Bankable projects for food systems transformation

Real-life examples

Catalysing organizations investment into renewable energy for the acceleration of SDGs in Zimbabwe

You and your teams are being asked to support the identification of national initiatives on food systems transformation that are bankable and market ready. Since a bankable project is one that meets the requirements of the financier in order for them to provide capital for it, the key challenge is to ensure that initiatives are sufficiently de-risked in the eyes of the investor while maximizing the potential for social returns across a number of SDGs simultaneously.

The development of such pipelines is a cumulative endeavour and will often have roots in smaller projects that can attract interest and be built up over time. It is therefore vital that RCs and UNCTs view their own programmes (whether individual or joint) as initial efforts in a longer-term endeavour of de-risking, incubation and scaling, in a phased approach for food systems transformation.

In the emergence phase of the transition, the role of the UN system would be to support government, multilateral development banks (global and regional), private finance, philanthropists and others in piloting and prototyping innovative projects that are not only of acceptable risk to investors, but also of high socioeconomic and environmental value. Projects that meet the aforementioned criteria offer public dividends and positive ripple effects for SDG achievement such as the reduction of inequalities, the promotion of the LNOB principle and protecting the environment, in addition to private profit to the investor.

Key de-risking approaches could include: focusing on a portfolio of related projects that will attract investors who want to spread their risk across projects; supporting governments to work with financial risk agencies on policies to improve political risk ratings (improve personal financial management, reduce leverage, improve human rights, transparency and good governance, etc.); supporting the monitoring, analysis and environment and social impact assessment (ESIA) at project level; identifying economies of scale; helping users analyse and negotiate project finance deals and contracts; carryng out risk analysis and ensuring mechanisms are in place for grievances.

At the same time, the UN could support incubation by identifying and financing local prototypes, promoting local-global partnerships for technology transfer, conducting research and development to generate evidence on social and environmental returns, and building an innovation ecosystem involving local entrepreneurs, academics, and institutions. Additionally, it could engage in regular horizon scanning to track shifts in the landscape, organize transition-focused innovation challenges that emphasize global-local linkages, and apply systems analysis and foresight to identify catalytic opportunities.

When a transition has already reached a tipping point, the role of the UN system would be to ensure a continued focus on the SDGs as a whole and leave no one behind in larger-scale projects. Measures to ensure a continued focus would include improved collaboration with IFIs, engagement with private and public actors to ensure SDG synergies, and assistance in structuring financial instruments. Behavioural shifts and nudges will be needed to sustain the transition to a new paradigm. The UN should also maximize positive spin-offs and connections with other sector-systems that could benefit from the available momentum. The scaling role could also include generating data or identifying evidence of proof of concept or scale; supporting partnership fairs and innovation challenges for projects ready to be scaled; and supporting projects to define strategies for sustainability.

As a transition enters stabilization, the focus of the UN system could be to ensure continued human and financial resources for national initiatives that prioritize the interdependent achievement of SDGs (including attention to groups or populations that might be left behind or are not benefiting without targeted efforts), and a wider enabling environment for such efforts, including good governance and rule of law.

A vital step in all phases is for the UN system to forge closer working relationship with IFIs. This includes engaging in joint planning and programming with IFIs, promoting stronger engagement of IFIs in UNCTs' work, contributing to IFI analyses and knowledge products, and mainstreaming human rights and LNOB considerations into the efforts of IFIs. In addition, the UN system could support reviews of existing project proposals to understand why they are not being supported by investors, as well as conduct feasibility studies. Coordinating UN system support to governments under vertical funds (such as the Green Climate Fund [GCF] and the GEF) to ensure the offers being made are consistent with a transitions approach is another key step. The strategic use of multipartner trust funds for advancing readiness projects and pilots is also key, including the Joint SDG Fund.

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This is a working draft intended for piloting at country level. Features and content are subject to updates as the piloting is completed. We invite you to share your feedback by completing this short survey.

UN Food Systems Task Force. 2025. Food Systems Thinking Guide for UN Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams – Working collectively towards food systems transformation.. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd0497en

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