Climate change, geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions are amplifying investment risks and widening the SDG financing gap. Effective de-risking strategies are therefore essential to mobilize private capital and advance the SDGs. Building on UNCTAD’s research on political risk insurance, this session will examine how guarantees, credit insurance, blended finance and other risk-sharing tools can be made more accessible, coordinated and development-oriented. The session will also explore how collaboration among investment promotion agencies, export credit agencies, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, national development banks, commercial banks and private insurers can better serve underserved countries, sectors and smaller firms.
Panel 1
- What are the key barriers limiting the broader use of de-risking instruments in SDG-relevant sectors, and how can these tools be adapted to improve accessibility and development impact?
- What innovative models, including co-guarantees or blended finance structures, have proven most effective in expanding the reach and impact of de-risking tools?
- How can trade finance instruments be better connected with investment de-risking tools to facilitate sustainable trade, support supply chains and unlock investment in SDG-related sectors?
- How can MDBs, DFIs, national development banks and private insurers collaborate more effectively to scale up innovative de-risking solutions that channel private investment where it is most needed?
Panel 2
- How can MDBs, DFIs, ECAs, national development banks, guarantee providers, IPAs and host-country institutions coordinate more effectively at country level to develop bankable SDG investment pipelines?
- What role should public policy, regulation and international cooperation play in creating a more enabling environment for guarantees, blended finance, trade finance and other risk-mitigation instruments?
- How can home and host countries work together to reduce real and perceived risks, including through investment facilitation, policy predictability, public-private dialogue and targeted support for priority SDG sectors?
- What role can IPAs play within broader country-level de-risking ecosystems, not only as promoters, but also as connectors between investors, development banks, ECAs, MDBs, DFIs and guarantee providers?
- What would an effective IPA–MDB–DFI–ECA–development bank collaboration platform look like in practice, and what should its first deliverables be?