The Finance in Common System (FiCS) agreed on a collective contribution to the Fourth International Conference for Financing for Development (FfD4). Building on the pivotal role of public development banks (PDBs) in financing growth and sustainable development, the report contributes to discussions on blended finance and private sector mobilization by analyzing how PDBs can operate as a system to better align financial flows with the SDGs and global priorities.
Finance in Common – the global network of all PDBs, which seeks to align financial flows with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change – convened from 26-28 February 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa, for the fifth Finance in Common Summit. Themed, ‘Fostering Infrastructure and Finance for Just and Sustainable Growth,’ the Summit served as a global platform for collaboration and financial innovation to advance the SDGs. It convened alongside the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting.
In a message for the opening of the Summit, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed highlighted FfD4 as “a pivotal moment to renew the global financing framework and redouble our collective efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda.” She stressed the need for a massive investment push and for reform of the international financial architecture.
Addressing the finance ministers and central bank governors, Mohammed called for the G20 to strengthen multilateral development banks (MDBs), adopt a comprehensive approach to the debt crisis, and enhance the global financial safety net, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its core.
The report presenting the FiCS’ contribution to FfD4 is titled, ‘Unlocking Public Development Banks’ Potential for Sustainable Development Finance.’ It highlights the following key recommendations:
- Set an ambitious framework to make PDBs effective “SDGs enablers,” by reviewing and aligning PDBs’ mandates and mainstreaming sustainability across operations;
- Design a seamless and at-scale architecture for a coherent PDB system, by mirroring MDB reforms to all PDBs, fostering synergies across the FiCS system, and aligning financial flows with national priorities; and
- Empower PDBs to mobilize resources and tools to unleash potential, by enhancing capital and financing capacities, enhancing project preparation and origination, leveraging private finance, conducting regulatory and risk management framework reforms, and incentivizing strategic use of climate and SDG finance.
According to the report, “[t]hese recommendations call for bold, coordinated action by Member States at FfD4 to align PDBs’ mandates, foster systemic collaboration, and ensure access to resources and tools,” to enable PDBs to drive progress towards the SDGs in “a global financial system that supports sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development.”
The FiCS 2025 Final Communiqué affirms FiCS members’ collective commitment to: accelerate growth through sustainable and inclusive investments; and foster the origination of quality projects, financial innovations, and private sector mobilization and redirection. It also articulates a call for enhanced cooperation towards PDBs working collaboratively as a coherent system and with the rest of the financial system. The Communiqué also highlights FiCS members’ commitment to contribute to the success of: the South African Presidency of the Group of 20 (G20); FfD4; and the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30).
Among other initiatives, the Summit also launched:
- A consultation on a PDBs Reference Book, which presents a summary of the results of the FiCS Global Research Network, exploring the diverse ecosystem of PDBs and taking stock of decades of development finance;
- Six coalitions spanning the areas of food systems, social investment, gender, ocean, culture, and sport; and
- Partnerships on climate action, environmental sustainability, sustainable development, and just energy transition, among others.
A civil society declaration issued during the Summit calls for: strengthening civic space and PDB-CSO engagement; upholding human rights and community-led development; fundamental reform of development finance; and climate finance in support of a just transition.
The fifth Finance in Common Summit brought together PDBs, governments, international organizations, regulators, the private sector, investors, credit rating agencies, philanthropy, civil society, think tanks, and academia. It was co-hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), with support from the French Development Agency – Agence Française de Développement (AFD). [Finance in Common] [UN News Story]
