UNIDO is currently developing an investment programme to facilitate impact investment. The Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN) defines impact investments as investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. UNIDO promotes impact investment aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

There is an annual financial gap of $2.5 trillion to achieve the 2030 Agenda Targets of the United Nations. The official development assistance of advanced economies in 2017 was $146 billion. Private financing has the potential to severely diminish this financial gap. The total global capital investment amounts to $88.5 trillion, of which only $502 billion is aimed at impact investment.

UNIDO’s investment programme is evolving around the idea of developing a platform that enables match-making between impact investors and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The platform will help impact investors receive impact information with regards to their investment. This will occur in order to align with the SDGs, while providing UNIDOs technical assistance with SMEs. This endeavor will result in improvement in business and technical capacities for accessing more affordable financing opportunities for SMEs, while remaining competitive in their respective markets. 

This platform is called the SDG Impact Investment Platform (SIIP). The platform aims to be launched with the financial support of the Member States of UNIDO. The SIIP is currently seeking financial support to develop the platform and scale it up to a stage where the SIIP could sustain its operational capacity.