The Role of Impact Investment in Reaching the SDGs
Organized by:
Switzerland, Bangladesh,Brazil, OECD, UNCDF
Summary:
The challenges for mobilising financial resources for sustainable development are huge; according to UNCTAD, an estimated 5-7 trillion USD are needed per year to achieve the SDGs. Official development assistance (ODA) remains essential to many developing countries, yet ODA alone will not be enough to meet the SDG financing gap. Delivering resources at the scale required to achieve the SDGs requires action from a wide range of actors working together. Private finance will play an increasingly important role in bringing additional resources to help developing countries achieve the SDGs. It is therefore important to find new ways of engaging with the private sector as a key partner, including through impact investing. It is increasingly clear that a key to the achievement of Agenda 2030 lies with the private sector.
An increasing number of companies and investors are looking for opportunities that will generate not only a financial return, but also have a positive social and environmental impact. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) in paragraphs 37 and 42 explicitly mentions impact investing as a means to achieve the SDGs.
Impact investment not only catalyses private sector financing to address the SDGs, but also brings innovative new approaches to addressing social and environmental issues as well as accountability for outcomes.
Interest in impact investment is rising among private, public and institutional investors, underpinned by the recognition of the urgency and scale of global problems and the critical role of the private sector in addressing these issues. However, there is still a need to improve the enabling environment for impact investment as well as develop robust evidence in the field about transaction and performance data, financing approaches and effective policies.
The aim of this event is to demonstrate the importance and potential of impact investment as well as to provide an overview of selected initiatives that are being undertaken to facilitate the development of the field:
– Highlighting the importance of policy and the creation of an enabling environment for impact investment with the examples of Brazil and other countries
– Sharing concrete examples of the innovative work of social entrepreneurs in the field as well as experiences of impact investors
– Presenting the impact investment work of UNCDF which focuses on Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
– Showcasing the work of the OECD in building the evidence base in the field of impact investment and learning from practices and emerging policy recommendations
Light lunch will be served by the Vienna Café
Related information:
Contact:
Info forthcoming.