The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes investments in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Established in 1966 as a special purpose fund of the United Nations, UNCDF now concentrates its investments in two areas: local development and microfinance.

UNCDF is affiliated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and works closely with UNDP in every country where UNCDF invests. UNCDF also works closely with other UN agencies and with a wide variety of development partners, including multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies and national governments.

UNCDF is funded primarily by voluntary contributions from member states of the UN and through co-financing from governments and multi-lateral and bi-lateral organizations. UNCDF is committed to results-based management that combines quality programming with financially sound management.

UNCDF produces concrete results through programmes that pilot innovative approaches to local development and microfinance for replication on a larger scale.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) offers a unique combination of investment capital, capacity building and technical advisory services to promote microfinance and local development in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

UNCDF's investment capital is flexible, high-risk and innovative. It is channeled primarily to poor rural areas in the LDCs where poverty reduction, capacity and governance challenges are typically the greatest. UNCDF currently invests in 38 LDCs with a total programme portfolio amounting to approximately US$200 million. Through its programmes, UNCDF strives to contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action for LDCs in a direct, concrete and measurable way.