Using the UNDP SDG Investor Maps intelligence tool, Pipeline Builder, an intermediary that streamlines the investment “origination” process to drive more capital to SDG-focused SMEs in emerging markets, successfully identified a base value of USD 39 million worth of SME investments in Ghana in the six months to September 2021 under its pilot scheme, with the potential for an additional USD 15.5 million.
Pipeline Builder is co-led by the SDG Lab at UN Geneva and Ground_Up Project, a Swiss-based independent impact adviser.
The Ghana SDG Investor Map, which was finalized in Q4 of 2020, enabled Pipeline Builder to source 15 potential investments across seven sectors that meet the West African nation’s SDG priorities. The sectors identified by the Ghana SDG Investor Map, against which Pipeline Builder subsequently developed relevant projects, are health, housing, ITC, agriculture, cities, education and financial services with the investment size ranging from USD 0.5 to 7 million.
About UNDP SDG Investor Maps
The SDG Investor Maps intelligence tool is developed by UNDP SDG Impact and the UNDP Country Offices and partners. The aim of the SDG Investor Maps is to help private investors (funds, financiers, corporations) identify investment opportunities and business models that have significant potential to advance the SDGs. They provide investors with actionable data and insights to enable them to use their capital for good, while making a financial profit. UNDP's tools, which include the complementary SDG Impact Standards, contribute to filling the SDG-financing gap by directing and managing private capital to where it can most make a difference to people and the planet.
About Pipeline Builder
Pipeline Builder is an intermediary that streamlines the investment “origination”— or sourcing and distribution — process to drive more capital to SDG-focused SMEs in emerging markets. Initiated in late 2019, Pipeline Builder is a partnership between the SDG Lab at UN Geneva and the Ground_Up Project, a Swiss-based impact finance advisor, with initial financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
About Ground_Up Project
Ground_Up Project partners with local and international business networks and other international organizations to source investments under USD 20 million that contribute to national SDG roadmaps worldwide. They are piloting an innovative approach to connect the entrepreneur and investor sides of the growing SDG investment marketplace under the umbrella of the Pipeline Builder Project, currently being incubated within the SDG Lab at the UN in Geneva.
https://www.groundupproject.net/
About SDG Lab
Based at UN Geneva, SDG Lab is a multi-stakeholder initiative that contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Lab works with a diverse ecosystem of actors that are focused on delivering the 2030 Agenda and identifies strategic opportunities for convergence in order to energize and maximize the added-value of International Geneva in supporting implementation of the SDGs, including but not limited to: UN and intergovernmental organizations, member states, civil society and NGOs, academia and private sector. The SDG Lab contributes to Geneva “walking the talk” when it comes to delivering the SDGs. It creates space for interdisciplinary and multisectoral collaboration while consistently testing assumptions and asking questions about what is needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda. This dynamic Lab model strengthens the individual efforts of governments and organizations by amplifying their unique voices, creating space for new partnerships to form, and providing a platform to innovate and experiment. It supports the collective knowledge and expertise within Geneva, making it increasingly relevant and actionable for national and local level SDG implementation.
