The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has received multiple awards under the United Nations System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN SWAP) at the conclusion of the 2018–2025 reporting cycle, recognizing its leadership in advancing gender equality across its programmes and operations.

UNCDF received the UN SWAP Award for the First Contributors of Gender Equality Marker data to the Chief Executives Board Financial Statistics, the UN SWAP Award for Best Performers among Funds and Programmes, and the UN SWAP 3.0 Pioneer Award for being among the first United Nations entities to report under the updated UN SWAP 3.0 framework.

The recognition highlights UNCDF’s continued commitment to ensuring that gender equality is integrated across its development finance activities, particularly in Least Developed Countries and other high-risk markets where women often face the greatest barriers to economic opportunity and access to finance.

Notably, four UNCDF initiatives have achieved GEN3 classification, indicating that advancing gender equality is their principal objective. These initiatives include:

  • Women’s Empowerment for Inclusive Growth in Bangladesh, implemented with UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The programme supports stronger participation of women in local economic development and helps women led enterprises access larger volumes of domestic capital.
  • Strengthening the role of women and young women in peacebuilding in Burkina Faso, which promotes women’s leadership and participation in community governance and peacebuilding processes.
  • Peaceful Natural Resource Management in the Koliba Corubal Basin in Guinea Bissau, which supports inclusive resource governance and strengthens women’s participation in decision making around shared natural resources.
  • WomenX Collective Investment Advisory, a partnership supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) that strengthens gender focused investment approaches and expands financing opportunities for women led enterprises.

Through catalytic finance, partnerships, and market development, UNCDF supports initiatives that expand economic opportunities for women while strengthening inclusive financial systems and local development outcomes.

On International Women’s Day, UNCDF reaffirms its commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment by expanding access to finance and investment opportunities where they are needed most. Through its new Strategic Framework, UNCDF helps unlock capital and opportunities for women entrepreneurs across Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.