An emerging set of new applications illustrates the power of building on digital finance models to bring innovation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A set of emerging businesses that leverage the existence of a ubiquitous, electronic retail payments system is particularly exciting because they link financial innovation more directly to tangible benefits. Poor people can access services they want and need via pay as you go models that allow them to purchase essential goods and services in increments overcoming the constraints of their uncertain and limited household cash flow. These ‘use cases’ empower poor households to focus on achieving their priority SDGs.  Household electricity is one of the initial examples of this potential. Are there other equally promising opportunities beyond household electricity that could contribute to leveraging digital finance to achieve the SDGs?   

The objective of DF+ is to build on digital finance models for innovations that contribute to achieving the SDGs.  As almost all of these models are originating within the private sector, this programme will offer public-private partnerships (PPPs) where UNCDF can assist private sector promoters to move their ideas forward. These may include proposals that ‘think outside the box’ of traditional donor processes and thus present an opportunity to engage the private sector earlier in the concept design phase.   “Governments must take the lead in living up to their pledges. At the same time, I am counting on the private sector to drive success,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told more than 350 leaders of business, government, civil society as well as UN officials.  “Now is the time to mobilize the global business community as never before. The case is clear. Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals will improve the environment for doing business and building markets. Trillions of dollars in public and private funds are to be redirected towards the SDGs, creating huge opportunities for responsible companies to deliver solutions.”

 CGAP had identified  more than 50 start-up businesses in the digital finance "plus" innovation space, including services linked to education, water, health and agriculture. Other areas include humanitarian payments in crises or post-conflict settings.   Which of these have the potential to go to scale?  The inception phase would be used to identify a potential pipeline of projects, develop and test modalities and also to engage potential partners.

UNCDF has several existing programmes that are active in this space, and this expression of interest is geared toward matching innovative ideas with these programmes as partners that could engage and take through the process of discovery, piloting and to scale.