UN's Best-Kept Secret: How One Fund is Turning $1 into $19 and Transforming Development

Lisa Kurbiel, Head of the Secretariat of the Joint SDG Fund of the United Nations on the UN's best-kept secret and the opportunity for investors and governments to come together for sustainable development at scale.

What if I told you there's an investment opportunity that turns every $1 into $19, touches the lives of over 200 million people, and is backed by governments worldwide? That’s the story of the UN Joint SDG Fund, development finance's best-kept secret.

Last Friday, at UN headquarters, development leaders gathered to discuss something remarkable—the UN Joint SDG Fund, an initiative quietly galvanizing how the world tackles its biggest challenges while delivering extraordinary financial leverage. The Fund has established itself as a trusted and impartial partner that brings everything to the table.

It helps countries unlock billions in private and public investment to tackle climate change, build inclusive economies, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. And with only five years remaining to achieve the Goals, the time for keeping this success story secret has passed. 

Why does it matter? Because from Jakarta to Nairobi to Bridgetown, our Fund is helping real people access real opportunities: scholarships for students, clean energy for communities, digital connectivity for rural entrepreneurs, and disaster-resilient infrastructure for vulnerable nations.

Why Private Sector Leaders Are Taking Notice

This Fund is a sophisticated platform that de-risks investments, creates market opportunities, and opens doors that have traditionally been closed to private capital.

Take Indonesia, where the Fund helped unlock $5 billion in mobile investments. That's not just infrastructure—it's 20 million students on scholarships, massive CO2 reduction, and coral reef restoration. The potential and impact are only growing, and this is critically important at a time when the financing gap is enormous.

In Kenya, the Fund is partnering with investment banks to expand financial inclusion and provide micro-loans to entrepreneurs while building the government systems that make these markets work long-term. This initiative represents a brilliant approach to development finance that needs broader donor base engagement.

These transformative development initiatives are brought to life in communities through the dedicated leadership of Resident Coordinators and the UN country teams. They leverage the ambitious Goals into practical solutions that touch individual lives.

The Secret Sauce: Risk Mitigation at Scale

What makes this Fund irresistible to forward-thinking investors is how it solves the classic emerging market problem: perceived risk versus actual opportunity.

The Fund is translating global capital flows into grassroots impact, showing global investors that perceived risks can be minimized through cohesive partnerships. In other words, they're creating the infrastructure—regulatory, institutional, and technological—that makes private investment not just possible, but profitable.

Recent meetings with the IMF, World Bank, and regional development banks showed enormous uptake for wanting to do more—a clear signal that major financial institutions see the potential.

Real Returns, Real Impact

Let's be clear about what's on the table. In Uzbekistan, the Fund helped launch the country's first SDG bond, opening up entirely new capital markets. This significantly strengthened capacity to mobilize domestic and international resources for sustainable development.

In Egypt, a $1.6 million investment supported the design of national financing framework to channel billions in future investments. The excellent performance and results demonstrate exceptional value for money.

In Barbados, disaster mitigation support is creating the climate resilience that makes Caribbean investments viable long-term. This is a sparkling example of what innovative finance can achieve when you think outside of the box, helping both private sector actors and multilateral development financial institutions see what's possible.

These aren't charity projects—they're market-building exercises that create the conditions for sustained private sector engagement.

Government Confidence is Sky-High

The enthusiasm from Member States is palpable. The Fund helps decrease investment climate risks and creates conditions for the private sector to invest—one of its greatest added values.

Countries remain committed to the Fund's mission, with stakeholders consistently strengthening their support based on demonstrated results. Even countries benefiting from the Fund are eager to expand it, with innovative approaches emerging from recipient nations themselves, including community-based funding and tapping into religious community resources.

The Smart Money is Moving

Spain, the Fund's largest contributor with over $140 million since 2018, is actively looking for co-investors. The Fund should become the main platform for financing within the UN system. For private investors, that's an invitation to join a proven winner with government backing.

Multiple countries describe the Fund as a critical partner in accelerating sustainable and inclusive development, with increasing financial commitments and growing interest in further private sector engagement.

The Bottom Line

The only question is: will you be part of scaling the world's best-kept investment secret, or will you watch from the sidelines as others capture the returns?

As the global community looks for scalable solutions to close the SDG financing gap, the Fund offers a tested, adaptable model. The next phase is clear: expand its reach, deepen its partnerships, and unlock even greater impact. 

The opportunity is real, and the time is now. Let’s turn this best-kept secret into our most important development success story.

For more information about the work of the Joint SDG Fund, click here. All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.