“A focal point for the Least Developed Countries to strengthen their science, technology and innovation capacity towards building sustainable productive capacities and promoting structural economic transformation”.

The operationalization of the UN Technology Bank marked the achievement of SDG target 17.8, a demonstration of the critical role the Technology Bank plays in strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. Indeed, achieving the SDG agenda will not be possible if the LDCs are left behind, and eradicating poverty and removing structural impediments will remain a distant dream if they fail to build up national capacities in science, technology and innovation.

The UN Technology Bank’s activities are focused on three main pillars of work;

Pillar 1: To identify development challenges that require technological solutions through Technology Needs Assessments (TNAs),

Pillar 2: To identify appropriate technologies and facilitate their transfer to the LDCs, and

Pillar 3: To strengthen the science, technology, and innovation capacities of the LDCs for the adoption and scaling up of technologies.

The support that the Technology Bank provides to the LDCs is currently focused in four thematic areas derived from the 14 TNAs that the Technology Bank has completed to date. These include:

1. Agriculture and food systems
2. Environment, climate change and resilience
3. Health; and
4. Education and digital skills development