SOLOMON ISLANDS

UNCDF has been present in Solomon Islands since 1982, improving governance and service delivery through fiscal decentralization and increased local investment capacity, bridging funding and service gaps in provincial areas, and enhancing basic capacity for public expenditure management to produce and execute credible budgets through appropriately participatory and transparent procedures.

Today, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

Following the conclusion of the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP), UNCDF is jointly implementing the Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP). PDEP is a joint programme between UNCDF, UNDP and UNCTAD, aiming closely collaborate with key public and private sector stakeholders to support the development of inclusive digital economies in the Pacific. Programme activities will be focused in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. The aim is to develop inclusive digital economies to enhance the market participation of rural communities, women and MSMEs, as well as seasonal workers, resulting in poverty reduction, improved livelihoods and economic growth.

Additionally, Solomon Islands was one of four countries to embrace IDES in 2020, alongside Burkina Faso, Nepal and Uganda. The inclusive digital economy scorecard (IDES) is a policy tool developed by UNCDF to help governments set the priorities for their countries’ digital transformation. It identifies the key market constraints hindering the development of an inclusive digital economy and helps to set the right priorities with public and private stakeholders, to foster a digital economy that leaves no one behind.

Through local development finance, UNCDF is deploying the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) programme is helping the Government of Solomon Islands channel global climate adaptation financing to the local level and cope with the increased cost of building resilience against climate change and natural disasters.