United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Contributing to sustainable finance development worldwide

UNDP and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), through the LGX Academy, work together to provide training and capacity-building on sustainable finance and blue debt instruments throughout the world.

LGX’s contribution to Cabo Verde’s financial ecosystem

In 2020, UNDP and LuxSE initiated discussions on how the LGX Academy could support the development of Cabo Verde’s financial ecosystem in the field of sustainable finance.

This initiative falls under the UN Joint SDG Fund, which aims to mobilise public and private financing to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). As the lead implementing agency of the project, UNDP, in collaboration with other UN agencies:

Established the first Blue Exchange in Cabo Verde for blue bonds and funds, as well as other blue-labelled instruments.

Developed a high-quality platform within Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde (BVC) to showcase these blue instruments.

Support local companies active in the blue economy, which meet certain certification criteria.

In 2022, LuxSE and BVC strengthened their collaboration by signing a Cooperation Agreement, focusing on knowledge exchange, capacity building, educational programmes & sharing best practices.

Launch of BluX in Cabo Verde supported by LGX

In addition to the training delivered by LuxSE’s sustainable finance team in online format in 2021, its experts worked closely with BVC to provide the resources and share the knowledge gained by LuxSE as home of the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) in the lead up to the establishment of the BluX platform which was officially launched in 2021.

LGX Academy missions in Cabo Verde

Two LGX Academy missions took place to Cabo Verde one in 2022 and one in 2024. During these missions, LuxSE’s sustainable finance and business development teams shared their knowledge on the sustainable finance universe and sustainable debt instruments with BVC and the Cabo Verdean financial ecosystem and gave insights on how Cabo Verde’s economy can benefit from mainstreaming sustainable finance in the region.

First Cabo Verdean blue bond listed on LuxSE

Less than two years after initiating their cooperation, in November 2023, LuxSE and BVC celebrated another milestone made possible by their joint efforts to advance sustainable finance developments within and beyond Cabo Verde. After organising educational programmes and technical assistance by LuxSE in Praia, which contributed to the establishment of the Blu-X platform by BVC, the two exchanges are now cooperating to bring sustainable bonds from Cabo Verde to international investors via LuxSE.

The first listing resulting from this cooperation was a pioneering green bond issued by the International Investment Bank (iib). The proceeds of the bond will help finance sustainable ocean-based projects and provide affordable loans to individuals and small businesses active in the sustainable maritime and fisheries sectors in the island state.

Always in motion