KARACHI: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with IBA’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Development (IBA-CED) and JS Bank conducted the finale of the SDGs Innovative Financing Challenge Cup to promote sustainable and climate-resilient businesses in Pakistan. In line with the United Nations Day of Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (UN MSMEs Day), the initiative also underscored UNDP, JS Bank, and IBA’s commitment to supporting MMEs in Pakistan.

The event welcomed a diverse audience of over 350 attendees, including students from IBA and other universities, vocational training institutes, startups, along with representatives from IBA-CED, JS Bank, UNDP Pakistan and Business Incubation Centres (BICs).

This first-of-its-kind initiative, the SDGs Innovative Financing Challenge Cup aims to pioneer a unique blended financing approach combining a public-private partnership to identify and support climate-resilient projects tackling social and environmental challenges aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs Innovative Financing Challenge Cup attracted over 200 applications across the country. Through a rigorous selection process, 30 SMEs and projects were short-listed, and participated in capacity-building workshops. This workshop equipped participants with valuable skills in areas including product design, financial planning, and marketability and SDGs related blended financing.

The competition intensified as the 30 projects were further narrowed down to the top 10 finalists. The event finale culminated in the announcement of the winning projects, chosen by a panel of evaluators from UNDP Pakistan, JS Bank, and IBA.—PR