CEB advocates for social investment at Finance in Common Summit 2021

Rome/Paris - The CEB was a ‘grand partner’ of the second edition of the Finance in Common Summit (FICS), which was held in Rome by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), on 19 and 20 October, under the auspices of the 2021 Italian G20 Presidency.

Following a successful inaugural Summit in Paris in November 2020, the 2021 edition brought together over 500 Public Development Banks (PDBs) and other stakeholders ’to promote models capable of catalysing public and private resources towards sustainable agri-food systems and food security, the fight against and adaptation to climate change, biodiversity protection, promotion of gender equality and social inclusion.’

Carlo Monticelli, Governor-elect of the CEB, addressed the Summit on 20 October at the Leaders’ Dialogue, together with, inter alia, the IMF Managing Director and other Heads of Multilateral Development Banks. He underlined the overarching objective of leaving no one behind, and its close links to inclusive growth, shared prosperity, women empowerment, climate action and sustainable development. He pointed out that the CEB can leverage its unique expertise in social investment to contribute to the common effort. Carlo Monticelli also commended the Finance in Common initiative, an instrumental platform to unite all PDBs and make the whole greater than the sum of its parts, and assured it of the CEB’s continued support in the coming years.

On 19 October, Monica Scatasta, Director of the CEB’s Technical Assessment and Monitoring Directorate, moderated a panel discussion on the topic “Do more, do better! Partnering for Social Investment”, with high-level speakers, including Katarína Mathernová, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR), Usha Rao-Monari, Undersecretary and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Masood Ahmed, President of the Center for Global Development and Ece Börü, CEO of the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) and Vice-Chair of the IDFC. The discussion focused on the importance and challenges of investing in the social sectors, the nexus between social and climate/environment-related issues, and the role of PDBs in supporting social investment.

The session was an opportunity to provide an update on the work of the Coalition for Social Investment, an initiative launched last year during the first Finance in Common Summit and co-led by the CEB and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). TSKB, the African Association of Development and Finance Institutions (AADFI) and the World Federation of Development Financing Institutions (WFDFI) were confirmed as new members of the Coalition, and the UNDP announced it agreed to become a sponsor, alongside the ILO and the WHO, so as to provide guidance and share its expertise with the members of the Coalition.

“The climate crisis is, among other things, a social crisis, which deepens social exclusion and hits vulnerable groups the hardest,” said Monica Scatasta. “Social exclusion, in turn, weakens our societies’ resilience to any emergencies. To respond to these challenges we need vision, leadership, strategies. And we also need more and better investment. The Coalition for Social Investment can help address this by leveraging Public Development Banks’ financing and knowledge,” she concluded.