• Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, in charge of the Fight against Tax Fraud, and Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium

• Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, in charge of the Fight against Tax Fraud, and Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium


• Katarína Mathernová, Deputy Director General, European Commission


• Moderator: Daniel F. Runde, Senior Vice President, CSIS

• Liz Lloyd, Chief Impact Officer, CDC Group (UK)


• Chantal Korteweg, Director, Stakeholders, Strategy & Knowledge Management, FMO (Netherlands)


• Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director for Financial Services, Africa Finance Corporation


• Paul Lamontagne, Chief Executive Officer, FinDev Canada 


• Moderator: Romina Bandura, Senior Fellow, CSIS

• Bruno Wenn, Chairman, EDFI

On October 8, 2019, the Council of the European Union published a report by a High-level Wise Persons Group on the European financial architecture for development. The report made bold suggestions for setting a stronger policy direction for European development finance and called for consolidating responsibilities between the European Commission, European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It also called for a greater emphasis on Africa and climate change in investments by all of European development finance institutions (DFIs) and aid agencies. These proposals make it worth reviewing DFIs' role in mobilizing private investment is and in job creation.

DFIs are instrumental in bridging investment gaps and steering private capital into developing countries. Many groups reference the transformative power and scale of the private sector as the answer for filling global development investment gaps, but questions remain from these private institutions around risk and other issues. Private sector development funding now outpaces official development assistance (ODA), underlining the important role DFIs can play in the global development community. DFIs are essential to catalyzing private investment and building the relationship between private sector industries and public sector institutions. There are many channels, including financing for policy reforms, that enable investment within the private sector and improve infrastructure. This will ultimately create jobs, boost growth, and set an example for other private businesses and investors. Maximizing private investment in target markets, therefore, will expand job impact and contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 
CSIS is hosting this event in partnership with EDFI-the Association of European Development Finance Institutions.