About us
We aim to provide targeted solutions to enhance the resilience of MSMEs.
The COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility (Global Faciliy) is a joint initiative established by UNDP, UN Global Compact, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), together with private sector partners DHL, Microsoft, and PwC, launched in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic during the UN General Assembly in 2020. With the recognition that transformative change can only happen in collaboration across small and large, public and private, since its inception, the Global Facility has sought to enhance the resilience and support Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) through this crisis, towards a socially just and sustainable world.
The Global Facility has delivered quality trainings with technical expertise tailored to local and regional economies, through three solution areas, digital transformation, connection to new markets, and lowering barriers to accessing capital, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Global Compact Ten principles as the guiding principles.
The Global Facility launched
in the context of global challenges
We co-create solutions by mobilizing the private sector as a key actor for building a socially just, environmentally sustainable, and climate-resilient world where no one is left behind.
The Covid-19 pandemic set back the progress made on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Launched in this context in 2020, the Global Facility offers support to the private sector with a coordinated, multi-sector, multi-stakeholder approach tailored to specific country contexts.
MSMEs are the backbone of the global economy but get affected disproportionately compared to large corporations. National and global level efforts are required for supporting their recovery.
MSMEs represent around 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide. However, 70% of MSMEs have had to shut down their operations temporarily or permanently due to COVID-19 related impacts. They also face tremendous challenges revealed by the pandemic:
90% of SMEs lag in digital transformation
Every challenge will demand collective expertise and solutions, as well as new ways of working in a more systemic, nonlinear way.
----- Goal 17 Partners
“Reimagining Private Sector Partnerships in a COVID-19 World”
While urgent attention is required to mitigate the immediate and acute negative effects of the global pandemic, the Global Facility seizes the opportunity to support MSMEs recover better with sustainable business practices and solutions for long-term resilience. As the provider of technology, innovation, skills, services, and employment, the private sector is an essential actor in the post-pandemic response. In dialogue with the public sector, businesses of all sizes, whether global multinational companies or local MSMEs, must strive arm-in-arm.