United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), is an international access entity based in Austria. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that promotes and leads international efforts on industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. With a mandate to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition, UNIDO has identified four programmatic fields, which include: creating shared prosperity for all; advancing economic competitiveness; safeguarding the environment; and strengthening knowledge and institutions. Each of these programmatic fields contains a number of individual programmes including, but not limited to, agribusiness and rural development, women and youth in productive activities, competitive trade capacities and corporate responsibility, resource-efficient and low-carbon industrial production, clean energy access for productive use, and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.

As an international organization, UNIDO has 170 Member States and maintains a field network comprising 48 regional and country offices operating in all regions around the world. In addition, it has created various platforms, centers, forums and networks in order to fulfil its mandate and mission to promote industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition. It has established partnerships with entities, national governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations and development banks to identify project concepts aligned with national priorities.

Together with GCF, UNIDO intends to work on partnering with private sector entities to stimulate private sector finance and ultimately leading to a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development, specifically by unlocking markets for climate technology innovation, low-emission transport and e-mobility, industrial energy efficiency, and urban–industrial symbiosis and infrastructure.