Blended Finance in Action: SDG Finance in Small Island Developing States

At the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, the Government of Fiji, Global Fund for Coral Reefs, Joint SDG Fund, and UNCDF, will hold a side-event to showcase blended finance in action. The focus of this event will be on Blue Economy developments for Fijian Coral Reefs and local communities. Together, the Joint SDG Fund and GFCR are providing USD 3.5M in capital investment to mobilise commercial investments, promote financial sustainability of coral reef conservation and accelerate reef-positive livelihoods. This initial funding will seed the facility, bringing a mature pipeline and signed partnerships, including the investment manager; the facility will seek private sector investment and contribution from individual donors and foundations.

The programme is designed as a 6-year fund and aims to leverage US$50M in investment capital by 2030. The UN system is providing value as a neutral broker between the private sector and government in the development and investment readiness of several principal transactions, including a locally managed Technical Assistance Facility, a sanitary landfill project, and a non-synthetic fertilizer plant. The UN is brokering discussions between government agencies and the project developer to understand the processes and requirements, as well as supporting the Government in the tendering process. UNDP and UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have set up a Technical Working Group with Fiji’s Ministry of Economy and Department of Environment to receive structured and collective guidance from the two major agencies for this project going forward.

Furthermore, where private sector investees are facing bottlenecks in getting through key Ministries to secure land lease, UNDP and UNCDF are working through the UN Resident Coordinator’s office to work with the Ministry to help unlock these bottlenecks.