pakistan by enabling frontline humanitarians to access early, predictable funds to protect communities from forecasted heatwaves, flood and drought.
How the Start Financing Facility model will work
Step 1
National networks of NGOs identify and prioritise risks.
Step 2
These risks are then categorised as ‘unpredictable’ or ‘predictable’. Unpredictable risks are supported by Start Funds, while predictable risks will go through the SFF's new service
Step 3
National networks of NGOs develop their country system to monitor and manage the risks they have prioritised.
Step 4
National networks of NGOs apply for coverage from the Start Financing Facility, which is approved by a panel including members of national governance structures, and risk experts
Step 5
The Start Finance Facility governance committee decides on funding allocations and shares the most efficient ways to pre-position funding, using the services on offer:
Contingency funds – such as the Start Fund and Start Fund Bangladesh, for regular crises of mild severity, small to medium-sized crises, where likely impact is low.
Risk pool – for predictable moderate crises, where it is more efficient to share risks across other hazards.
Insurance – for rarely seen, extreme crises where risk needs to be transferred to a third party.
Step 6
The Start Financing Facility pre-positions funding, so it is ready to be triggered when needed.
Latest news
08Apr21
07Dec20
20Oct20
19Dec19