As the co-hosts of the Secretariat of the UN Secretary General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs, UNDP and UNCDF commit to implement key messages and recommendations from the Task Force report, “People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future.” One opportunity which arises from the recommendations is for UNDP and UNCDF to combine their complementary digital financing strengths where UNDP brings expertise in national policy architecture and planning and UNCDF brings its in-depth on-the-ground expertise in building inclusive digital economies in the LDCs. In line with the Task Force’s recommendations, there exists a need to connect the financing of Government SDG priorities with new opportunities unveiled by digital financing. UNDP and UNCDF will create linkages that are currently weak, or absent, between national planning processes and market development approaches to digital financing.

This UNDP/UNCDF joint offer focuses on:

1. SDG Digital Financing Accelerator-- Supporting member states in harnessing digital financing and advancing targeted aspects of domestic digital finance ecosystems to realize market opportunities in support of financing national SDG priorities; and
2. Global Stewardship-- Stewardship and market steering which will continuously review progress on digital financing of the SDGs, catalyse and share inspiring initiatives, keep raising the bar, and re-crystallize a view of what is happening in the digital financing space. UNDP and UNCDF already have SDG and digital financing measurement frameworks that, together with alliances with other stakeholders, will build a global SDG Digital Financing Tracker to identify how countries and regions are harnessing digital financing for the SDGs and identifying  SDG “orphans” and digital divides.

By joining forces, our offer to member states is ambitious, relevant, catalytic and will deliver greater impact to markets.  It will result in national planning that integrates SDG priorities with digital financing opportunities in both the public and private spheres.  Building back better requires the expansion and innovative use of digital technologies aligned with Governments’ SDG priorities.  UNDP and UNCDF call on all stakeholders to join our effort.