The funding will be allocated to pathfinder countries working on implementing their Global Accelerator roadmaps and non-pathfinder countries working on the themes of informality, climate change, and fragility.
Geneva – The Global Accelerator’s Multistakeholder Engagement (M-GA) second funding round has selected 21 proposals, including 20 country grants and one multi-country activity, to implement joint UN and World Bank programmes. Launched in September 2023, the M-GA aims to accelerate progress toward universal social protection and create decent and productive employment.
The second funding round is disbursing funds under two tracks – pathfinder and thematic.
- Pathfinder Track: Open to the Global Accelerator’s 18 pathfinder countries to support the development or implementation of their national roadmaps. Successful proposals from countries that have accessed the funding in the previous round will receive up to USD 775,000 to complement existing activities, and countries receiving M-GA funds for the first time will get up to USD 1.325 million each. The 10 countries selected under this track are: Albania, Bhutan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uzbekistan.
- Thematic Track: Open to a set of pathfinder and non-pathfinder countries prioritizing the development and implementation of integrated employment and social protection policies and programmes in the contexts of fragility, green transition and climate change and the informal economy. 10 countries have been selected to receive up to USD 910,000 each. The countries selected under this track are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Georgia, Haiti, Kenya, the Latin America (multi-country proposal covering Guatemala and Honduras), Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, and Zimbabwe.
In addition, activities in Syria are funded through the Social Protection Response (SPR) Trust Fund, a global partnership that aims to advance the World Bank’s SP500 goal of reaching 500 million people with social protection by 2030.
The new M-GA projects will help strengthen national social protection and employment policies and programmes, design and implement integrated policy approaches and mechanisms that are built through dialogue and consensus, and build evidence for scaling ambitions in the future. By fostering UN-World Bank collaboration, M-GA projects aim to improve efficiency, cost-effectiveness and accelerate impact.
The proposals were assessed by a technical independent committee and the results of the assessment were shared with the M-GA Coordinating Council which is composed of the M-GA donors, countries, social partners, civil society, UN agencies, and the World Bank, and finally approved by the World Bank and UN Joint SDG Funds.
The proposals cover a wide gamut of innovative solutions like:
- Nepal: Addressing decent work and social protection deficits, particularly for women, in the care economy and piloting care models that challenge discriminatory gender norms.
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Promoting the transition to formal employment and just transitions in high-productivity sectors such as solid waste management and agriculture.
- Regional Proposal for Latin America covering Honduras and Guatemala: Supporting the socio-economic and psychosocial reintegration of returnee migrants into their home communities.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Supporting the green transition of the labour market in the coal sector and building household resilience against climate shocks.
The M-GA and the Global Accelerator are continuing to build momentum at the international stage. The joint programmes will begin implementation in Fall 2025, and demonstrate the added value of UN–World Bank collaboration at the country level in accelerating progress toward M-GA objectives by integrating mandates, resources, and expertise to strengthen policies, financing, and national systems.