BACKGROUND PAPER on United Nations Development Programme (UNDP ...

I) Linking aid and donor efforts to the MDG targets as well as encouraging
governments to meet the internationally agreed upon target of 0.7 percent of a
country's Gross National Product (GNP) to be deployed for development assistance;
II) Improving the effectiveness of aid to reach vulnerable groups;
III) Ensuring aid targets poverty and social investments;
IV) Fostering local ownership of resources and;
V) Maintaining dialogue processes with Governments to ensure internalization of
Round Table Meetings.
6.3 Micro Finance
United Nations Capital Development Fund, through its microfinance programmes,
supports a variety of initiatives that facilitate the provision of financial services to the
poor. These initiatives include all the items under the Activities menu above such as
investments in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the MicroStart Programme with
UNDP country offices; technical advisory services such as MFI appraisals and
project design; a supportive learning agenda; and best practice dissemination and
capacity building.
To facilitate coordination between the different microfinance initiatives in the UNDP
Group, a joint unit between UNDP and UNCDF was established in 1997 and called
the Special Unit for Microfinance (SUM). Today SUM is integrated fully into UNCDF,
and is now considered the lead technical unit on all matters pertaining to
microfinance in the UNDP Group. UNCDF/SUM supports the growth of effective
microfinance institutions that have transparent track records and solid institutional
and financial performance in reaching poor clients, particularly women, on a
sustainable basis. SUM also fosters an understanding of microfinance best practices
and assists UNDP and other UN agency country offices worldwide to incorporate
those elements into new programmes. As the global technical unit for microfinance of
the UNDP group, SUM supports UNDP's microfinance portfolio, including those
countries outside of UNCDF's geographic focus.
SUM was created by the Administrator of the UNDP as a joint partnership between
the Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) in UNDP and UNCDF. The purpose of this
partnership was to bring together the growing work of UNDP in the area of
microfinance with the established credit and microfinance portfolio of UNCDF.
UNCDF's capacities in microfinance were strengthened in 1999 by the UNDP
Administrator's decision to locate SUM within UNCDF. In December 2001, a
Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNCDF and UNDP's Bureau
for Development Policy, spelling out the advisory support services that UNCDF
provides to UNDP country offices and programme countries worldwide.
6.4 Crisis Prevention & Recovery
Many countries are increasingly vulnerable to violent conflicts or natural disasters
that can erase decades of development and further entrench poverty and inequality.
Through its global network, UNDP develops and shares innovative approaches to
conflict prevention and peacebuilding, disaster mitigation and post-crisis recovery.
UNDP is on the ground in almost every developing country - on hand to
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