The Pakistan Investment Promotion Activity (IPA) is funded by USAID to support investment in Pakistan by attracting investors, assisting their entry and establishment in the country, securing their retention, and fostering links internally. The activity has four principal objectives. These include addressing the business-enabling regulatory environment for investment promotion, reforming institutional policies including the ease…
The private sector, recognizing the economic threat and global calls to climate action, has mobilized corporate pledges to avert climate disaster and bridge the nearly $4 trillion financing gap for climate financing by 2030. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), nearly 500 global financial services firms agreed to align $130 trillion – some…
The elusive quest for economic growth is one of much trial and error. Its complexity is multiplied when considering the concurrent goals of resilience, inclusion, sustainability, and being broad-based and private-sector led. Forming an evidence-based and multi-sectoral strategy tackling this very problem is the herculean task that USAID’s latest economic growth policy faces. Even with a great strategy…
USAID is putting self-reliance at the core of its strategy to help countries achieve and finance their own development objectives and thereby end their need for foreign assistance. To finance self-reliance, countries will need systems that mobilize and spend public resources efficiently, enabling environments that allow the private sector to thrive, and diverse and well-regulated…
These briefs serve as a reference point for development practitioners interested in leveraging blended finance approaches in project design and delivery and improving the quality of engagement with the private sector. They include a primer that provides a targeted, high-level overview of blended finance mechanisms to contextualize the sector-specific technical briefs. The briefs also articulate…
We live in an increasingly urban world with infrastructure and essential services struggling to keep pace. From the current level of 56% in 2020, the United Nations (UN) projects that 68% of the world’s population will be urban by 2050. Many of the world’s fastest growing populations over this period are projected to be rapidly…
The projections of the financing needed for water infrastructure range from $6.7 trillion by 2030 to $22.6 trillion by 2050. These estimates do not include investments needed for water resources, irrigation, or energy. Further, the World Bank has estimated that to deliver universal access to safe water and sanitation services under the Sustainable Development Goals…
Emerging economies such as Colombia, Philippines, and South Africa offer sophisticated financial sectors that historically failed to reach marginalized groups. In Colombia specifically, this left rural areas largely unbanked and excluded from the broader economy, after decades of war. In four years, USAID/Colombia’s Rural Finance Initiative (RFI) — implemented by Chemonics — has linked more…
Access to financial services enables rural households to build financial security, start enterprises, and insure against risks. This access, in turn, generates secondary benefits, improving resilience, health, nutrition, and broad-based economic growth. In 2015, USAID launched the Rural Finance Initiative (RFI), implemented by Chemonics International, to provide technical assistance to financial institutions in Colombia so that they could identify profitable opportunities…
This article originally appeared on the SEEP Network’s blog. In a large city, it probably would take you less than five minutes to find an ATM. In a small town, however, finding an ATM can be much more challenging. Imagine that you live in a small town torn by decades of armed conflict, and like…
This post originally appeared on Marketlinks. Najib Seguya of the Feed the Future Uganda Youth Leadership in Agriculture (YLA) activity’s Strategic Activities Fund team discusses key considerations to keep in mind when designing a pay-for-results (PfR) program, also known as performance-based financing. Alex Tekakwo, Anthony Nyende, and Sara Tohamy also contributed to this interview. 1.…