Sevilla, Spain, 30 June 2025 – At the opening of the International Business Forum during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), global business leaders issued an urgent call to unlock more capital for sustainable development.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations said during the opening of the International Business Forum, “Development is everyone’s business. And the private sector is an essential partner in helping countries climb the development ladder, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”
A newly issued Communiqué by the FFD4 Business Steering Committee outlines action areas for business leaders that can drive investment and deliver impact where it’s needed most, particularly in developing countries.
The FFD4 Business Steering Committee, co-chaired by the International Chamber of Commerce and the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance, leads and manages the private sector track for FFD4. For the first time in history, leading global business groups and investor alliances coordinated their efforts through this dedicated Committee, sending a strong signal of private sector commitment to sustainable development.
This Communiqué has been released in parallel with the endorsement of the FFD4 outcome document by the UN Member States, known as the Compromiso de Sevilla (the Sevilla Commitment); a renewed global framework for financing sustainable development.
“If we want to close the development financing gap, we need practical solutions that work on the ground. The Communiqué lays out concrete steps the private sector can take — now — to unlock investment where it’s needed most,” said Shinta Kamdani, CEO of Sintesa Group, Co-Chair of the Business Steering Committee and Co-Chair of the GISD Alliance.
The action areas outlined in the Communiqué comprise:
1. Expanding investment vehicles and platforms that deliver impact
A call for increasing catalytic capital, improving transparency, standardizing blended finance structures, and scaling up platforms for managing risks to unlock private capital for sustainable development, especially in developing countries.
2. Partnering with Governments and development partners
A commitment to deepen collaboration with Governments and multilateral development banks and urges developing a pipeline of bankable projects through technical assistance and early-stage support, and stronger private sector engagement in country-led investment platforms.
3. Aligning sustainability standards across borders
A call for clearer, more consistent sustainability regulations that work across countries, aligning investment strategies with local development priorities and national sustainability roadmaps and support the use of global standards for environmental and social reporting.
4. Reassessing financial regulations to incentivize long-term investment
A call to closely engage with regulators to review rules that may unintentionally discourage long-term investment in developing countries and promote smarter, more flexible rules that reflect risks more accurately and enable greater use of risk-sharing tools.
5. Expanding access to finance for underserved markets and enterprises
A call for targeted policies, better credit risk data, and stronger collaboration with international financial institutions and governments to improve access to finance for small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries.
“As the institutional representative of 45 million businesses in over 170 countries, it is vital for ICC and our member companies to continue to leverage our technical expertise in support of shifting finance towards international development. We call on governments to pair this ambition with enabling environments for genuine progress at scale,” said John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Co-Chair of the Business Steering Committee.
“Private finance is essential to bridge the global development financing gap and strengthen sustainable and inclusive growth. FFD4 is a critical milestone for collaboration across the public and private sector, to align incentives, unlock pipeline, and facilitate investment where the need for capital is acute,” said José Viñals, Senior Advisor and former Group Chairman, Standard Chartered, Co-Chair of the Business Steering Committee and Co-Chair of the GISD Alliance.
The Communiqué emphasizes that all actions must prioritize sustainable development impact in tandem with investment volumes and be aligned with national priorities. It also calls for a roadmap to follow up on commitments made in Sevilla, with a tracking mechanism for results.
As part of the International Business Forum, the 10th edition of the SDG Investment Fair will showcase investable, high-impact projects in developing countries as well as successful business models for advancing sustainable development through leveraging the power of capital. A project portfolio of more than one billion dollars is being pitched by a dozen developing countries to investors and development financiers seeking investment. These span areas including energy, agriculture, and ICT sectors, and demonstrate how innovative approaches to public-private partnership could help in delivering sustainable development on the ground.
“The leadership of the Business Steering Committee in bringing together investors and industry alliances at this critical moment, is a step in the right direction. The focus now must be on moving from words to action and help close the investment gap where it matters most,” said Li Junhua, Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General for FFD4 Conference.
The FFD4 Business Steering Committee
The FFD4 Business Steering Committee was established to engage and mobilize the business sector as part of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. For the first time, it brought together a broad coalition of global business groups and UN-affiliated initiatives to coordinate private sector contributions to the Conference, identify key challenges, and support high-level partnerships for sustainable finance
Co-chairs: Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Members: UN Global Compact (UNGC); UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI); Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI); The Business 20 (B20); Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ); World Economic Forum (WEF); Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI); Investor Leadership Network (ILN)
Hashtags:
#IBFSevilla2025 #FFD4 #Fin4Dev #SDGIFair
Media Contacts:
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Financing for Sustainable Development Office