At 2016 United Nations Pledging Conference, the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg announced its continued commitment to the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) by pledging a 2017 core contribution of €650,000 and thematic contributions of €300,000 for local development and inclusive finance.

UNCDF Executive Secretary Judith Karl praised Luxembourg for being a long-standing partner of UNCDF, allowing the organization to continue offering and expanding its last mile financing models. These models mobilize much-needed public and private resources in support of poor households so they can climb out of poverty, small businesses so they can expand, and under-served regions so they can grow along inclusive and sustainable pathways.

 “As one of UNCDF’s top core donor countries, Luxembourg is a very important partner helping UNCDF bring last mile financing models to those areas where available resources for development are scarcest; where market failures are most pronounced; and where people are excluded from the benefits of national growth,” Ms. Karl said.

“Luxembourg’s contributions to UNCDF’s core resources have helped ensure we are able to maintain our crucial innovation space and maintain strategic engagement at the country level. It has also helped us evolve our approaches and remain highly relevant to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the 2030 Agenda, and the Paris Agreement on climate change, all of which have a strong focus on issues related to blended finance, domestic resource mobilization, public-private partnerships, and the role of local economies and subnational authorities in the Least Developed Countries.  At the same time, Luxembourg’s thematic contributions have enabled UNCDF to develop and invest in important “frontier” areas of financial innovation and local development finance,” she added.

In 2016, Luxembourg’s support was also instrumental in operationalizing the Municipal Investment Financing Programme, an innovative initiative which will help local authorities take their local investment plans and turn them into viable projects that can attract a critical volume of public and private investment for local infrastructure development and service delivery.