GHANA

UN Capital Development Fund is working with the Government of Ghana to deliver inclusive, sustainable, and environmentally responsible development. Activities leverage UNCDF expertise in building adaptation to climate change at the local level, boosting digital and financial inclusion and job creation for the most vulnerable people in urban and rural communities.

Active in Ghana since 2015, UNCDF offers catalytic finance models that unlock public and private resources in “last mile” environments, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

UNCDF is bringing its expertise in promoting financial inclusion and local development to support job creation through the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn). The programme, funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa is implemented in partnership with SNV. By working with local government authorities as well as the private sector, GrEEn will contribute to addressing the root causes of irregular migration, through green and climate-resilient local economic development, as well as improving the prospects of beneficiaries, by increasing skill development and access to finance that leverage innovation and technology for targeted segments, such as returning migrants, youth, women, and MSMEs, in selected regions (Ashanti and Western).

UNCDF is currently implementing its Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) in Ghana, designed to channel global climate finance to communities for locally-led adaptation The overall objective of LoCAL Ghana is to improve the resilience of communities to the negative impacts of climate change by working with and building the capacity of their Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) LoCAL delivers on this commitment with Performance-Based Climate Resilience Grants (PBCRGs) that provide a financial top-up to cover the additional costs of delivering climate-smart investments at the local level.

UNCDF is also currently implementing the Inclusive Digital Economies (IDE) agenda in the country to empower underserved youth populations to access and use digital services to improve their wellbeing in support of the SDGs. Through a mix of technical assistance, convening power, and financing instruments (grants, loans, and guarantees). UNCDF supports public and private sector actors to accelerate the growth of a digital economy that is inclusive and sustainable. With a specific focus on the financial ecosystem and agriculture.UNCDF supports stakeholders to develop and scale digital solutions to increase access and usage of services that empower the underserved segments.

In 2020, UNCDF formed the Technical Assistance Facility in support of the International Municipal Investment Fund (IMIF-TAF). The TAF is primarily donor funded and aims to provide a full pipeline of local government investment opportunities in developing countries. Pipeline projects could benefit from UNCDF de-risking instruments (grants, reimbursable grants, concessional loans, guarantees) and capacity support to prepare projects to investment stage. One of the cities, where project preparation for the TAF was conducted, was Kumasi, Ghana.