Pradeep Kurukulasuriya

Executive Secretary, United Nations Capital Development Fund (@UNCDF). Crowding in SDG finance to frontier markets. Views mine, RT≠Endorsement 🌍

[UN Capital Development Fund @UNCDF]

In 2024, only 2% of global foreign direct investment reached the world's least developed countries. Why?

The problem is structural.

UNCDF exists to disrupt this pattern.

🔗 https://t.co/cB6Wo0r4gf

[Joint SDG Fund 🇺🇳 @JointSDGFund]

🇷🇼 Rwanda launches a joint programme with @FAO, @UNICEF, @UNDP, @WFP & @UNCDF to accelerate food systems transformation.

Backed by @JointSDGFund & @FoodSystems, it expands access to finance and scales climate-smart agriculture.

🔗 https://t.co/SsJO2fwa2G

[Joint SDG Fund 🇺🇳 @JointSDGFund]

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe’s Renewable Energy Fund (#REF) wins the Sustainable Energy Finance Innovation Award at @SADCSEW! 🏆

#REF brings together @UNCDF, @UNDP, @UN_Women & @UNESCO, with support from the Joint SDG Fund and @OldMutualZW, to structure blended finance for renewable energy.

[UNDP Saudi Arabia @UNDPSaudiArabia]

Exec. Sec. @Pradeep0872, @UNCDF, met today with Dr. Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister @MEWA_KSA, and H.E. Ibrahim AlTurki, Secretary General of the Middle East Green Initiative. They discussed inclusive finance and collaboration on green initiatives. #UNCDF #Partnerships

[Shigeki Komatsubara @komatsubarasan1]

Honored to meet w/ the Minister of Blue Economy & Fishery of #Zanzibar, Hon. Masoud Ali Mohammed, w/ @UNCDF team & Mr. Robert Filipp, Innovative Finance Foundation. @UNCDF & @UNDP work together to unlock financing & opportunities for the people of Zanzibar. @undptz @UNDPAfrica

[UNDP Saudi Arabia @UNDPSaudiArabia]

Ms. Nahid Hussein, @UNDP Resident Representative in Saudi Arabia, met today with @UNCDF Exec. Sec. @Pradeep0872 to discuss key areas of collaboration and his visit to the Kingdom 🇸🇦. Strengthening @UNarabic partnerships for sustainable development. #UNinKSA #UNCDF #UNDP

[Shigeki Komatsubara @komatsubarasan1]

Joined @UNCDF team for a meeting w/ Ministry of Tourism & Heritage Zanzibar for very useful discussion on domestic resource mobilization and fiancing for holistic development of tourism industry of #Zanzibar. We look forward to further collaborations w/@WUMK_Zanzibar.

[Shigeki Komatsubara @komatsubarasan1]

Very insightful discussion w/ Peoples Bank of Zanzibar @pbzbank Managing Director Mr. Fahad Soud Hamid & @UNCDF team, on unlocking financing for the accelerated and inclusive development of Zanzibar. We look forward to fruitful collaborations for #Zanzibar.

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

@alexanderdecroo @UNDP @UN @antonioguterres A warm welcome @alexanderdecroo to also your extended family as the new @UNCDF Managing Director! Awaiting to discuss blended finance solutions via @UNCDF's unique financial instruments to help reimagine development possibilities for countries furthest behind on development.

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

In Afghanistan, perceived risk once kept capital away. UNCDF and @UNDPAf proved otherwise. Through a joint guarantee facility, $20M in private loans have reached MSMEs, creating 16,000 jobs, nearly 5,000 for women, showing that risk can be managed, and markets can move.

[Kanni Wignaraja @kanniwignaraja]

Making Guarantee instruments work in Afghanistan is not easy. This is what @UNDPAf and @UNCDF are committed to do, with a joint guarantee facility that has already unlocked $20M in private loans, created 16,000 jobs (nearly 5,000 for women).
The effort proves that smart finance that goes directly to people can take-root and make a difference even in the toughest market settings.
We hope you see this as a model worth scaling and investing in. For more details...📩 https://t.co/r6He3Zl5RH

[@UNDP_Bhutan @UNDP_Bhutan]

With funding from @MitActFacility, Bhutan, UNDP, @UNCDF & partners are shaping a bold project to decarbonise 🇧🇹’s energy sector via market-led solutions that aims to:

💡 30MW solar for health facilities
🌍 Cut 1.6M tCO₂e
👷 500 green jobs
💰 Unlock private investment & more.

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

We are proud to partner with @BayerFoundation on the Food Systems Innovation Finance Facility. With $4.5 million in catalytic funding, managed by @UNCDF, the Facility will de-risk high-potential food systems enterprises in underserved markets and mobilize additional capital towards #ZeroHunger.

We look forward to welcoming other partners who wish to amplify the reach of their philanthropic capital and deliver systemic change

👉 https://t.co/SDmAFc2KtW

[UN Capital Development Fund @UNCDF]

UNCDF is making history.

At #FfD4, a once-in-a-decade chance to reshape global finance, the outcome document recognizes UNCDF’s role to deploy catalytic concessional first-loss capital and de-risk investment in #LDCs.

🔗 https://t.co/QD4IGRuMDk

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

Tune in to watch a live broadcast from the SDG Media Zone at #UNOC3 with Hon. Minister Flavien Joubert from @SeychellesMACCE, @chipc27, and @f_pickup sharing solutions to unlock public and private capital for #OceanFinance.

🔗https://t.co/XSnBqWSEbO
🕚 11 - 11.30 CEST

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

The @Joint SDG Fund is transforming how development gets funded. At @UNCDF, we help make that possible. 

In Zimbabwe, we partnered to structure the country’s first Renewable Energy Fund, unlocking private capital for clean energy and jobs with expected leverage exceeding 3.5x by end-2025.

[Joint SDG Fund 🇺🇳 @JointSDGFund]

🌐 Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of @UNCDF, shares insights on how public & private investment strategies are accelerating digital and financial inclusion — unlocking access, opportunity & resilience for underserved communities. 🌍🌏🌎

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

An @FT op-ed by the Head of @WorldBank, Ajay Banga, triggered some thoughts that I want to share. The WB has long been recognized for mobilizing large-scale capital to transform economies and create jobs. That said, it struck me that the model relies on one fundamental assumption: that the groundwork for private capital to flow already exists, or can be rapidly created with institutional muscle.

Which left me thinking - What happens in places where that assumption doesn’t hold? Where risk profiles are too high, markets too shallow, and financial ecosystems too fragile to absorb capital at scale — even concessional capital? What about those countries around the world whose credit ratings are below C grade?

Read more here: https://t.co/8bonjXeL97

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

Cities in early-stage markets struggle to access capital for critical infrastructure. The Sustainable Cities Guarantee Facility, a partnership between @UNCDF, @EU_Commission & @UNHABITAT, sets out to change that.

At #FICS2025, we’ll showcase how this facility will unlock capital for city-led infrastructure development and drive economic growth at the last-mile.

[Pradeep Kurukulasuriya @Pradeep0872]

Markets perceived as too risky often remain underserved, yet they hold immense untapped potential. @UNCDF exists to change that.

As a hybrid development & finance institution, UNCDF deploys guarantees, concessional loans & investment grants to de-risk investments and mobilize capital where it's needed most.

In Tanzania, a $1M investment from UNCDF helped launch East Africa’s first subnational Green Bond—raising $22M, with 65% from domestic investors.

At #FICS2025, we’ll showcase how blended finance can drive sustainable growth in #LDCs & #SIDS.

Join us in Cape Town with @DBSA_Bank, @AIIB_Official & @AFD_France: https://t.co/GRkiA9zeli