Catalytic Finance for De-Risking: Unlocking and Mobilising Impact Capital at Scale
This interactive workshop is designed to actively engage donors in catalysing impact capital, with a particular focus on de-risking strategies to unlock and mobilise finance in developing countries. Expert insights will be followed by practical discussions where participants will explore how they can apply instruments such as guarantees and first-loss structures, and how these can de-risk developing markets, strengthen investibility and unlock financing flows that would not otherwise occur.
Framing this topic
This short section provides context for the event to ensure all participants, regardless of prior knowledge, are equipped to engage with the discussion.
Emerging markets face a USD 4 trillion annual SDG financing gap, yet private capital remains sidelined: only ~5% of Swiss assets under management target developing countries. The main barrier is risk, real and perceived, that directly raises financing costs and that conventional investors refuse to absorb.
Effective de-risking mechanisms exist yet remain underutilised. Philanthropic and catalytic capital have never been more urgent to close this gap.
The session will draw on a White Paper from BASE’s Building Bridges 2025 session, which collected insights from 100+ practitioners on various risk mitigation strategies, including key challenges, best practices, and real-world examples.