Private finance can support development, but mobilisation is not the ultimate objective. What matters is what changes, for whom, whether public support was necessary, and whether finance builds stronger local markets and institutions. This ODI Global insight sets out the agenda guiding our Centre’s work.

Mobilising private capital is no longer enough. In this Think Change podcast, I examine what it takes for private finance to deliver real development outcomes—highlighting the role of incentives, risk allocation and institutional evolution in shaping investment flows to emerging markets.

I recently began a new chapter as Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Centre for Private Finance in Development at ODI Global. At a time when development challenges are intensifying and public resources are increasingly constrained, mobilising private capital has become a central priority for the global development system.