Women’s Economic Empowerment
Our Vision
UNCDF is committed to integrating a gender lens throughout its programmes and operations and will work towards two objectives for women’s economic empowerment:
UNCDF aims to co-create innovative financing solutions to promote women’s economic empowerment and overcome the barriers to gender equality.
UNCDF deploys innovative finance mechanisms to support women-owned MSMEs through grants, loans, guarantees and technical advice, to reduce the MSME ownership and credit gap and the gender digital divide.
UNCDF supports local public and private partners to direct municipal finance towards the delivery of equitable and inclusive services and infrastructure, and develop dedicated financing mechanisms to unlock additional finance for investments in women’s economic empowerment.
UNCDF provides technical expertise to Governments to channel existing and catalyse additional public finance to gender equality commitments.
UNCDF aims to address the deep-rooted systemic biases as well as market and agency constraints for women that often serve as literal and figurative “red tape” to inclusion and participation.
UNCDF aims to address the barriers to digital and financial inclusion of all women in LDCs by enhancing women’s capabilities, enabling their access to digital and financial services and promoting gender-responsive infrastructure and essential services.
UNCDF supports governments to create an inclusive policy and regulatory environment that strengthens gender-intentional and -responsive policies and regulations, local development strategies, plans, budgets and governance structures.
In 2020, UNCDF was chosen as global leader of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Women’s Economic Justice and Rights (EJR). UNCDF also plays a pivotal role in supporting the work of the Technology and Innovation Action Coalition (T&I). The operational approach of UNCDF is rooted in strengthening local systems, capacities, policies, and institutions to address persistent systemic gender inequalities through technology, innovative forms of financing, technical assistance, and product design.
In partnership with UN-Women, the United Nations development system, and other Development Partners.
UNCDF contributes to global policy and inter-agency processes related to women’s economic empowerment and gender financing, building on its strategic positioning as co-lead of the Generation Equality Forum action coalition on women’s economic justice and rights..
UNCDF continues its partnership with 100 Women in Finance to support the development of networks of female finance leaders in LDCs.
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