Timor Leste

In Timor-Leste, UNCDF is building back its corporate portfolio and improving digital access for financial services and allowing greater financial access in rural areas that see greatly benefit in low-income households.

From 2008-2014, UNCDF implemented the Inclusive Finance for Underserved Economy (INFUSE) Programme with UN Development Programme (UNDP) – focusing on increasing access to sustainable financial services for poor and low-income populations, both female and male, taking a sector-wide approach to addressing these issues

UNCDF is currently implementing the Digital Finance for Resilience in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries’ (DF4Res) in Timor-Leste, in partnership with the European Union, to enable the development of innovative digital solutions that can bring financial services closer to low-income households and marginalized communities.

Programme activities will aim to develop inclusive digital economies to enhance the market participation of rural communities, women, youth, farmers and MSMEs, through close collaboration with key public and private sector stakeholders, resulting in poverty reduction, improved livelihoods and economic growth.

Additionally, Timor-Leste is part of the IDES family. 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 has also deployed the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) programme which is helping the Government of Timor-Leste channel global climate adaptation financing to the local level and cope with the increased cost of building resilience against climate change and natural disasters.