
UNCDF Strategic Framework 2026-2029
In preparation for the Strategic Framework 2026-2029, UNCDF is undergoing an inclusive consultation process to integrate its partner’s viewpoints and development priorities. This process was launched by the UNCDF Managing Director in November 2024 and will continue through the fall of 2025, before the finalized Strategic Framework 2026-2029 will be presented for consideration by the Executive Board at its first regular session in February 2026.
As of September 2025, UNCDF has engaged with 70 Member States and 138 partners.
The UNCDF Strategic Framework 2026-2029 arrives at a critical moment for development finance, with the Compromiso de Sevilla—adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) — underscoring the urgency and the gaps in global efforts to resource the world’s most vulnerable economies. As fiscal space narrows and debt burdens rise, many developing countries remain excluded from mainstream capital flows. Investing in these communities is critical to safeguarding livelihoods and advancing the 2030 Agenda.
Its unique mandate within the UN system enables UNCDF to deploy risk-tolerant, catalytic capital to crowd in and catalyze private and public finance in high-risk markets where traditional financial institutions struggle—first and foremost in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other developing countries facing similar fragile, early-stage market conditions, such as Small Island Developing States (SIDS).