The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The 2030 Agenda includes 17 goals, 169 target and indicators that constitute major challenges in terms of technical and institutional capacities. The means of implementation for the Agenda include financing, technological innovation and capacity building.

Achieving the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda requires a revitalized and enhanced global partnership that brings together Governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and other actors and mobilizes all available resources. Indeed, according to a World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, in order to meet the investment needs of the SDGs, the global community needs to move the discussion from “Billions” in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to “Trillions” in investments of all kinds: public and private, national and global, in both capital and capacity. And all funds should be put to the best possible use. UNCTAD estimates that the additional finance required to fund only the infrastructure (physical and social) needs associated with the SDGs for developing countries alone will be at least US$2.5tn per year. Recent estimates of the amount of additional finance that Africa will need to mobilise to achieve the Goals range from $600 billion to $1.2 trillion per year.