Ulaanbaatar, November 4, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The national programme titled “Promoting Cleantech Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Green Jobs in Mongolia” (GCIP Mongolia) was officially launched on November 3, 2025.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented via the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for the period 2025-2029, the initiative will be managed by the Climate Change Research and Cooperation Centre (CCRCC) under the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in partnership with the Development Solutions NGO.

Through the project, Mongolia aims to foster clean technology innovation, support start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), strengthen policy coherence, and create new green jobs.

Industrial Policy Advisor to the President of Mongolia, Davaabayar Chimiddorj, said, “This is one of the major nationwide initiatives for developing small and medium-sized enterprises. The core focus of the project is SMEs. Due to the 2016 economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, our SME sector faced severe challenges. Some of the enterprises even had to shut down entirely. Launching this project in the aftermath of such difficult times is therefore extremely important. Over the four years of implementation, an investment of USD 1.7 million will be made. Currently, 92 percent of Mongolia’s exports come from the mining sector, while only 8 percent are from light industries. This imbalance is serious, which is why we must support our SMEs and domestic manufacturing.”

“The private sector does not ask for handouts. They create everything on their own. Therefore, SMEs have always been a strategically vital sector in every country. I believe this programme should be expanded and continued further to become a national-scale initiative,” stated Advisor Davaabayar.

Executive Director of Development Solutions NGO B. Khishigsuren explained that the project comprises three components: first, training specialists, then supporting clean-tech start-ups and SMEs through capacity building and financial assistance. He noted that eligible businesses must be environmentally friendly and capable of adopting clean technology models, adding that strong examples can be found in European countries, such as grey-water reuse and water-to-energy systems.

At the launch of the programme, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by partner financial institutions, including Golomt Bank, Khan Bank, non-bank financial institutions TransCapital and Invescore, the Credit Guarantee Fund, and the Mongolian Sustainable Finance Association. These financial institutions will help expand access to financing for clean-tech start-ups and SMEs, and grow the green business sector.

The programme aims to reach more than 2,600 SMEs, of which 40 percent will be women-led and 30 percent youth-led, and is projected to cut over 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions through innovation in clean technologies.