These green innovations came from private and public companies, research and civil society organisations, as well as local governments that applied to our Challenge Calls. After the first round of evaluation, selected solutions enter the acceleration phase, where they receive mentorship and training to turn their ideas into viable business plans or deployable green investments. Those that successfully completed the acceleration process received co-funding for implementation. 

Impact of the UNDP Challenge Calls

To fully assess the impact of our approach on fostering green innovations, an independent consultant gathered key data on all the Challenge Calls conducted since 2017. They verified the findings with the UNDP project teams, representatives of donors, international financial institutions (IFIs), and other relevant parties.

The research focused on challenge calls within UNDP Serbia projects related to mitigating climate change in urban environments, decarbonisation (increasing renewable energy production), accelerating the circular economy and reducing waste, improving air quality and biodiversity, sustainable food systems, as well as increasing energy efficiency and ensuring a just green transition in Serbia.

The analysis of the green financing and support programs ecosystem in Serbia shows that UNDP Challenge Call program has some unique features that enable it to fill the gap in Serbia’s green financing landscape:

1. It provides no-strings-attached funding for early-stage innovations. This allows projects that might otherwise struggle to secure financing to get started, making them more appealing to other investors. 

2. It is among the rare programs to focus on both green initiatives and innovation and one of the very few that specifically target green projects.

3. It is the only program open to a wide range of participants, including startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public and private companies, as well as large corporations.

4. In addition, it provides hands-on mentoring and guidance to participants, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to carry out sustainable and financially viable ventures. The mentors help the project teams to understand the relevant laws and obtain the necessary permits, to implement their projects in accordance with the legal framework.

The program is significant for the scope and size of Green Transition in Serbia 

The Challenge Call program attracts a substantial amount of funding in addition to donor co-funding. To put it in perspective, the 69 supported projects received USD 4 million through donor co-financing, but their total worth amounts to USD 45 million. In simpler terms, every USD 1 invested attracted USD 10 from other sources, including applicant’s own funds. Compared to similar programs in Serbia focused on funding innovation within traditional SMEs, the UNDP program's leverage is notably higher.

The estimated total green investments in Serbia in 2022 amounted to about USD 200 million[1]. Around USD 2 million in direct co-financing were allocated from the EU for Green Agenda in Serbia-related Challenge Calls alone. Considering the program's leverage, this translates to roughly USD 20 million in total project investments. This makes up to 10% of all green investments in Serbia, outpaced only by established international financial institutions like KFW, IFC, and EBRD.

Thanks to the UNDP expert knowledge, networking opportunities and assistance for external promotion, several co-funded projects have scaled beyond the scope of the Call. One project managed to raise EUR 9 million in commercial bank loans to scale their new approach to biomass electricity production. A socially responsible group of women entrepreneurs successfully replicated their business model by extending their network of associates across Serbia. A big international company operating in Serbia expanded their project to re-use old tyres for creating public urban furniture.