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How will the World Bank’s new cascade approach engage the private sector? Live discussion 12 Oct.
Is the private sector the key to providing the extra $2.5T/year needed to meet the SDGs?
What policies are needed to attract private investment in meeting the SDGs?

The hope is that private capital, innovation and know-how can complement public financing and help boost investment in infrastructure and social services, particularly, in developing countries. So, what will it take to scale up private sector investment? What role should multilateral development institutions like the World Bank Group play in this regards, and what can countries do differently to become more attractive investment destinations?

In past blogs, I have reflected on why the sustainable development goals matter and some of the challenges and opportunities that they present to the development community.

One of the challenges, as I wrote in Evaluation 2030 – what does the future look like, is that the sustainable development goals present an extremely ambitious and complex agenda that will require many different stakeholders to work together and coordinate their inputs in unprecedented ways.

Achieving the goals will also require significant investment to the tune of trillions of dollars at a time when many countries are facing stagnant growth and overseas development assistance is declining. And that’s where the private sector comes in. Many governments and development institutions, including the World Bank Group, are doubling down on efforts to attract private capital for development projects.

The hope is that private capital, innovation and know-how can complement public financing and help boost investment in infrastructure and social services, particularly, in developing countries.

So, what will it take to scale up private sector investment? What role should multilateral development institutions like the World Bank Group play in this regards, and what can countries do differently to become more attractive investment destinations?

And just as important, given what we have learned from the past, we need to ask whether this new optimism in the private sector is justified.

As part of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund annual meetings taking place this week, IEG will be hosting a high-level seminar to explore these questions.

We’ve brought together an excellent panel to discuss the opportunities and challenges for harnessing the power of the private sector in support of sustainable development. We will explore how governments and development institutions are working with the private sector to achieve the SDGs and discuss the critical success factors for making public-private partnerships work. Drawing lessons from past attempts by the World Bank Group to engage the private sector, we will tease out what needs to change in order to scale up private sector participation in development, while mitigating the risks.

Speakers will include

1. Bambang BRODJONEGORO, Minister of National Development Planning, Indonesia
2. Anne-Marie CHIDZERO, CEO, Alitheia Identity; Board Member, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, Making Finance Work for Africa, and Women’s World Banking
3. Tony O. ELUMELU, Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Board Chair, United Bank for Africa, and Heirs Holdings
4. Hans Peter LANKES, Vice President of Economics and Private Sector Development, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
5. Susan LUND, Partner, McKinsey and Company
6. Luis Fernando MEJÍA, Director-General, National Planning Department, Colombia
7. Matthew T. MCGUIRE, Managing Director, The Abraaj Group

Join us if you can or watch the event live here. Follow the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #investinSDGs