Qatar

Doha – Information Office

Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched Accelerator Labs Network initiative in partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of Italy.

In line with Qatar's efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals at the national and international levels, and to continue to achieve this goal through strong and effective partnerships, UNDP - in partnership with the State of Qatar, represented by QFFD, Germany, and Italy - launched a global network aimed at finding innovative ways of solving complex sustainable development problems, QFFD said in a statement.

Qatar Development Fund (QFFD) has made a USD 20 million contribution to the UNDP accelerator labs network in 60 developing countries over the period of four years from 2019 to 2022, through a grant agreement signed between the Qatar Fund for Development and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in December 2018.

HE Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Germany Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, represented the State of Qatar, and gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the UNDP Accelerator Labs Network Launch. The ceremony was also attended by HE Martin Jager, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and HE Achim Steiner, United Nation Development Program Administrator.

In addition to the USD 33 million contribution made by the Government of Germany, a similar cost sharing agreement was also signed with the Government of Italy, who contributed EUR 5 million to this project that aims to establish a network of laboratories to accelerate development impact, guided by relevant policies and guidelines of UNDP. The network also aims to capture and nurture local solutions, turn them into actionable intelligence, and make that intelligence available to countries belonging to the Accelerator Lab Network and to the entire development community.