Mobilization of Private Finance: 2020+2021 Joint Report

Since the 2015 Addis Ababa conference, MDBs have worked to mobilize private capital to meet the SDGs. Despite setbacks from the 2020 pandemic, MDBs maintained stable private capital mobilization in middle- and low-income countries—$64.1 billion in 2020 and $63.3 billion in 2021. 

While private investor risk appetite declined, MDBs increased their own account financing and pivoted toward social infrastructure and short-term liquidity support. Overall MDB long-term finance, including own funds and mobilization, reached $179 billion in 2020 and $168 billion in 2021. 

The pandemic shifted focus away from long-term economic infrastructure, traditionally tied to higher mobilization. However, MDBs adapted through more risk-aligned products and portfolio-based mobilization. As UNCTAD noted, 2022 saw a general FDI slowdown, with the full impact on mobilization to be evaluated in the 2022 MDB report.