Hosted in Rome by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the second edition of the Finance in Common Summit brought together for the second time the whole community of Public Development Banks and stakeholders on 19 and 20 October. The event covered a range of pressing development issues and served as a global platform to share cutting-edge research and launch joint initiatives.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, where GDP contracted by 7% in part due to the Covid pandemic, Public Development Banks stepped in to channel some $90 billion in credit. PDBs play a major role at the financial and economic levels. The world’s first-ever Finance In Common Summit in Paris last year demonstrated that greater collaboration among PDBs could help not only reorient financial flows, but also tackle major development issues. They signed a Joint Declaration of Public Development Banks of the World last November, and designed a roadmap for action. One year on, how much have they achieved? We examine 15 areas of action, from climate resilience and water finance, to the private sector in Africa.

More than 500 Public Development Banks are expected to convene for the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), from 19 to 21 October in Rome and online, and hosted by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). After the summit’s inaugural launch in Paris last year, PDBs will meet for the second time to reinforce their commitment to sustainable development and to coping with the fallout from climate change.

The first Finance in Common Summit on November 9 to 12, was hosted remotely from Paris by Agence Française de Développement. The mainly virtual gathering brought together public development banks to discuss the key issues of the 2030 Agenda and to initiate a new coalition. Here are 10 highlights of this unprecedented event.

AFD’s 14th International Development Research Conference, and the Finance in Common Summit were the occasion for an international network of researchers to offer initial recommendations for boosting the potential of public development banks, and for supporting structural transformations, which help pave the way to a fairer and more sustainable global economy.

During last week's Finance in Common summit, one digital gathering looked to Africa in particular. At the event, “Africa: Towards a Sustainable Recovery for the Private Sector”, organized by EDFI (European Development Financial Institutions) , high-level players announced they will mobilize at least $4 billion for African small and medium-sized enterprises by the end of 2021.

Faced with the Covid-19 crisis, how can we ensure that short-term stimulus packages won’t compromise long-term trajectories toward a low-carbon, inclusive, and sustainable economy? And what role can development banks play in contributing to a fair and sustainable recovery? Researchers, economists and representatives of development banks gathered for an online conference organized in Paris on November 9 and 10. Together, they shared their analyses and recommendations on the challenges ahead.

The following joint declaration was signed at the Finance in Common Summit in Paris on November 12, 2020.

Public development banks (PDBs) are both peer institutions and development partners for AFD and the two share a long history. Here is a brief timeline of the milestones of their common destiny.

As part of the Paris Peace Forum and the Finance in Common Summit being held in early November, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) will present the program of the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA). This initiative launched by the European Union brings together 237 cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Its goal: to identify concrete solutions for low-carbon development, resilient to the effects of climate change.