AltFinLab, Digital financial inclusion

Circle Foundation announces support for United Nations Development Programme and World Food Programme to advance digital payments for development and humanitarian action 

NEW YORK — [September 25, 2026] — Circle Foundation, a philanthropic initiative supported by Circle Internet Group, Inc.’s (NYSE: CRCL) 1% equity commitment, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP),…

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Strategic innovation

UNDP and DFINITY Foundation collaborate on exploring sovereign cloud infrastructure and decentralized AI deployment for public good

New York, Istanbul, Zurich, 25 August — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the DFINITY Foundation today announced a new partnership to explore the deployment of sovereign cloud infrastructure and decentralized artificial intelligence to…

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Innovation ecosystems

UNDP AltFinLab invites UN teams to apply for the 2026 SDG Blockchain Accelerator

The UNDP Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab) has launched an open call for the third edition of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator, inviting UNDP Country Offices and other UN entities to submit development challenges linked to active…

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Innovation ecosystems

Blockchain for Public Good: Insights from UNDP’s Paris Convenings

Governments around the world are accelerating their digital transformation efforts. As they do, blockchain has gained attention as one of several technologies that can help strengthen public systems, from digital payments and identity to climate…

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Urban futures

Where does AI actually help a city? Ten municipalities spent three days finding out 

Inside the CEF x AI Bootcamp in Podgorica, Montenegro – and what it taught us about building AI capability in local governments 

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Urban futures

AI x Cities webinar series: Session 1 – Starting where cities actually are

While information about AI is abundant, space to make sense of what it means in practice is not. That gap between the global AI conversation and where cities in our region actually stand is the focus of the first…

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Innovative finance

UNDP and the Stellar Development Foundation extend partnership to scale proven digital payment solutions

Building on research across seventeen countries and live pilots in five, the next phase establishes the governance and infrastructure for UNDP country offices to use blockchain-based digital payments as a regular part of programme delivery.

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Systems and portfolios

What blockchain VDAP opens for UNDP colleagues

UNDP teams are increasingly being asked to make sense of fast-changing digital systems before the institutional playbook is fully written. As part of this shift, blockchain is entering more practical development conversations, and UNDP’s ability…

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Strategic innovation

UN Blockchain Talks #9 | AI Agents, Federated Learning, and the Sovereign AI Stack 

The ninth and closing session of the spring UN Blockchain Talks handed the floor to three private-sector builders working at the edge of AI and blockchain, and asked them a blunt question: what do you actually…

Data innovation, Digital transformation and emerging tech

UN Blockchain Talks #7 | Environmental sustainability and blockchain: where does it actually help?

Environmental sustainability has become one of blockchain’s favorite talking points. Even so, carbon credits, drought insurance, climate adaptation loans, renewable energy certificates, and biodiversity finance do not usually occupy the same conversation for long. In…

Digital transformation and emerging tech, Innovative finance

SDG Blockchain Accelerator: Driving SDG Impact in 2025

In 2025, the SDG Blockchain Accelerator delivered 46 pilot- and implementation-ready solutions, with 12 already entering real-world testing. Developed across two global cohorts, 70% of these solutions are embedded within ongoing national and regional programmes…

Data innovation, Digital transformation and emerging tech

UN Blockchain Talks #6: What real supply chains demand from traceability systems

By the time a product or service reaches the end user, most of the difficult work has already been done elsewhere. Someone had to collect the right data and keep it attached to the right…