Scaling Impact: Evolving Blended Finance Models for Energy Transitions Aligned with the SDGs

16:45 - 18:15
Side Event Room 3 – Blue Zone – COP30 in Belém, Brazil

Background

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires innovative financing mechanisms that align public and private capital, reduce early-stage risks, and unlock high-potential markets. The Joint SDG Fund has supported pioneering blended finance models tailored to national priorities in Uruguay, North Macedonia, and Zimbabwe. These models are now evolving to deliver broader and deeper impact:

  • Uruguay: The Renewable Energy Innovation Fund (REIF) is catalyzing a second energy transition wave in industry and transport, expanding into Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and new sectors such as water management and green construction.
  • North Macedonia: The Green Financing Facility (GFF) is expanding access to renewable energy and efficiency technologies for households and SMEs, with additional support from EBRD and replication potential in other countries.
  • Zimbabwe: The Renewable Energy Fund (REF), managed by Old Mutual, is unlocking institutional capital for green investments. With prescribed asset status, it can mobilize up to 20% of domestic institutional capital.

Moderator

  • Mr. Alain Noudéhou, Executive Director of the UN Multi – Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO)

Panelists

  • H.E. Dr. Evelyn Ndlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife of Zimbabwe
  • Mr. Mamadou Kane, Resident Coordinator of the Multi-Country Office in Micronesia (with Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Palau)
  • Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Congo
  • Ms. María Gracia Delgado, Technical Coordinator, Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation (AUCI)
  • Ms. Jodi-Ann Wang, Policy Fellow, LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and a PhD candidate in International Development at the University of Oxford, representing UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) Economic Affairs Officer Sustainable Energy Division

Closing remarks