The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) introduced its 2030 strategy at a business reception in London – affirming its leadership position as a mover and multiplier of infrastructure finance in sub-Saharan Africa and south and south-east Asia.
Climate and nature, together with sustainable development, are the core focus of the new strategy and will inform all of PIDG’s infrastructure financing and development activities. Working even more systematically in partnership with the private sector, development finance institutions, and providers of catalytic capital will be key to successful delivery.
PIDG’s new strategic framework aims to attract $1.6bn in funding, deliver $9bn in commitments, and mobilise $25bn in additional finance over 10 years. The accelerated movement of finance will be aimed at moving markets and stimulating flows worth many multiples of their original value.
Over the last 20 years, PIDG has successfully delivered 211 infrastructure projects, providing 222 million people with access to new or improved infrastructure. It has mobilised $40bn of investment in PIDG projects, of which $25bn were commitments from the private sector. PIDG is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Germany and the IFC.
PIDG’s new strategy is designed to build the momentum it has created while responding to the macrotrends that are reshaping the infrastructure market in Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs). These include strong economic headwinds, the acceleration of the climate crisis, and a changing geopolitical context.
Working against this backdrop, PIDG is raising its ambition on the scale of project development it undertakes and introducing new local currency guarantee solutions. It aims to:
– Improve climate resilience and economic opportunities for 100 million people by 2030
– Accelerate the flows of public and private finance deployed for climate action and sustainable development – including attracting $1.6bn in funding, to deliver over $9bn in new commitments in projects that mobilise over $25bn in additional finance
– Avoid future greenhouse gas emissions in emerging markets, supporting leapfrogging carbon technologies
– Demonstrate how infrastructure can deliver gender equality and inclusive opportunities, alongside nature conservation, restoration, and regeneration.
PIDG is one group with multiple solutions that run across the entire project lifecycle – including early-stage project development, equity, and credit solutions that bridge gaps in local capital markets.
With the new strategy, PIDG will bring together its capabilities in service of:
– Increasing the pipeline of projects built to internationally investable standards
– Unlocking domestic institutional capital for infrastructure investment
– Deploying commercial and institutional capital in developing and emerging markets through its blended finance structures.
In addition to elevating climate action with sustainable development, and scaling its impact with new ambition and urgency, PIDG will undertake some key shifts to reach these goals:
– Develop a more deliberate and coordinated origination and product strategy
– Bring a more strategic focus to project origination that targets impact at scale through growth in a selected combination of geographies, sectors and products
– Grow the level of investment delivered while balancing financial sustainability with sustainable development impact at scale
– Nurture a culture of radical collaboration – within PIDG and its partners – to enhance its ability to provide solutions and serve as a bridge between development and private finance.
A summary of the new strategy can be found here.
The Rt Hon, Andrew Mitchell, UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, said:
“The Private Infrastructure Development Group’s new strategy will help deliver more climate-resilient infrastructure across developing countries in Africa and Asia. PIDG has over two decades of expertise in creating development impact and has given over 222m people access to new or improved infrastructure. The UK is proud to be a long-standing supporter and funder of this brilliant organisation.”
Philippe Valahu, CEO, PIDG said: “With the new strategy, PIDG is entering a new chapter – one that will be defined by a focus on climate and nature, together with sustainable development. The private sector has a key role to play to develop and finance infrastructure that delivers economic opportunities and climate resilience for all. Drawing on our legacy of providing new and improved access to infrastructure, we will scale our efforts through an ambitious, collaborative partnership that reshapes sectors and markets for the benefit of all. We know we cannot address the scale of challenge on our own – this strategy is a call to collaborate, to make it happen together.”
