Finance en Commun 2025 : a Summit to address humanitarian urgency
Co-organized by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD), the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS) 2025 will be held from February 26 to 28, 2025, in Cape Town, South Africa, bringing together over 2,000 change-makers to promote a greener and more inclusive future. In the context of a global humanitarian crisis and a reduction in international funding, the summit will explore possible solutions to the decline in aid.
The global humanitarian landscape is facing an unprecedented crisis in 2025, exacerbated by the political decisions of major powers and the intensification of conflicts and climate-related disasters. The withdrawal of U.S. aid under the Trump administration has severely impacted the funding of humanitarian programs, leaving millions of people in even more precarious situations. According to the latest United Nations estimates, over 300 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, a sharp increase compared to previous years. « We cannot allow the most vulnerable to pay the price of geopolitical tensions. It is imperative that development and humanitarian actors work together to find sustainable solutions, » said Rémi Rioux, director general of the French Development Agency (AFD), in a recent interview with France 24. « Funding must be rethought and adapted to meet the growing needs. »
In this context, development funding institutions are trying to fill this gap by strengthening their actions. International mobilization is more necessary than ever, as food, health, and climate crises multiply worldwide. In the face of this challenge, Rémi Rioux emphasizes the importance of collective engagement: « Funding must be rethought and adapted to meet the growing needs. Cooperation between public and private institutions is essential to provide concrete and effective responses. »
With the drastic decline in U.S. funding, many aid programs are at risk of being interrupted, jeopardizing the survival of millions of people. Development actors are therefore calling for urgent awareness to prevent a worsening of the global humanitarian crisis.
Finance in Common 2025: A summit to rethink funding
It is in this context that the Finance in Common (FiCS) summit is held, an international meeting bringing together public development banks, financial institutions, international organizations, and private sector actors. The goal of this event is to foster stronger collaboration among the various stakeholders to mobilize sustainable funding and better respond to humanitarian and climate challenges.
The summit will highlight innovative solutions and funding mechanisms tailored to current challenges, relying on concrete commitments for effective collective action.
Concrete solutions to address global challenges
Under the theme « Promoting Infrastructure and Funding for Just and Sustainable Growth, » FiCS 2025 will focus on concrete solutions to address global challenges. Participants will discuss issues such as infrastructure financing, digital transformation, inclusive finance, as well as financial architecture reforms and financial stability.
The three main pillars of the summit include: Infrastructure for Climate Action, focusing on adaptation and resilience in the face of growing climate challenges; Digital Transformation, to accelerate inclusion and competitiveness; Inclusive Finance, to ensure sustainable economic growth, particularly in Africa.
This summit, which aims to be a platform for solutions, must embody the commitment of public development banks and their partners to provide responses to global challenges.
A new dimension: Sport, art, and culture for sustainable development
For the first time, the FiCS program will include a section dedicated to sport, art, and culture, recognizing their potential to address global challenges. This sector will be explored as a powerful lever to promote inclusive and sustainable growth, supporting initiatives that combine social impact and economic potential.
FiCS 2025 will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC1), an iconic venue for this global event, which will highlight the joint efforts of Africa and Asia to stimulate investments in sustainable and inclusive infrastructure.
We must reinvent financial instruments to address the challenges of climate change and increasing inequalities
At this summit, world leaders, public development banks, the private sector, and philanthropies will gather to discuss the future of global finance and the need to strengthen partnerships to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). AFD, in particular, advocates for a redirection of global financial flows toward a greener, more solidary, and resilient economy in the face of climate and social crises.
Rémy Rioux, director general of AFD, emphasized the importance of solidarity and sustainable investment, calling for increased mobilization of private actors alongside public funding to address urgent challenges. « We must reinvent financial instruments to address the challenges of climate change and increasing inequalities, » he stated.
Finance in Common: A global coalition for a sustainable future
As a reminder, Finance in Common is a global network of public development banks (PDBs), aiming to align financial flows with the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement. The goal is to strengthen partnerships between PDBs to accelerate convergence toward shared standards, support the banks’ sustainability commitments, and give them greater visibility in international forums.
This summit should mark an important step in the evolution of the global financial architecture, seeking to mobilize the resources necessary to achieve the SDGs and ensure a more equitable future for all.
For more information : https://financeincommon.org/summit
