Capital Markets for Innovation: Unlocking Science and Technology Investment in Developing Countries

Official Side Event at FfD4

Please note that this event is an official off site event of the UN Financing for Development Conference (FfD4). Session ID 2014103

Location: Hotel Alfonso XIII – Salon Cartuja, (San Fernando street, 2, Sevilla 41004)

As the global community prepares for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), this session explores how capital markets and blended finance can unlock investment in science, technology, and innovation (STI) across developing countries.

Despite its potential to drive breakthroughs in health, climate, and digital inclusion, STI remains disconnected from mainstream capital flows. This high-level session brings together investors, development banks, and policymakers to present scalable, investable solutions for the Global South.

Recent geopolitical shifts, including the relocation of scientific talent from the United States to Europe in response to changing policy priorities, underscore how capital availability and political environments shape global innovation ecosystems. In this context, developing nations are presented with a unique opportunity, provided they can access the right financial infrastructure.

This roundtable convenes leaders from development finance, investment, science, and policy to identify financial innovations that can scale STI ecosystems across the Global South. The urgency is clear: science infrastructure, from talent and IP to research centres and data systems, requires financing tools that are resilient to geopolitical shocks and capable of crowding in private capital at scale.

Key Topics

• Science-Driven Venture Capital and Deep-Tech Ecosystems
  Building VC models to scale science-based entrepreneurship in LMICs supported by guarantees, co-investment, and regulatory innovation.
• Blended Finance and Philanthropy as Catalysts
  Using concessional capital and early-stage risk absorption to crowd in private investment for STI infrastructure.
• MDBs’ Catalytic Role and Capital Leverage
  How MDBs can partner with banks and investors to deploy large-scale STI funds through balance sheet optimisation and innovative fund structures.
• Private Credit and Significant Risk Transfer (SRT)
  Freeing up capital and de-risking for long-term STI investment through private credit strategies and synthetic securitisation.
• Carbon Finance for Science Infrastructure
  Turning natural capital into investable revenue streams using AI-powered MRV and carbon-backed securities.

Confirmed Speakers

Co-Chair: Declan Kirrane

Chair and Managing Director, United Nations General Assembly (UNAG80) Science Summit; Managing Director, Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Platform (AERAP), Managing Director, ISC

Co-Chair: Dr Raúl C. Rosales

Senior Executive Fellow, Imperial College Business School

Ana Palacio

Former Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain and Former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank Group. Visiting Professor at Georgetown University

Manfred Schepers

Chief Executive Officer, ILX Fund

Manuel Fuertes

Chief Executive Officer, Kiatt Group

Matt Robinson

 Head of Private Capital Mobilisation, British International Investment

Nasser Alkahtani

Executive Director, The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND)

Thandi Mgwabi

Group Executive: Business Advancement, National Research Foundation of South Africa

Komal Sahu

Chief of Sustainable Finance, AVPN

Francis Malige

Managing Director, Head of Financial Institutions Business Group at EBRD

Agenda

14:30 – 14:45                 Opening Remarks 

Chair: Declan Kirrane, Chair and Managing Director,  Science Summit; Managing Director, Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Platform (AERAP), Managing Director, ISC

Co-Chair: Dr Raúl C. Rosales Senior Executive Fellow, Imperial College Business School

C0-Chair Eudy Mbuza, Department of Science, Technology, Innovation, Senior Science and Innovation Representative, Brussels

Ana Palacio Former Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain and Former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank Group. Visiting Professor at Georgetown University

Dr Michael Makanga, Executive Director, Global Health EDCTP3 EU Joint Undertaking

14:45 – 15:10                  Reimagining Capital for Global Challenges 

Manfred Schepers Chief Executive Officer, ILX Fund

Manuel Fuertes Chief Executive Officer, Kiatt Group

Matt Robinson  Head of Private Capital Mobilisation, British International Investment

Nasser Alkahtani, Executive Director, The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND)

15:10 – 15:25                  Policy and Regulatory Innovation and Financial Instruments 

Ntobeko Ntusi, President and CEO, Medical Research Council, South Africa

Komal Sahu, Chief of Sustainable Finance, AVPN

Francis Malige, Managing Director, Head of Financial Institutions Business Group at EBRD

15:25 – 15:40                 A Global South Perspective 

Robert Shaku, CFO, Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, South Africa

Bishen Singh, CFO: National Research Foundation, South Africa

Ismail Abdoola, CFO and acting CEO, Technology Innovation Agency, South Africa

15:40 – 16:10                 Discussants 

Adrià Junyent-Ferré, Associate Professor in Power Electronics, Imperial College, London

Faith Osier Chair in Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology, Imperial College, London

Marisa Miraldo Professor of Health Economics, Imperial College, London

Kurt Zatloukal Medical University, Graz, Austria

16:10 – 16:25                 Q&A

16:25 – 16:30                 Closing Reflections and Next Steps 

Thandi Mgwabi Group Executive: Business Development, National Research Foundation of South Africa

Chair: Declan Kirrane, Chair and Managing Director, Science Summit; Managing Director, Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Platform (AERAP), Managing Director, ISC

Co-Chair: Dr Raúl C. Rosales Senior Executive Fellow, Imperial College Business School

C0-Chair Eudy Mbuza, Department of Science, Technology, Innovation, Senior Science and Innovation Representative, Brussels

Registration

Objectives and Expected Outcomes

• Deliver a concise, actionable set of policy recommendations for FfD4 negotiators on integrating STI into development finance strategies.
• Launch a group toward a multi-stakeholder initiative on STI finance, to be announced at the 2026 UN Pact for the Future Summit.
• Serve as a platform to catalyse partnerships between financial institutions, innovation agencies, DFIs, MDBs and governments.
• Mobilise capital markets through market-based mechanisms to deliver long-term value, resilience, and inclusive growth.
• Reposition STI investments as a fundamental of development finance in the Global South

Follow-Up

Outcomes from this session will be presented to EU institutions in Brussels on 14 October 2025 as part of ongoing advocacy to align UN, EU, and global STI financing strategies. Further presentations are expected at the UN Summit of the Future and to relevant legislative bodies, including the U.S. House of Representatives, in early 2026.