Notes from a CSO Roundtable with Lars Tunnel, Washington DC, 21 September 2011
Lars Thunell will make initial remarks regarding recent policy and program developments at the IFC and respond to comments and questions.
Lars Thunel
- recent crises and uncertainty has set back ability to reach MDGs.
- have seen how governments and IFIs have been trying to increase resources to reach the MDGs.
- Concluded that need to communicate better the message that the private sector is key to development.
- role that development institutions can play to support private sector is not clearly illustrated.
- report presents that PSD is crucial to development.
- growth alone however will not alone lead to poverty reduction.
- growth needs to be inclusive.
- IFIs significant force in global development.
- total private capital utilised in development over 100 billion.
- can’t help everyone so need to focus on high impact areas where there is greatest additionality.
- leveraging private actors with public aid can be a strong force for development.
Tony Fratto, private sector.
- role of IFIs in PSD is one of the least understood stories.
Piebalgs
- EU policy has moved towards aid as catalyst for growth.
- but growth must be sustainable and inclusive.
- this approach is getting mainstreamed.
- need to convince civil society.
- most power provided by ODA
- there is difficulty attracting private investment in this area.
- we have political leverage to support private investment in developing countries.
- have an ambition to use more blending mechanisms in development.
- important to change the paradigm for development.
- need to change from charity to sustainable development.
Gerard Lyons
- standard charter
- report is excellent
- infrastructure as most important issue in both hard and soft infrastructure.
- links between finance and poverty eradication is clear.
- need a well regulated financial sector.
- access to credit and underwriting risk are important.
- there is a shift in the balance of power from west to the east.
- poor live in many middle income countries.
- need to have public and private sector work together.
- profitability must not be considered a dirty word.
Kjetyl , Norfund
- report was my idea
- DFIs are doing good.
- need to rebalance thinking on aid policy.
- development policy has been too much about public sector.
- need to work on blending aid and commercial moneys.
- need to not use a lot of grants in marketplace in order not to skew markets.
Varel Freeman, EBRD
- this report and shared experience during the past years of financial and economic crises show the value of shared ideology.
- these exercises are good to articulate best in class.
- while IFIs share ownership often have different mandates and focus.
- this diversity brings great deal of strength and common action.
Gerard Lyons
- need to make finance available to prevent future crises.
- leverage up and risk sharing is also important in the development context.
Nano Kleiterp, FMO
- IFI is need to take leadership to change development policies.
- private sector flows need to be bigger than the aid flows.
- how can we convince governments to change their development policies.
Tim Turner, AFDB
- we are behind the private sector.
- we can provide confidence for northern investments by mitigating political risks.
Bruno Venders, DEG
- is the private sector aware that we are there?
- we are here to help the private sector.
- we can achieve development impacts in a profitable way.
Kyetl
- we need to show leadership in making private sector aware of our existence.
- need to get more companies investing in Africa.
- need to get away fro narrative of corruption and hopelessness.
- need to explain this to policy makers as well.
- if western donors do not want to be made irrelevant they need to talk to countries.
Piebalgs
- leadership is very central in this
- need to focus more on reducing risk so private sector invests in risky country.
Elisabeth Llittlefield, OPIC
- we have indeed a shared vision.
- question of implementation and marketing of this document.
- what are the next steps in terms of rolling this out.
Lars Thunel
- public sector would be best placed to answer OPICs questions.
Piebalgs
- should send report to parliamentarians.
- also target classical development community.