UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries, which officially launched in June 2019, is the youngest U.N. institution. This means the Istanbul-based organization is still defining how it will help the world’s least-developed countries strengthen their technology capacity, according to Managing Director Joshua Phoho Setipa.
“We started from scratch with two people. We are a new U.N. start-up,” Setipa said of the Technology Bank, which now operates with a staff of nine. The organization works with other U.N. agencies but is also looking to the private sector for engagement.
“The idea has always been not to build a big institution, but to keep it small and work through other U.N. agencies,” Setipa continued. “Member states were very clear that they were not trying to create another bureaucracy. They wanted to create something that would be much more efficient and agile, and would be able to deliver. A big chunk of our resources goes to operational programs, not administrative costs.”