Driving Global Change: The Role of Public Development Banks to Mobilize Private Capital for Sustainable Infrastructure

A recording of a critical conversation at the 2023 Finance in Common Summit, led by Accountability Counsel’s Senior Policy Associate Stephanie Amoako.

Public development banks have emerged as crucial drivers of change. This discussion aims to develop a comprehensive strategy for these institutions, facilitating the financing of sustainable infrastructure projects and mobilizing private capital. Experts, policymakers, and financiers will contribute their insights to identify the most suitable financial mechanisms for sustainable infrastructure.

Countries face an infrastructure gap that is too large for governments to act alone. The global infrastructure financing gap is estimated to be around $15 trillion by 2040. This means that, for the next two decades, each year the world would have to spend just under $1 trillion more than the previous year to provide basic infrastructure to its people. To close this gap, more investment in infrastructure needs to be mobilized, especially by capturing the global private savings that are considerable and that demand sustainable investment opportunities, and PDBs play the key role to help address this gap.