UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub

📢 The latest #Tax4SDGs blog on #gender and finance policies in #Africa is here! Incorporating gender considerations into #taxation is a game-changer—it breaks down structural barriers, empowers women’s economic participation, and fosters inclusive growth. This important topic was spotlighted at the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) Annual Meetings in #Rwanda, where UNDP's transformative work was highlighted. 🌍 Dive into the session’s key takeaways, innovative approaches, and how UNDP is creating impact across the region through powerful partnerships. ➡️ https://go.undp.org/JmG UNDP Africa | UNDP West and Central Africa | Marcos Neto | Tom Beloe | Ahtesham R. Khan | Maxwell Gomera | Innocente Murasi, PhD | Esiri Agbeyi | Caroline Othim | Norad - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Financial Resilience highlights from the UNCCD #COP16Riyadh, which officially came to a close on 13 December. ➡️ US$ 2.15 billion pledged towards the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership (RGDRP) and UNDP will have integral role in the partnership. ➡️ The Arab Coordination Group committed up to US$ 10 billion by 2030 to address land degradation, desertification, and drought. ➡️ Riyadh Action Agenda and International Drought Resilience Observatory launched by Saudi Arabia to strengthen Middle East Green Initiative, Africa Great Wall, RGDRP, or new initiatives. ➡️ The Global Takaful Alliance was announced and shall work to increase the financial resilience of 100 million people by 2030. Watch the event: https://lnkd.in/ersVj53r ➡️ Groundwater Access Facility for Africa announced a US$ 2 billion initiative for water solutions in Horn of Africa and Sahel – UNDP has pledged US$ 2 million for Somalia. UNDP Insurance and Risk Finance Facility’s Jan Kellett and Enock Sing'oei highlighted the need for financial resilience within the context of desertification, land degradation and drought: 💠  The report “Building Climate and Resilience Through Takaful – Part 2: Developing Takaful Market Systems” was released. The report was co-developed with Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI). Download the report: https://lnkd.in/eRq3FM7q 💠 Articulated the need to prioritize and scale financial risk management solutions and that a lack of focus on financial resilience threatens the viability of investments made to mitigate the impacts of land degradation and climate change. Watch the high-level panel “Harnessing the Power of the Market”: https://lnkd.in/eYUeKgMT 💠 Provided feedback to young innovators tacking land degradation and receiving US$ 30,000, under the #Youth4Climate (Y4C) initiative. Learn about the initiative: https://lnkd.in/ewX5gxEk Overall the level of discussion on insurance, risk finance and broader financial resilience at COP16 Riyadh, COP16 Cali and COP29 Baku was not at a level commensurate with the heights of risk, hazard and shock that countries and communities are facing. On the road to FfD4 in June 2025, the IRFF will be sharing an analysis of the three-COPs held in 2024 and plans to put financial resilience firmly on the agenda in 2025. 👉 Find out more: https://lnkd.in/egbAb6rX #financialresilience I Shamiso Ruzvidzo I Lauren Carter I Loïc Martel I Ceandra Faria I Xinyue Cui I Emanuele Moretti I UNDP Rome Centre

🎉 Happy Holidays from the UNDP #Tax4SDGs Team!   As the year comes to a close, we celebrate a journey of remarkable achievements, made possible by our dedicated team working seamlessly across the globe.   🤝 Partnerships have driven our success, and we thank our partners, donors and friends for their invaluable contributions to aligning fiscal policies with the #SDGs. Looking ahead, 2025 holds even greater promise as we continue to drive progress toward achieving the 2030 Agenda.   May this holiday season bring you peace, joy, and hope for the exciting journey ahead.   Happy Holidays from all of us at the #Tax4SDGs Team! Marcos Neto | Tom Beloe | Ahtesham R. Khan | Rachel Beach, Ph.D. | Ricardo Guerrero | Natalia Pushkareva | Sudarshan Rangan | Saied Tafida Sulaiman | Mtwalo Msoni | Tingwei Yin | Lyla Latif (PhD) | Amna Khalifa | Caroline Othim | Odd Nikolas Hanssen | Tatiana Falcão | Melanie Robert | Peter Hurst | David S. Davidsson | Lia Avagyan, PMP®, PMI-ACP® | Elisa Shaqqur Anselmi | Simon M. | Victoria Kravchuk | Kai Proessdorf | Melusi Tshuma | Aya Fasih | Melusi Tshuma | Luis Sambo | Julia Hoechner Silveira Martins | Parijat Lal | Teopolina Shiwoomwenyo Amupolo | Mohammad Khalid Alimkhail | Diana Paola Quiroga Veloza | Jafar Fazilov | Kassim DOGAWA, PhD | Oyintare Abang | Lina Klesper | Abdallatieph Sabbagh | Haajira J. | Joseph Chedid

Check out UNDP's recent report outlining key policy reforms needed to mobilize private capital for sustainable development. It advocates for a shift towards an 'impact economy' where investments generate both financial returns and measurable sustainable development outcomes. The report identifies significant policy gaps in crucial sectors including renewable resources, alternative energy, agriculture and allied sectors (food and beverages), and infrastructure. It also reveals untapped potential in health care and education, where targeted reforms could dramatically improve access to essential services and enhance human capital in developing countries. Learn more about and how to access the full report ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eJdD7Suc

From Senegal to Ghana to Tanzania (Zanzibar), here are some highlights of what UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility has been doing in Africa this quarter to improve the financial resilience of countries, communities, households, businesses, nature and food systems. 📍Senegal On 17 December, the winners of the Insurance Innovation Challenge in Senegal were announced in an event hosted by PNUD Bureau du Sénégal. The challenge stimulates innovators and entrepreneurs from the insurance and finance ecosystem to develop solutions that increase the accessibility of insurance, particularly for vulnerable populations. Three winning pitches from nine finalists were selected: 🔸 Compagnie Nationale d'Assurance Agricole du Sénégal (CNAAS) proposed an integration of multi-risk indices, combining rainfall, agricultural yield and river flow to offer comprehensive cover tailored to farmers' needs. 🔸 Sammanté Santé pitched a digital sponsorship model paired with an electronic health voucher system that enables individuals or organizations to finance annual health cover for beneficiaries. 🔸 Proassur SA presented an application, AWA, that is similar to a chatbot on WhatsApp and enables unbanked people or those working in the informal sector to take out insurance policies, access insurance services and ask related questions virtually and at any time. 📍Zanzibar, Tanzania The Zanzibar Disaster Risk Financing Strategy was validated on 14 November. The strategy outlines key priorities to enhance public financial management, promote investments, and strengthen institutional capacity for disaster risk financing and management. The validation workshop was hosted by the Zanzibar Disaster Management Commission in collaboration with UNDP Tanzania. It was attended by over 70 representatives from Zanzibar’s government ministries, Pemba, and Tanzania Mainland’s Vice President’s Office and Prime Minister’s Office - Disaster Management Department. 📍Ghana A six-week awareness clinic for leaders of the informal sector on Inclusive Insurance concluded in Accra on 29 October. There were over 1,000 participants, representing different informal associations, such as commercial drivers, market vendors, artisans and small business entrepreneurs. The clinics shared data from field research and strengthened the attendees’ capacity to identify and address risks to their livelihoods via insurance, as well as analyze information for themselves when engaging with insurance institutions. The clinics were organized by UNDP Ghana, the National Insurance Commission, Ghana and the Insurance Awareness Coordinators’ Group. Learn more about the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility here: https://irff.undp.org/ #financialresilience I Catherine Phuong I Dembo DANFAKHA I Fatou Leigh I Ismaila DIATTA I Nafissatou NDAO I Michael Kofi Andoh I Amina Sammo, Ph.D I Josephine Douglas Laswai I Tuga Alaskary I Emmanuel C. Nnko I I Jan Kellett I Lauren Carter I Ceandra Faria I Linet Odera 🌍

The ISO/UNDP guidelines for contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are set to transform how organizations and businesses help achieve to global sustainability. 👉 The ISO/UNDP Guidelines for the SDGs are available at no charge here: https://bit.ly/4glKGZQ These innovative guidelines are more than just a framework—they are a roadmap for organizations of all sizes worldwide, looking to align their operations and business strategies with the SDGs. Whether you’re in the private sector, public administration, or civil society, these guidelines provide actionable insights and practical steps to enhance your contributions to a more sustainable and equitable world. Key highlights: ✅ Transformative tool: Understand how these guidelines are poised to accelerate sustainability efforts across industries. ✅ Global reach: Learn about the universal applicability of these guidelines, designed to be adopted by organizations worldwide, regardless of size or sector. ✅ Practical implementation: Get a step-by-step overview of how to integrate sustainable development into your operations, ensuring your activities contribute effectively to the SDGs goals. ✅ Partnership and collaboration: Explore how these guidelines encourage cross-sectoral collaboration, promoting partnerships that are crucial for achieving the SDGs. ✅ Future of sustainability: Hear from experts on the long-term benefits of adopting these guidelines, including enhanced stakeholder engagement, and support for sustainability reporting. As the world moves closer to the 2030 deadline, the need for concerted action towards the SDGs has never been more urgent. By leveraging the ISO/UNDP guidelines for the SDGs, your organization can play a pivotal role in driving global progress toward a sustainable future. https://lnkd.in/ectwXgM9

🇸🇻 Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative by UNDP - OECD - OCDE, conducted two missions in #ElSalvador, partnering with the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda de El Salvador), the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGIT) of El Salvador, and several public institutions in the criminal tax investigations ecosystem. These missions mark the beginning of two new programs launched in the country in November. 🔷 The first mission on Transfer Pricing kicked off the program with training sessions.  🔷 The second mission on Criminal Tax Investigations involved a self-assessment workshop for institutions to evaluate the country's current status in relation to international best practices, followed by the launch of specialized training sessions. Thanks to Alfredo Collosa, who led the mission on transfer pricing, and to Ignacio Martin Irigaray, who led the workshop sessions on criminal investigations. PNUD El Salvador | PNUD en América Latina y el Caribe | Marcos Neto | Tom Beloe | Ahtesham R. Khan | Maribel Gutierrez | Ricardo Guerrero | Norad - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Read a new blog from David Mueller, Regional Specialist at UNDP's Private Finance for the SDGs, about transforming Africa's economic landscape, one investment at a time. David writes how UNDP's Africa Sustainable Finance Hub has uncovered 207 SDG investment opportunities across 16 countries, showing that financial returns and development impact are not mutually exclusive. Key highlights: ✅ $15M invested in health and agritech SMEs ✅ Partnerships spanning from Nigeria to Namibia ✅ Innovative approaches to sustainable development Access the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/eDh-qf_j #SDGInvestment #Africa #SDGs

"Effective impact management is not just about measuring risks — it’s about acting on them. At UNDP, we’ve seen how superficial reporting can create an illusion of progress while deeper systemic risks remain unaddressed. Disclosure frameworks must be paired with robust internal systems that prioritize sustainability. Without this, disclosure becomes a mere box-ticking exercise," writes Marcos Neto, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau of Policy and Programme Support, in a new op-ed at The Banker. 🗞️ Read the full piece (unlocked): https://lnkd.in/e-HaX7Wg

📣 We’re excited to announce Simon Rawson as the new Executive Director of the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (#TISFD)! ➡️ Simon brings deep experience in transforming the global investment system so that it supports our planet and its people, most recently serving as Deputy Chief Executive at ShareAction and on the Senior Advisory Board of the WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Preparer Forum for Sustainable Disclosure. He previously worked for McKinsey & Company where he helped build the firm’s social responsibility function, and served as a diplomat for the British government, including an overseas posting to Pakistan and as a private secretary to the Minister of Europe. He will join TISFD in February 2025.   💬 On his appointment, Simon shares: “The need to build a sustainable future for business, for people, and for the planet has never been more important. I am thrilled to be joining the Taskforce at this critical moment, as it launches its work to develop an evidence-based global disclosure framework with people at its centre. I’m incredibly grateful to the Founding Partners whose collective efforts launched the TISFD and look forward to working with our partners across finance, business, labour, and civil society to shape and guide our work ahead.”   ✨ We look forward to Simon’s leadership in advancing TISFD’s mission. Stay tuned for more news on our next chapter!