The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is launching the Pacific Islands FinTech Innovation Challenge to help address the challenge of financial inclusion and digital payments in Pacific Island Countries (PICs).

UNCDF's Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP) team has prepared a list of FAQs based on engagement with local and global FinTechs since the Request for Applications went live on May 20, 2022.

Funded by the UNCDF, Market Development Facility (MDF) , and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the challenge will strengthen cross-sector collaboration by bringing together the financial ecosystem in PICs to support innovation and financial inclusion.

The Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP) is jointly implemented by UNCDF, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This unique partnership builds on UNCDF’s long-term work on digital finance in the Pacific region and UNCTAD’s extensive work in e-commerce and the digital economy and is implemented with the administrative support from UNDP. The PDEP includes both country-specific activities, initially focusing on Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, and region-wide research and capacity building activities.