This platform showcases existing development solutions mapped by the UNDP Accelerator Labs. They may either be documented as notes of solutions already available online or identified during the Labs’ ethnographic on-the-ground research.

Join the R&D movement! To become a power user and curator, contact us.

Unlocking Informal Economies in Crisis
Syria
In crisis-affected contexts, where formal economic systems are often weakened or disrupted, the Accelerator Labs have focused R&D efforts on strengthening resilient livelihoods through entrepreneurship, informal economies, and adaptive tourism. These sectors provide critical income opportunities, especially for marginalized and displaced populations. R&D activities in these areas have explored grassroots innovation, microenterprise support, and locally driven tourism models that preserve cultural identity while generating economic value. Labs have prototyped low-cost business models, tested digital marketplaces for informal traders, and supported youth-led initiatives in regions with tourism potential despite instability—demonstrating how livelihood innovation can serve both recovery and long-term resilience.

2

1

3

36

4

6