The UN Secretary General established the Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of his broader Roadmap for Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: 2019–2021. The Task Force’s mandate is to recommend and catalyse ways to harness digitalization in accelerating financing of the SDGs.
The Task Force’s mandate, work, and report are complementary to, and build on, The Age of Digital Interdependence, which summarizes the findings and recommendations of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and the associated Roadmap on Digital Cooperation.
The Task Force is co-chaired by Achim Steiner and Maria Ramos. Its membership includes Maiava Atalina Emma Ainuu-Enari, Henrietta H. Fore, Mats Granryd, Piyush Gupta, Natalie Jabangwe, Eric Xiandong Jing, Bradley Katsuyama, Pooma Kimis, Liu Zhenmin, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Ambareen Musa, Patrick Njoroge, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Richard Samans, and Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou.
Members have been supported by their Sherpas, including Matthew Blake, Cyriaque Edon, Alix Jagueneau, Gerald Lam, Mikkel Larsen, Laurence Latimer, Lanna Lome-Ieremia, Helene Molinier, Matu Mugo, Mack Ramachandran, Shari Spiegel, Mahesh Uttamchandani, Barry Wentworth, Meng Yan, and Simon Zadek.
About the Report
People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future is the Task Force’s final report. It summarizes the findings and recommendations developed and agreed upon since the Task Force’s inception in November 2018, and is based on extensive stakeholder engagement and research.
It builds on the Task Force’s progress report, Harnessing Digitalization in Financing the Sustainable Development Goals, released during the UN General Assembly in September 2019.
The report has been prepared by the Secretariat, including the Sherpa to the co-Chairs, Simon Zadek, and Vera Bersudskaya, Duygu Celik, Maya Forstater, Mimo He, Aiaze Mitha, and Arti Singh.
Acknowledgements
The Task Force has drawn on research and extensive engagement with the financial community, policymakers, regulators, experts, and civil society groups.
Thanks to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), led by co-Chair Achim Steiner, the Sherpa to the co-Chairs Simon Zadek, and Michele Candotti, Christina Carlson, Annette Edra, Mamaye Gebretsadik, Joe Hooper, Sharon Kinsley, Marcos Neto, Michiko Okumura, and Robert Opp.
Thanks also to the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), led by Judith Karl and Henri Dommel, including Amil Aneja, Deena Austin, Tillman Bruett, Ralph Chow, Anne Folan, Imelda Panguito, and interns Chen Bi, Yi Chen, and Yuxin Huang.
Special thanks to Task Force partners, including Marianne Haahr and Katherine Foster of Green Digital Finance Alliance; David Craig, Sherry Madera, and Julia Walker of Refinitiv; and Louise C. James, Palak Kapoor, and Sebastian Rodriguez of Accenture Development Partnerships.
Thanks to the following contributors who participated in offsites, working groups, and reviews: Azeema Adam, Timothy Adams, Fiona Bayat-Renoux, Greta Bull, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Brad Carr, Anir Chowdhury, Benoît Cœuré, Matthew Davie, Eric Duflos, Frank Elderson, Belinda Exelby, Ann Florini, Conan French, Katherine Foster, Jon Frost, Matthew Gamser, Sonja Gibbs, Amandeep Gill, Alfred Hannig, Chia Hock Lai, Marc Hollanders, Fabrizio Hochschild, Samira Khan, Lise Kingo, Alexia Latortue, Peter Lovelock, Henry Ma, Jeremy McDaniels, Ma Jun, Alfonso Garcia Mora, Sophie Pilgrim, Dragan Radic, David Symington, Jael Tan, Julia Walker, Daniele Violetti, Andrew Wilson, Louise Wilson, and Xiaochen Zhang.
Thanks also to Douglas Arner, Sofie Blakstad, Liesbeth Casier, Ralph Chami, Peter Chowla, Pedro Conceição, Fadi Chehadé, David Gerbrands, Norbert Gorissen, Sunita Grote, Dakota Gruener, Juan Pablo Guerrero, Rajeev Gupta, Mark de la Iglesia, Johanna Jochim, Cheryl Joseph, Peter Knaack, Christina Lomazzo, Cornis van der Lugt, Yolanda Jinxin Ma, Sabine Mensah, Lorena Rivero del Paso, Oshani Perera, Paolo de Renzio, Bas Rüter, Mateo Salomon, Jaspreet Singh, Martin Spolc, Gerardo Uña, Tidhar Wald, and Oliver Waissbein.
Additional thanks to those who contributed to the Call for Contributions and convenings in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Davos, Geneva, Kuala Lumpur, London, Milan, Mumbai, Nairobi, New Delhi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, and Toronto. Special thanks to the Rockefeller Center in Bellagio, Ant Financial, the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum for organizing meetings and retreats.
Funding was provided through generous support from the Governments of Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.
Further Information
Information about the Task Force and downloads of this report—including action briefings, a summary version, an extended bibliography, and related materials—can be accessed at www.digitalfinancingtaskforce.org.
Task Force members participated in a personal capacity and are not expressing institutional endorsements or commitments.
This work is licensed under BY 4.0.
The Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals
Co-Chairs
Maria Ramos — Previously Chief Executive, ABSA Group Ltd
Achim Steiner — Administrator, UNDP
Members
Maiava Atalina Emma Ainuu-Enari — Governor and Chairperson, Central Bank of Samoa
Henrietta H. Fore — Executive Director, UNICEF
Mats Granryd — Director General, GSMA
Piyush Gupta — CEO, DBS Bank
Bradley Katsuyama — CEO and Co-founder, IEX
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka — UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu — VP for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, World Bank Group
Natalie Jabangwe — CEO, EcoCash
Pooma Kimis — Director, Autonomous Research
Ambareen Musa — Founder and CEO, Souqalmal
Richard Samans — Managing Director and Board Member, World Economic Forum
Eric Xiandong Jing — Executive Chairman, Ant Group
Liu Zhenmin — Under-Secretary-General, UN DESA
Patrick Njoroge — Governor, Central Bank of Kenya
Aurelie Adam Soule — Minister of Digital Economy and Communications, Government of Benin
Letter from the Co-Chairs
We must think to the future, even amidst today’s tragedy, turmoil, and uncertainty. Digital technologies proved essential during the crisis and will play an even larger role in our shared future.
With foresight—and in light of current global challenges—the UN Secretary General mandated a task force to recommend how digitalization can be harnessed to accelerate financing of the Sustainable Development Goals.
We are honoured to co-chair this effort, given its importance and the exceptional leaders involved from governments, regulators, finance, technology, and development.
Digitalization, finance, and the SDGs form a new frontier. Meeting our mandate required catalysing a new knowledge ecosystem and community of practice.
Digitalization can empower people—whose money the financial system manages—to shape financing aligned with their priorities. These priorities are reflected in the SDGs.
Our Action Agenda provides a practical pathway to realize this potential and close the gap in financing an inclusive, sustainable future.
We thank the UN Secretary General for the opportunity, and the Task Force members for their extensive insights and contributions.
Achim Steiner
Maria Ramos