The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Foundation has approved a $45 million plan to drive Zimbabwe's sustainable energy transition.
The 4-year plan, developed by UNESCO (the lead agency), UN Women, UNDP and the Government of Zimbabwe, will launch in April 2022 and aims to support renewable energy projects through private investment, accelerating Achieving Zimbabwe's Sustainable Development Goals. Of this, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Foundation will provide $10 million in funding for the program, while the remaining $35 million will be provided by the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) and a number of local partners.
The plan will innovatively target UN SDGs 5, 7, 8, 9, 13 and 17, while leveraging the intersecting nature of these goals to achieve other SDGs. In addition, the plan also contributes to the achievement of some of the country's key priorities set out by the Government of Zimbabwe in the National Development Strategy (NDS 1) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF 2022-2026), including efforts to achieve economic development, energy access , climate action, women and youth empowerment, and national goals for productive renewable energy capacity development.
A key initiative of the plan is the establishment of an innovative, inclusive, gender-responsive Renewable Energy Fund (REF) to finance renewable energy projects through the private sector and financial markets, enhancing return on investment, while leveraging social impact to accelerate Zimbabwe’s Sustainable Development Goals.
To this end, the plan will fully demonstrate the concept of the Renewable Energy Foundation, introducing renewable energy technologies that can create new jobs, increase incomes, improve the environment and quality of life, accelerate the achievement of local sustainable development goals in innovative ways, and strengthen community economies. Empower.
To address the capacity gaps in the pre-, mid- and post-investment phases, the UN agency that developed the plan will work with the International Renewable Energy Capacity Building Organization and local currency markets to increase SMEs' access to financing.
The program focuses not only on investment projects, but also on cultivating high-skilled talents in the fields of science and engineering, renewable energy and ICT, with a long-term impact on enhancing the use of renewable energy in the country.
The active participation of UN agencies and local organizations will enhance the credibility of the plan, create a "halo effect", and bring more investment and greater development space for the Renewable Energy Foundation. The foundation expects to receive more than $30 million in funding from Zimbabwe's financial markets and regional and international development priorities, but most of it will not go directly to renewable energy financing.