The recent 2024 ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum (FfD Forum) successfully gathered government officials, international organizations, civil society, and private sector representatives to review financing development outcomes and discuss Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation. The theme centered on preparing for next year's Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Spain. Concurrently, the 9th SDG Investment Fair was held, facilitating valuable exchanges on best practices and experiences among global INFF Facility members and government representatives.
Here are five headline takeaways from the Forum:
1. New INFF Facility report highlights countries’ achievements, lessons and best practices in developing INFFs
The INFF Facility launched its flagship report, ‘Making Finance Work for People and Planet: How Countries are Building their Sustainable Finance Ecosystem through Integrated National Financing Frameworks’ on the sidelines of the FfD Forum. The report underscores the crucial role of country-led, impact-oriented financing strategies in accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The new INFF Facility report, launched at a side event with the Government of Spain, takes stock of the progress of INFFs to date and the outlook and priorities for the future. To date, 86 countries are using the INFF approach to strengthen financing for sustainable development. Thirteen national and subnational governments have an operational financing strategy, and more than 50 countries are implementing reforms shaped through their INFF. Analysis of reforms implemented by 17 of these countries finds $16 billion in new finance leveraged for investment in sustainable development and alignment and scope for alignment of more than $32 billion – initial emerging outcomes that speak to the scale of transformation that is possible if countries bring their INFFs to maturity.
The report provides insights and lessons learned for countries to strengthen financing for development using the INFF approach and sets out ten recommendations for the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4).
2. INFF's strategic role in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4)
FfD4 represents a critical milestone in the global agenda to enhance sustainable development outcomes. Scheduled from 30 June to 3 July 2025 in Spain, the conference aims to negotiate outcomes that could significantly influence the implementation of the SDGs. INFFs are poised to play a pivotal role in achieving these objectives.
Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, wrapped up the FfD Forum 2024 with the necessity of international financial architecture reforms and trust in multilateralism in the INFF global event, emphasizing that "these actions will have their desired impact only if we also make the complementary progress at the country level. Integrated national financing frameworks can help us to get there."
Sergio Colina, Director General for Sustainable Development Policy in Spain, reflected on the host nation's readiness and enthusiasm for the upcoming conference in the INFF report side event, highlighting the potential of INFFs: "Spain believes that well-designed INFFs can really provide greater clarity on how best to use international resources." He further noted that INFFs serve as a roadmap for aligning the actions of various financial actors, including bilateral donors and multilateral institutions, to ensure that the 2030 Agenda becomes a reality.
Achim Steiner, Administrator of UNDP, called for a profound shift in development finance approaches during the INFF plenary session, stating, "the INFF facility, backed by a consortium of international partners, is ready to extend this technical assistance, facilitate triangular cooperation, and provide guidance." He highlighted INFF’s strategic role in the financing landscape, urging international financial institutions to leverage INFFs as a strategic framework for their investments.
3. Countries are using their INFF to finance national priorities, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement
Countries are implementing their INFFs to align investments with their development goals and commitments.
Ahmed Mazin, Minister of State for Finance, Maldives, discussed the Maldives’ commitment to sustainable energy transition and climate action in the INFF report side event: “Our pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and move towards renewable sources of fuel is one of the many actions set out in our financing strategy that the government is delivering to build a more sustainable financial ecosystem in Maldives.”
From Indonesia, Vivi Yulaswati, Deputy Minister for Maritime and Natural Resources, shared insights on their thematic bonds in the Sovereign SDG Bond side event. Indonesia’s INFF started in August 2021, “we have issued the SDG bond for the first time, only €500 million, and then after that we improved it and expanded with the blue bond.”
Rished Bade, Commissioner for External Finance outlined Tanzania’s proactive approach in using INFFs to foster investments that support environmental sustainability in the INFF report side event, stating, “Building on successes with green and social bond issuances, blended finance, and investor maps, Tanzania is using the INFF approach to unlock and align investment in the green economy.”
Sonor Luvsandorj, Director-General, Financial Policy Department of Mongolia, highlighted the strategic financial planning under the INFF to meet their SDGs in the Sovereign SDG Bond side event: “Mongolia started the INFF back in 2021 and when we were first doing the analysis under the INFF, we found out that in order to achieve the SDGs by 2030, we would need to have at least equivalent to 18% of GDP investments in order to achieve it.”
Tania Serafim Yvonne Romualdo, Permanent Representative of Cabo Verde to the United Nations, discussed their innovative financing approach in the technical assistance side event: “Cabo Verde's Blue X initiative is a sustainable finance platform developed with our Stock Exchange together with UNDP and through our integrated national financing framework.” She highlighted how the platform serves as a nexus for attracting both global and local impact investments aimed at sustainability and climate-aligned projects.
4. Strengthening national financing capacities through INFFs
INFFs are being utilized by countries to enhance national capabilities in innovative financing, resource mobilization, and policy alignment towards achieving development goals.
Abena Osei Asare, Minister of State for Finance of Ghana, illustrated the positive impact of INFFs at a local level in the INFF report side event: "The integrated financing frameworks at Assembly level has enabled the Assemblies to identify the various innovative sources of funding that will enable them to raise additional resources required for development Ghana."
In Sierra Leone, Peter Nuyaba Sam-Kpakra, Development Secretary, shared the broader implications of their INFF building financial ecosystems in the INFF report side event: "Through the INFF, national capacity for revenue generation has improved, leading to increased revenue collection – we have also witnessed improved financial inclusion, digitalization and financial literacy."
Shreekrishna Nepal, from Nepal’s Ministry of Finance, discussed the structured benefits of their INFF in the technical assistance side event: "INFF gives us a clear roadmap to move and it's just a very structured, very systematic".
From the international partners’ perspectives, Antti Karhunen, Director for Sustainable Finance, Investment and Jobs, DG INTPA, European Commission, aligned the INFF with broader investment strategies in the INFF report side event: "INFF fits very well to our Global Gateway strategy, which is a bold €300 billion investment and investment climate strategy where sustainable finance plays a big role."
George Laryea-Adjei, Director of Programmes at UNICEF, emphasized the transformative potential of INFFs, particularly in sector-specific spending in the technical assistance side event: "We believe that country-driven and country-led INFFs can unlock a transformation where rights of children are fulfilled everywhere, including children with disabilities."
5. Participation is key to ensuring finance is working for people and planet
INFFs have emerged as a potential catalyst for transformative change, particularly at the county level. Civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector play a pivotal role in this process, focusing on inclusiveness and effectiveness in the implementation of national financing strategies.
In the INFF plenary session, Sanzhar Bolotov, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of Kyrgyzstan, explained the structural impacts of their INFF on the national infrastructure priorities in the INFF plenary session: “INFF in Kyrgyzstan fosters partnerships between public and private sectors for financing and implementing infrastructure projects, creating a conducive investment environment and improving legislation on PPPs which have been part of the reform inspired by INFF.” He adds, “As a result, monitoring and reporting mechanisms have been introduced to provide clearer insights into fund totalization and project progress.”
In the technical assistance side event, Vitalice Meja, Executive Director of Reality of Aid Africa and GPEDC Non-Executive Co-Chair, stressed the necessity of empowering civil society to be credible and useful partners, advocating for "designing initiatives that empower civil society to be credible partners in implementing development initiatives but also in demanding accountability and transparency on various government initiatives."
In the INFF report side event, Luca de Fraia, Deputy Secretary General of the ActionAid Italia, highlighted the adaptable nature of the INFF, stating, "From the community working on effectiveness, we have knowledge from the start that this might have been, might be, or will be a game changer", highlighting that the INFF allows countries to tailor their approach. He also mentioned the benchmarks to be observed: can INFF slow down the systematic issues, level of inclusiveness in the INFF process and reforms.
Rita Triharyani, YAKKUM and Civil Society FfD Mechanism, recognised INFF as an opportunity to create "an inclusive platform to support sustainable development and monitor progress which must involve local and national actors" in the INFF plenary session. She believes that the practices established through INFF for sustainable development could serve as models for SDG reporting, making it more accessible for national and local actors.
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Event recordings:
📌 FfD Forum Plenary: Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs): Taking stock of national level progress: Recording (from 01:25:44)
📌 SDG Investment Fair: Launch Guidance on Sovereign SDG Bonds: Recording
📌 Side event: Responding to country demand for technical assistance, capacity building and institutional development to scale up financing for sustainable development: Recording
📌 Side event: Making finance work for people and planet: how countries are building their sustainable finance ecosystem through integrated national financing frameworks: Recording
📌 Transforming Economies through Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs): Recording 1 / Recording 2
