RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will support Board of Investment (BoI) in establishment of Pakistan’s first Impact Investment Fund.

This partnership is considered to leverage the private sector and capital markets to support SDGs-aligned financing and investment models focusing on venture capital - capital that is prepared to take on additional risk to kick-start underserved sectors and districts within Pakistan.

In these efforts, to augment the impact investment ecosystem in Pakistan and introduce SDGs-aligned financing, the UNDP will support BoI in exploring the establishment of Pakistan’s first Impact Investment Fund. The fund will be aligned with the government’s Vision 2025 roadmap and is essential step in helping Pakistan achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Given the UNDP’s regional experience in facilitating impact and blended financing funds, BoI is particularly interested in collaborating with UNDP Pakistan to explore this potential and has requested that UNDP should support the government of Pakistan in providing technical support in developing the impact modality of a potential fund.

On this occasion, Chairman BoI Naeem Zamindar said that impact investing is the way of the future to finance socially desirable projects and also produce an attractive return.

Establishing such an Impact Fund will also help Pakistan achieve its Sustainable Development Goals, and jumpstart venture capital urgently needed to strengthen the startup ecosystem of Pakistan. “Given UNDP’s expertise in the area, we are happy to get their guidance to build our first impact fund, hopefully, the first of a string of funds,” he added.

SDGs financing aims to leverage impact investments in Pakistan, facilitate blended financing, support the growth of impact-oriented start-ups and strengthen ecosystem stakeholders.

“The UNDP has been active in the area of empowerment through innovation and entrepreneurship and is now ready to facilitate SDGs-aligned financing. We are hoping to further strengthen our partnerships with the government and the private sector to achieve this goal. We want to see the whole ecosystem prosper in Pakistan and we are excited to support the Board of Investment with this initiative,” said Ignacio Artaza, Country Director of UNDP Pakistan.

Many of the SDGs’ targets embedded in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) include renewable energy, waste management, decent employment, and affordable housing.

The BoI is mandated to coordinate the development and population of SEZs, including the SEZs aligned with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Therefore, the BoI and UNDP will explore how SDG financing support for sustainable SEZs can play an important role in helping boost and sustain Pakistan’s economic development, because they serve as economic hubs for foreign direct investment, technology transfer, value-added production and trade.