UGANDA

UNCDF has been present in Uganda since 1982, supporting the Government to create a functional planning and financial system for sustainable and inclusive local development. Today, Uganda houses the largest in-country team of UNCDF's global footprint.

The two flagship initiatives for UNCDF in Uganda are:

• The Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) is UNCDF's flagship programme in the country, which is designed to consolidate stability in Northern Uganda, eradicate poverty and under-nutrition, and strengthen the foundations for sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development.
• Inclusive Digital Economies (IDE), which is UNCDF's global digital strategy designed to empower underserved populations to access and use digital services that leverage innovation and technology to improve their wellbeing in support of the SDG.

DINU is a Government of Uganda programme supported by the European Union (EU) under the overall supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), wherein UNCDF works in 40 districts of Northern Uganda with particular focus on 18 districts. Specifically, UNCDF runs a blended finance facility called Support to Agricultural Revitalization and Transformation (START) for SMEs involved in agribusiness value addition, supports the rehabilitation of district and community access roads in target districts through the District Road Rehabilitation Fund (DRRF) to connect local and regional markets and improve access of local communities to jobs and social services, and manages a technical assistance and funding facility called the Local Government Excellence Fund (LGEF) that offers financial incentives for improved performance of the target local governments as a catalyst to promote effective and efficient public service delivery.

Building Inclusive Digital Economies: UNCDF launched in its global strategy of “Leaving no one behind in the digital era” with a specific goal for Uganda of equipping one million Ugandans by 2024 with access to innovative digital services that will empower them and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme focuses on establishing digital infrastructure, innovation ecosystems and enabling policy framework that will accelerate the growth of a digital economy that is inclusive and sustainable. We work with the government, private sector and academia to develop and scale digital solutions to reduce the digital divide and empower key customer segments (smallholder farmers, women, youth, refugees and MSMEs). Through a market systems development approach, we leverage digital technology as a catalyst to address market constraints in key sectors namely finance, agriculture, energy, education, health and transport.

UNCDF uses its financial tools and technical expertise in public financial management, SME development, and financial services development to incentivize actors across different economic value chains to think differently, break from their silos, and incubate new ways of serving the “last-mile”. Together we look for, and invest in, high-impact opportunities that can boost productivity, economies of scale, and above all, development impact, especially for women and youth. Today, together with the larger UN Country Team, UNCDF in Uganda supports the Government effectively implement the Second National Development Plan and realize its vision of becoming a middle-income country by 2020, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.