On May 19-20 2026, the UK will host a major conference on the future of international development cooperation, the Global Partnerships Conference, where one topic will be how to mobilise more investment in emerging and frontier markets.
The debate about mobilising private investment often focuses on the very large pools of assets under management in wealthy countries. But cross-border investment is only part of a bigger picture.
Sustained economic progress rests on local financial sectors capable of turning domestic savings into productive investment.
This report explains five ways in which British development partnerships – BII, FSD Africa and PIDG – are helping countries to mobilise local investment: creating the intermediaries needed to invest domestic savings in local businesses; anchoring local bond markets; deepening capital markets (regulatory and policy reform); helping lenders expand into new markets; building markets (increasing demand for capital).
This week we also published more detailed analysis of how DFIs can support local capital market development, by independent experts ITAD: How DFI private capital mobilisation can support local capital market development in Africa – British International Investment.
