DHAKA, 22 August 2022, (TON): The United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Capital Development Fund joined hands to strengthen Bangladesh’s digital financial ecosystem through interventions in policy and regulation, innovation, infrastructure, and skills to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

a2i will play a strategic role in implementing the activities of this partnership, a joint press release said.

UNDP's acting Resident Representative Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van and UNCDF’s Executive Secretary Preeti Sinha inked a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of a2i’s Project Director Dr Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir, a2i’s Policy Advisor Anir Chowdhury, and UNCDF's regional coordinator for Asia Maria Perdomo at the UNDP’s country office at Agrgoan, Dhaka.

Under the agreement, the organisations will collaborate and leverage UNCDF's financing instruments such as grants, reimbursable grants, loans, and guarantees to provide seed funding to investments for enterprises deemed too small or risky by traditional investors.