In a country where over half the population is under 20 years of age and youth unemployment is nearly 60% higher than the national average, bold financial strategies are needed to drive inclusive growth. UNDP and SecondMuse Capital’s Future Economy Lab is designing Zambia’s first systems finance facility—a blended capital vehicle that channels investment into renewable energy and sustainable agriculture while reshaping the ecosystem that surrounds it. While collaborating with Zambian entities, the FEL seeks to transform how capital flows—and who it reaches—in Zambia’s just, green future.

Globally, one in five young people are not in employment, education, or training, while 87% of employers face skills gaps. To tackle this, we explored innovative finance to guide underserved youth from training into meaningful jobs. Collaborating with capital providers, educators, and community organizations, we co-designed strategies to increase capital flow and improve employment outcomes.

​​

​​

​​

​​

Alongside girls and gender expansive youth of Color (ages 13 to 24) across the U.S. and its territories, and with the support of a variety of stakeholders including capital providers, direct service providers like nonprofits and community organizations, government, and academics, we are co-designing financial mechanism(s) and strategies to increase investments to these young people and their communities that are designed with and not only for them.

​

​

While engaging capital providers, entrepreneurs, academics, philanthropies, and legal advisors across varying industries and organizational life stages, this Lab co-designed a financial mechanism that unlocks greater access to capital and technical support while both reducing barriers and influencing existing systems towards supporting collectively-owned organizations.

The K-12 and post-secondary market is ripe for transformation, yet structural barriers limit equitable investment, particularly for entrepreneurs of Color and women. This Future Economy Lab identified 14 principles for change, emphasizing diverse capital types, holistic support, and better impact measurement to improve outcomes for students and entrepreneurs alike.

Over 9 million U.S. homeowners spend more than 50% of their income on housing. RootedHomes and SecondMuse Capital’s Future Economy Lab are addressing this crisis by designing a blended financing mechanism to lower homeownership costs for low-income families. Using modular housing and the Community Land Trust model, this initiative ensures affordability and equitable access to sustainable homeownership.

​

​

​

Building on SecondMuse’s extensive networks and regional expertise through the Frontier Labs suite of programming and The Incubation Network, we will run a series of labs to address capital needs of gender-smart, climate focused, small and medium sized enterprises. Each lab will focus on a unique challenge, such as how to scale nature-based solutions or support informal workers.

By collaborating with small business owners, industry and ecosystem experts, and investors to understand the barriers to mortgage lending and opportunities to overcome them, we aim to co-create a financial instrument(s) for mobilizing financial capital and other resources to small business owners so that they can purchase property.

​

​

​

​

​

Through engaging a diverse group of investors as well as a large entrepreneurial community in partnership with SecondMuse's Venture For Climate Tech program, this Lab sought to identity what financial mechanism could create a sustainable ecosystem around early stage climate technology innovation and innovators.

Tailoring climate finance to Quebec’s landscape requires deep knowledge of its resources, entrepreneurial activity, and investor culture. Collaborating with 50+ organizations, we designed a $50 million blended finance fund and shifted focus to embedding climate finance into the broader Future Economy Fund, advancing equity and sustainability.