UNDP South Africa

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UNDP South Africa UNDP South Africa is committed to promoting strategic partnership with the Government of the Republi

As the UN's global development organization, UNDP has a normative global mission, as a pro-poor development agency, to promote human rights, gender and the MDGs. As a cornerstone of its work, UNDP connects partner countries to knowledge, experience and resource networks that build capacity for pro-poor growth and human development. Further, as part of the UN Reforms process, UNDP has a mandate to lead the UN in system-wide coordination.

20/10/2026

The real impact of a national budget is felt in people’s everyday lives.

From a woman running a spaza shop to a young entrepreneur seeking finance, budget priorities have implications for businesses, livelihoods and access to essential services.

As South Africa prepares for its Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), the focus is on translating financial decisions into opportunities that improve lives and support communities.

Because at the heart of every budget are the people it is meant to serve.

16/10/2026

Beyond the Desk with Zimkhita Kweza!

Meet Zimkhita, an Inclusive Growth Analyst with UNDP’s LEAD Africa project. Through her work, she contributes to addressing some of Africa’s pressing development challenges, including critical minerals, the just energy transition and sustainable development financing.

Beyond her professional role, Zimkhita has her own interests, passions and experiences that shape who she is outside the office.

🎥 Watch to discover what inspires her and get to know the person beyond the desk!

Protecting nature takes more than commitment. It takes investment.At in Geneva, UNDP and the Development Bank of South...
09/10/2026

Protecting nature takes more than commitment. It takes investment.

At in Geneva, UNDP and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) convened a roundtable on “The Biodiversity Investment Facility: De-Risking Nature Investments in Southern Africa.”

The discussion explored how blended finance, partnerships and innovative financing solutions can help unlock investment in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration.

Developed by UNDP and DBSA, the Biodiversity Investment Facility (BIF) aims to attract investment for projects that protect nature, strengthen climate resilience and support sustainable livelihoods across South Africa and the wider SADC region.

Through partnerships and innovative financing, UNDP and DBSA are working to create investment opportunities that benefit both people and nature.

07/10/2026

South Africa’s rivers, wetlands and soils are infrastructure. They just don’t show up on a balance sheet yet.

At in Geneva this week, UNDP South Africa and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) are making the case that they should, and showing how.

Nature already delivers economic value through clean water, food security, flood protection and tourism. Turning that value into investable projects takes three things: well-prepared pipelines, credible payment models, and evidence that benefits reach people.

On Thursday, we’ll set out how that works in practice, and where public funding, commercial capital and grants each fit.

06/10/2026

How many hands does it take to make a small business visible to capital? 🖌️

Across Africa, small businesses are trading, hiring and growing. But to banks, many of them don’t exist.

They don’t lack value. They lack visibility.

At the recent Global Entrepreneurship Congress, we built a wall no one could read. Every delegate who picked up a brush made one panel visible, until the message appeared: From Invisible to Investable.

That’s how it works for businesses too. With DIME, we help them get seen. With Township Spark, we help them get backed.

Moving a business from invisible to investable takes an ecosystem. At GEC, we saw what one looks like.

The sustainable finance community is in Geneva this week for , bringing together leaders across finance, government and...
06/10/2026

The sustainable finance community is in Geneva this week for , bringing together leaders across finance, government and development to advance sustainable finance solutions for people and planet.

Across the programme, UNDP is contributing to conversations on agricultural resilience, inequality and human rights risks, and mobilizing investment for nature.

On Thursday, 8 October, Max Gomera, UNDP Resident Representative in South Africa and Director of the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, and Rejoyce Shozi, Biodiversity Finance Analyst at UNDP South Africa, will join the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for:
The Biodiversity Investment Facility: De-Risking Nature Investments in Southern Africa.

The session will spotlight practical approaches being tested in Southern Africa to unlock more investment for nature, including blended finance, partnerships with regional development finance institutions and risk-sharing tools designed around African priorities.

🗓 8 October
⏰ 10:30–12:30 CET

28/09/2026

What does it take to move a business from invisible to investable?

Across two days at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress + Africa 2026 in Cape Town, under the theme Connecting Africa, UNDP South Africa made one argument.

The enterprise is not the problem.

African small businesses are already trading. Already employing. Already growing. What’s missing sits around them — records institutions can read, risk assessment built for how these businesses actually work, capital willing to move, buyers at the end of the chain, and the digital and policy infrastructure holding it together.

Finance isn’t the beginning of that pathway. It’s one link in it.

From the main stage to our breakaway session, the Invisible Wall, two MSMEs trading on our stand and our Built Different conversations with founders — this is what we brought to Cape Town.

Watch the highlights 👇

Strengthening regional collaboration on biodiversity financeIn partnership with Biodiversity Finance Initiative - UNDP ...
21/09/2026

Strengthening regional collaboration on biodiversity finance
In partnership with Biodiversity Finance Initiative - UNDP and the Biodiversity Credit Alliance, we convened the SADC Regional Workshop on Biodiversity Credits, hosted by the SANBI.

Over three days, representatives from Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia shared experiences and examined whether biodiversity credits could help finance conservation and restoration in their national contexts.

Discussions explored market design, national priorities for nature, emerging demand, and the safeguards needed to protect environmental and social integrity.

The workshop identified key considerations for countries exploring biodiversity credits, including credible governance, alignment with national priorities, and the meaningful participation of stakeholders and rights-holders.

Continued regional collaboration and knowledge-sharing will be essential to developing biodiversity credit markets that deliver lasting benefits for people and nature.

Strengthening regional collaboration on biodiversity finance.In partnership with Biodiversity Finance Initiative - UNDP ...
21/09/2026

Strengthening regional collaboration on biodiversity finance.

In partnership with Biodiversity Finance Initiative - UNDP and the Biodiversity Credit Alliance, we convened the SADC Regional Workshop on Biodiversity Credits, hosted by the SANBI.

Over three days, representatives from Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia shared experiences and examined whether biodiversity credits could help finance conservation and restoration in their national contexts.

Discussions explored market design, national priorities for nature, emerging demand, and the safeguards needed to protect environmental and social integrity.

The workshop identified key considerations for countries exploring biodiversity credits, including credible governance, alignment with national priorities, and the meaningful participation of stakeholders and rights-holders.

Continued regional collaboration and knowledge-sharing will be essential to developing biodiversity credit markets that deliver lasting benefits for people and nature.

18/09/2026

Effective ecosystem building starts with understanding where an entrepreneur is on their journey.

In this conversation at , a Ms Nontobeko Lubisi from South Africa’s National Treasury spoke about government’s approach to financial inclusion, using insights to better understand the different phases of the entrepreneurial journey and tailor support accordingly.

It’s an important shift: moving from one-size-fits-all support to interventions that respond to where businesses actually are.

Because building an ecosystem that enables MSMEs to grow requires not only more support, but better-informed, more targeted support.

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351 Francis Baard Street
Pretoria
0001

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Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 14:00

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