Harnessing Digital Finance for the SDGs and Covid-19 .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform

Harnessing Digital Finance for the SDGs and Covid-19

Monday, 13 July 2020

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Virtual (New York time)

Side Event

UNCDF with UNDP

Panel Members (speaking order):

Mr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor of Central Bank of Kenya (Task Force Member)

Mr. Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, a2i Program, Government of Bangladesh

Ms. Natalie Jabangwe, Chief Executive Officer, Ecocash (Task Force Member)

Ms. Pooma Kimis, Director, Autonomous Research (Task Force Member)

Moderator:

Mr. Simon Zadek, Project Catalyst, Sherpa to the Co-Chairs, Digital Financing of the SDGs Task Force

Participants:

Private Sector, NGOs, UN Member States, UN System Agencies, Task Force partners

Background:

The theme of this Side Event is “Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals during Covid-19, Impact and Solutions.”

The Side Event is part of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development that is taking place from 07th-16th July 2020. Multiple health, economic, environmental and climate crises coalesced into global challenges, and at a time when the UN Secretary General’s Digital Finance Task Force is due to complete its work and launch its report during the week of August 24th, 2020.

In particular, this side event provides an opportunity for The Task Force to highlight its findings and recommendations on harnessing digitalization for financing the Sustainable Development Goals during, and following, the current COVID-19 pandemic, with all of its global economic, social and financial implications.

Digitalization, already part of the daily lives of increasing numbers of global citizens, has, during this crisis come into its own. Digital finance in particular has become a lifeline for many, and a positive hotspot for a global economy on pause. New Digital rails have become the superhighways for large cash transfers by governments to citizens in the face of income losses associated with mandatory lockdowns.

The COVID-19 crisis and its economic aftermath has substantially speeded up and super-charged the existing trends towards digitalization. In this context, the Task Force’s mandate and recommendations are more important than ever and represent a more urgent agenda and call to action for global decision makers.

Agenda:

8-8.10 am Welcoming remarks by Simon Zadek, Project Catalyst, Sherpa to the Co-Chairs, Digital Financing Task Force

8.10-8.35 am Panel conversation moderated by Simon Zadek

Panelists:

Mr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor of Central Bank of Kenya (Task Force Member)

Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, a2i Program, Government of Bangladesh

Ms. Natalie Jabangwe, Chief Executive Officer, Ecocash (Task Force Member)

Ms. Pooma Kimis, Director, Autonomous Research (Task Force Member)

8.35-8.55 am Q&A

8.55-9 am Closing

For questions and enquiries: dftf.secretariat@uncdf.org

For questions and enquiries re the DFTF report launch and for media requests for Co-Chairs & Task Force members, please contact: Mark.Seddon@UNDP.org

Please note that participants can request the floor on a first- come, first -served basis due to the time limit.