Private capital must fill US$2.5 trillion gap in funding for social enterprises in Asia, says UNDP region chief
We need the participation of big institutional investors, pension funds and high net worth individuals, says Assistant Secretary General Xu Haoliang
Asia needs more private investment in projects that bring social and environmental benefits, plugging a US$2.5 trillion gap not filled by state funding, so the United Nations’ development goals can be met, according to a senior official at the global organisation.
According to Assistant Secretary General Xu Haoliang, the United Nations Development Programme is working with financial intermediaries and private investors in places such as Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and Hong Kong to push forward efforts that channel more private money into so-called impact investment projects.
“We need financial intermediary participation, but this is not enough. More importantly, we need people who control the money, including big institutional investors, pension funds and high net worth individuals,” he told the South China Morning Post in an interview.
Xu is also the director of UNDP’s Asia-Pacific bureau, which acts as a partner in impact measurement and management, without providing its own funds for projects.
In September, it partnered with Impress Capital, the wealth-management arm of Dhaka-based conglomerate Impress Group, to launch the Build Bangladesh-UNDP SDGs Impact Fund to finance social housing construction.