Today the Government of Sweden presented its largest budget yet for foreign assistance.

At a time when development aid is increasingly under pressure in donor countries around the world, Sweden has confirmed its strong commitment to UNCDF’s work, supporting the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs), with an allocation of US$4.2 million to UNCDF’s 2018 Regular Resources (or “core").

"As UNCDF’s top donor country, Sweden is a key partner to UNCDF in the fight to eradicate poverty through ‘last mile’ finance models that unlock public and private resources,” said Judith Karl, UNCDF Executive Secretary.

“This increased core funding will allow UNCDF to continue exploring innovative uses of blended finance and create new instruments for the ‘last-mile’ to reach poor people in the poorest countries, and ensure that growth is both inclusive and sustainable. The ‘last mile’ is where available resources for development are scarcest; where market failures are most pronounced. It is here that the success of the SDGs will be judged,” she added.

The cooperation between Sweden and UNCDF dates back several decades. Sweden for many years has been a leading contributor to UNCDF.

Between 2010 and 2017 Sweden contributed over $31 million to UNCDF in non-core resources, which helped UNCDF reach 14 million saving clients with financial services (period 2014-2017) and support 854 local governments in 2016 alone.

This included the Partnership Framework for Global Initiatives on Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development (PFIS) 2012-2015, encompassing eight UNCDF global initiatives; and the Leveraging Domestic Finance for Inclusive Growth and Resilience in LDCs (also known as the Booster Resilience Fund) 2014-2017, extended to 2018 with a new contribution of $2.3 million.

UNCDF is deeply grateful for Sweden’s consistent and generous support, and the critical leadership role that it plays in funding international assistance through the multilateral system.

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