Capital Musings

The SDG of the month for February is SDG 11—to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. So, we invited Jaffer Machano, Global Programme Manager for UNCDF’s Municipal Finance Programme, back to the podcast. Jaffer was our guest for Episode 3, where he laid out the challenges that cities, towns and local governments face in terms of accessing the necessary capital to finance sustainable development projects, particularly in least developed countries. For Episode 9, Jaffer shifts his focus towards the solutions, including those solutions he is engineering on the ground.

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias

Those in the sustainable development space know that every year, the gap between SDG financing needs and available capital runs in the trillions--$2 trillion according to a conservative estimate. At the same time, the conversations surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) often includes the phrase "billions to trillions"--representing the point that in order to achieve the SDG agenda, finance flows for sustainable development projects have to grow exponentially…and fast. But with just 10 years to achieve this agenda, those finance flows are instead moving from the billions to the...billions. 

For Episode 8 of Capital Musings, we sat down with Joan M. Larrea, CEO of the global blended finance network Convergence, to hear her insights on the current state of SDG finance, what blended finance can do to improve the status quo, and what it cannot do.  

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the UN Web TV.

Producers: Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias

Choosing between living under the authority of a leviathan and a life that would be “poor, nasty, brutish, and short” was the centerpiece of Thomas Hobbes’ social contract theory. But how much of a leviathan do we need to ensure that we can live both peacefully and freely? More to the point, how capable do we want a government to be? If every government runs the risk of either being so “capable,” that it can become despotic, or so incapable that it can be absent, then what is the right balance? And what kind of government do we need in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals at the local and national level?

Episode 7 of Capital Musings features our first external guest: Daron Acemoglu, Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics at MIT, and the author of “The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty.” He offers his answers to these questions as well as his thoughts on whether the SDGs represent the global economy breaking out of the “cage of norms” and towards a new model of economic growth.

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias

Over 70 million people have been displaced due to conflict, persecution or war. When we think of those who have been forcibly displaced—whether they are refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced people—we often think of their lack of footing within their home or country. But we rarely think about how they contend with financial exclusion. How can displaced populations cultivate a financial role outside of their communities or countries? And what can they do to ensure that they are not resigned to a life of outside formal economies, specifically women?

UNCDF’s Pamela Eser shares insights, lessons and challenges from her experience in one of the most difficult areas of economic development. She also shares how modern solutions like digital financial tools, coupled with traditional solutions like savings groups, have been effective in advancing financial inclusion for displaced people residing in some of the most difficult areas in the world.

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Victoria Guridi, Carlos Macias and Fernando Zarauz

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres opened this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference—or COP25—by issuing the warning that “the point of no-return is no longer over the horizon.” This follows the release of the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap report, which stated that we are on the brink of missing the opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

But do these circumstances mean that the international community will recognize the critical role of local governments to advance appropriate climate action? Will there be a more concerted effort to finance such climate action in the world’s least developed countries, which will feel the worst effects of climate change. And will this signal rising support for adaptation measures in relation to mitigation?

David Jackson, Director of the Local Development Finance Practice of UNCDF who oversees our local climate adaptation programme (LoCAL), shares his thoughts on all of these questions, as well as what we can reasonably expect from this year’s COP25. We sat down with David just days before COP25. 

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Victoria Guridi, Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias

If you were asked "what is the difference between women's economic empowerment and women's economic development," would you know the answer?

Women's economic empowerment has been an essential driver of the economic development agenda; uniting individual nations, multilateral organizations, NGOs and impact investors. But what does successful women's economic empowerment truly mean, particularly in the world's least developed countries? How can success be achieved when cultural challenges are pervasive and profound? And what are the prospects of achieving women's economic empowerment in the LDCs when we are so far behind in achieving the SDGs?

Samina Anwar, Programme Manager for the Inclusive and Equitable Local Development programme--a joint programme of UN Women, UNDP and UNCDF--offers her insights on the future of women's economic empowerment in the LDCs and beyond. She also answers this question: if we do not achieve SDG5 (Gender Equality) by 2030, what would have been the reason?

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Victoria Guridi, Carlos Macias, Fernando Zarauz

The city of Los Angeles, with a population of roughly 4 million people, can issue a bond to fund infrastructure construction. Yet, the city of Nairobi—the capital city of Kenya with a population of roughly 3.5 million people—is effectively, if not actually, unable to do the same. Despite the global trend of urbanization, cities and local governments in developing countries experience tremendous difficulty accessing capital in international markets. If this persists, then sustainable development will ultimately skip over the cities, countries and markets where it is needed the most. On episode 3 of Capital Musings, we talk with Jaffer Machano, Global Programme Manager for UNCDF’s Municipal Investment Finance programme, about the challenges municipalities in developing countries face in accessing capital, and UNCDF’s vision for addressing this challenge.

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Victoria Guridi, Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias

Blended finance is seen as a tool that can unlock investment capital for projects in the world’s most challenging markets, notably in the least developed countries. So why is only 6% of blended finance, in the form of private capital mobilized by official development assistance, reaching these markets? That is the finding of a report recently released by UNCDF and the OECD. On Episode 2 of Capital Musings, Samuel Choritz, one of the lead authors of the report, explains why this is happening, as well as what is needed from a policy, regulatory and market standpoint to reverse the trend.

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Victoria Guridi, Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias

In the inaugural episode of Capital Musings, Esther Pan Sloane, Head of Partnerships, Policy and Communications for UNCDF, addresses a critical question in the area of sustainable development: with a global financial ecosystem that possesses abundant levels of capital, why is much of that capital not reaching the least-developed countries in the world where it is needed the most? Esther also discusses the importance of leveraging private capital and innovative finance in order to achieve the SDGs, as well as the mission and mandate of UNCDF.

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and UN Web TV.

Producers: Victoria Guridi, Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias