The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will launch today its new report funded by the Government of Canada entitled Women’s Entrepreneurship and Access to Finance: Challenges and Opportunities of Women-led Social Enterprises in Indonesia. UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, Mr. Haoliang Xu, together with the Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia, H.E. Peter MacArthur, will unveil the new report at the Borobudur Hotel, where UNDP is organizing a Conference on Innovative Finance for Development.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) hosted an international conference on innovative financing for development on 16-17 November in Jakarta. The conference was supported by the Government of Canada and aimed to capture the current trends in innovative financing and social impact and exploring new ways to harness the potential of innovative financing to assist countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Indonesia supported by the Government of Canada, Amazon Web Services and Angel Investor Network (ANGIN) launched Connector.ID, an online matchmaking fund intended to connect entrepreneurs in the country with possible investors. UNDP supports the Connector.ID as a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by fostering entrepreneurship and providing small and medium-sized companies’ access to financial services. Together with UNDP, this platform aims to also discover and support enterprises that incorporate SDGs into their business.

This week Badan Amil Zakat Nasional (BAZNAS) – the national zakat agency in Indonesia and UNDP Indonesia were in New York and Washington to show UNDP globally and other countries how zakat is an innovative form of funding that can support the SDGs.

UNDP means business in financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two years since the SDGs were adopted, UNDP has been spearheading the initiative to leverage more on innovative financing including but not limited to social finance, blended finance and Islamic finance. This brochure aims to introduce the current financing landscape in Indonesia; trends and highlights; the establishment of the Innovative Financing Lab; and UNDP Indonesia's extensive portfolio in Innovative Financing.

It was a Monday afternoon in Bandar Lampung when we were on our way to visit the only landfill in the city, Bakung Landfill. Despite the overcast skies, we could see hills covered with green vegetation and trees. It was hard to picture a tremendous amount of solid waste exist within such beauty until piles of trash spread over a large area were in our sight. Geared with borrowed boots, hats, and masks, we walked toward the piles of trash into the heart of the landfill.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Indonesia together with the provincial government of Lampung reiterated its commitment in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by localizing these global goals.

Amid mounds of garbage, 50-year-old Supriyati sorts stacks of plastic waste into several piles, occasionally wiping the sweat on her face. Supriyati is a plastic sorter at plastic recycling enterprise and has been doing this job for 10 years.

The 15 years goal has reached its second year. The noble ambition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to address poverty, inequality, sustainability, consumption, discrimination and inclusive movement. It is an evolutionary step in getting people around the world to think as a global citizen.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joins forces with one of Indonesia’s leading universities, Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD) to foster progress towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia.

With support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - “Governance of Climate Change Finance Programme”, 11 Bangladesh Government representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Environment and Forests, Water Resources and Agriculture are undertaking a climate finance study-tour in Indonesia. The representatives began their study tour earlier this week to meet with high-level officials from Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of National Development and Planning, and Ministry of Home Affairs.

In light of World Sight Day, October 12, UNDP Indonesia is shining a spotlight on the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty in Indonesia. We believe access to knowledge is critical for achieving full human potential and inclusive development. Indonesia has the second highest rate of blindness in the world with 3.5 million vision-impaired people whereas less than 1% of published books in developing countries, including Indonesia, are made into formats accessible to people with print disabilities. The Marrakesh Treaty aims to facilitate access to published works for people with print disabilities by creating a legal framework to allow the creation, distribution, and cross-border exchange of accessible formats.

For the third time in three consecutive years, Indonesia initiated the Social Good Summit (SGS) which is a yearly event of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The SGS was started in New York in 2015 and since then has spread to more than 80 UNDP offices in the world, including Indonesia.

UNDP Indonesia has achieved the Gender Equality Seal, earning ‘silver’ certification. The UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification Programme is a tool to reduce inequalities in the workplace, promote good labour practices and policies, and implement effective, impactful gender mainstreaming strategies. It is a methodical step-by-step way to visualize gaps and opportunities for improvement. In its first-ever assessment, UNDP Indonesia has achieved a ‘Silver’ level certification in the Seal assessment for its substantive contribution to national gender equality goals.

Following the Social Good Summit held in New York during the United Nations General Assembly Week, UNDP Indonesia is back for its third Social Good Summit in Jakarta. Featuring inspiring speakers driving development in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, our SGS this year will highlight “Marine Biodiversity Conservation for a Lasting Prosperity for the People”.

With the support of Canada, UNDP Indonesia is assessing the landscape, challenges and opportunities for women’s social enterprises in agriculture, fisheries and forestry in Indonesia. The preliminary results found there are vast challenges facing women-led social enterprises in these sectors, despite their potential impact on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

From policy to reality, after the support from the National Zakat Agency (BAZNAS) and Bank Jambi was given to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), today, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Indonesia marked its official partnership with the local government of Jambi province by signing a Letter of Intent (LoI) to cooperate in implementing the SDGs in Jambi Province.

Indonesia has the second highest rate of people with blindness in the world. This and other eye-opening facts were discussed during a recent UNDP workshop in Jakarta which aims to champion the rights of people who are blind, visually impaired, or print disabled.

You might have missed it, but last month marks a milestone in how Islamic finance can contribute to address inequality and eradicate poverty in Indonesia. When Indonesia’s National Board of Zakat (BAZNAS) agreed to support the widening of electricity access to the poor in Jambi province in July, it marked the first official disbursement of the Islamic zakat fund to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The agreement sees Baznas disbursing $350,000 to UNDP’s project to deliver renewable energy to rural communities facing high poverty levels through the development of two micro hydro power plants. Some 30 million Indonesians – or 12 percent of the total population – do not have sufficient access to electricity, which prevents communities from improving their standard of living and is a major constraint to achieving the SDGs in Indonesia.