Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues,
A very warm welcome to this critical side event in the margins of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. I am delighted to join you today alongside our esteemed partners to showcase how the UN Joint SDG Fund is turning the FfD4 vision into tangible reality.
Ten years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, we face a stark reality: while progress on the SDGs has delivered for millions, it has not kept pace with the scale of global challenges. The financing gap for the SDGs now exceeds $4 trillion annually, amid overlapping crises and shifting priorities that threaten our collective ambitions.
I cannot overstate the urgency of this moment, or the critical importance of the innovative solutions being discussed today.
Colleagues,
Amidst these formidable challenges, the Joint SDG Fund stands as a powerful instrument to drive real change, break siloed approaches, and unlock financing at scale. Since its inception, the Fund has committed over US$380 million, facilitating a whole-of-UN-system response to pressing challenges. More crucially, through its focus on SDG financing and catalytic investments, the Fund has leveraged over US$6.6 billion to date, crowding in contributions from the wider ecosystem of development partners at country level—representing the quantum leap in financing essential for SDG achievement.
The Fund's track record demonstrates what is possible when we align ambition with innovation. Indonesia's green and social investments mobilized US$4.6 billion through specialized bonds, benefiting 7.5 million students and restoring over 50,000 hectares of mangrove forests. Uruguay's Renewable Energy Innovation Fund achieved a 1:6 leverage ratio by partnering with seven major banks representing 80% of the country's banking sector. Kenya's innovative health financing reached over 1.5 million young people through results-based payment mechanisms working with impact investors. These translate into concrete improvements in people's lives.
North Macedonia's Green Finance Facility channels resources through six local banks, directing US$46.5 million toward environmental projects while targeting women-headed households, Roma communities, and persons with disabilities—and exemplifying strategic partnerships with institutions like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Through its focus on key SDG transitions, the Fund helps countries turn national strategies into investable action. Its blended and innovative finance mechanisms, from SDG bonds to energy financing facilities to credit enhancement guarantees, demonstrate how strategic risk-sharing can attract private capital for sustainable development while ensuring inclusion of local actors essential to delivering lasting solutions.
Importantly, the Fund is expanding into critical frontier areas where traditional financing falls short. In food systems transformation—requiring an estimated US$300-400 billion annually—only 5% of climate finance reaches this sector, despite food systems generating one-third of global emissions. At the subnational level, the "missing middle" of financing between US$500,000 and US$7 million represents untapped potential for territorial development, with only 4% of global financial assets reaching low- and middle-income countries. The Fund is pioneering innovative approaches to unlock additional financing to these potential markets.
Colleagues,
The Fund's success stems from its unique positioning within the UN development system. By leveraging UN Resident Coordinators' convening power and Country Teams' technical expertise, it ensures accountable financing delivered at scale. This approach has partnered with 32 UN entities across 120 country teams to deliver integrated solutions addressing interconnected development challenges.
Fundamentally, the Fund represents multilateralism at its most effective—creating a collaborative platform extending far beyond the UN system to orchestrate partnerships across the global development ecosystem. By bridging capital markets, international financial institutions, impact investors, and national development banks, it demonstrates how multilateral coordination can unlock the full spectrum of financing resources necessary for transformation at scale.
But delivering on this potential requires expanded partnership. I call on all Member States, development finance institutions, and private sector partners to deepen engagement with the Fund—not only through financial commitments but strategic partnerships that enable continued boundary-pushing in blended finance and inclusive development.
As we will hear from our distinguished panelists today, the success stories from Egypt to North Macedonia, demonstrate that with the right instruments and partnerships, we can turn global commitments into local transformation.
Looking beyond Sevilla, the Fund stands ready to serve as a strategic enabler for the global SDG Investment push. Through its network of Resident Coordinators and Country Teams, it can systematically expand countries' access to innovative financing instruments—from green bonds to impact investments and guarantee mechanisms. This represents a concrete pathway for translating FfD4 commitments into actionable solutions deployable immediately to accelerate SDG progress.
The Fund provides a tested, agile platform for delivering on FfD4's promise—channeling capital where it matters most, supporting nationally led priorities, and fostering partnerships that drive sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development.
I invite you all to join us in ensuring the Joint SDG Fund continues serving as a core engine of transformation in the global financing for development landscape. Together, we can convert global commitments into tangible results that deliver for communities worldwide.
Even amid formidable challenges, sustainable development for all remains within our reach—if we embrace innovation, partnership, and the catalytic financing that the Joint SDG Fund embodies.
Thank you.
