- Capital earmarked for sustainable investment has been growing dramatically, even during COVID-19, reaching more than $35 trillion.
- Yet, well over 95% of this pool remains in developed economies. The challenge is to get this capital to where it is most needed: productive investments in developing economies.
- The launch of the World Investment for Development Alliance (WIDA) at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2022 aims to meet this challenge.
When investing is sustainable from an economic, social, environmental and governance perspective, it can provide not only capital but also drive job creation, alleviate poverty, encourage technology transfer, and upgrade industries. It can increase peace and stability and advance climate and environmental goals, addressing some of the greatest challenges the world faces today.
However, despite this potential, many of the frameworks that guide investment were designed in another era and have not been updated to reflect today’s realities and priorities. The challenge is to develop a coherent vision for international investment, under which different investment reform processes and initiatives can be aligned and mutually supportive.
Such collaboration is needed today more than ever. In 2020, owing to the shock of COVID-19, global FDI (foreign direct investment) fell by 35%. In 2021, it rebounded but very unequally: of the total increase in global FDI flows in 2021, almost three-quarters were recorded in developed economies.
At the same time, capital earmarked for sustainable investment has been growing dramatically, even during COVID-19, reaching more than $35 trillion. Yet well over 95% of this pool remains in developed economies. The challenge is therefore not the availability of capital, but the flow of this capital to where it is most needed: productive investments in developing economies.
We are excited to announce the launch of the World Investment for Development Alliance (WIDA) at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2022. By bringing all relevant stakeholders onto one platform, WIDA can enable conversations and coordination to identify opportunities for collaboration.
This is the first time leading organizations from the investment for development community have come together to collaborate on growing sustainable investment flows. The 10 founding organizations include the Academy of International Business, the African Union Commission, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the International Trade Centre, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, the World Bank Group, and the World Economic Forum. Additional organizations with activities and capacity in this area are warmly invited to join.
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