Investing in Sustainable Cities: Challenges and Opportunities

This side event aims to explore and identify concrete ways to realize sustainable urban development through the effective mobilization of resources, focusing on the role of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). Through an interactive panel discussion, the event will provide insights from initiatives that members of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) have supported, featuring panelists from IDFC institutions alongside government representatives. The IDFC has brought together 23 national, bilateral, and regional development banks from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to pool their global expertise, best practices, and in-depth local knowhow on strategic topics of mutual interest, including sustainable urban development. Recognizing that financing is a core issue of the New Urban Agenda and one of cities’ biggest challenges, this event – led by CAF on behalf of the IDFC, and organized in collaboration with the World Resources Institute – aims to spark dialogue and foster a shared understanding among DFIs and other capital providers, government actors, and civil society of the key challenges and opportunities in financing sustainable cities.