Episode 8

#8 From Billion to Billions: A conversation with Joan Larrea

Those in the sustainable development space know that every year, the gap between SDG financing needs and available capital runs in the trillions--$2 trillion according to a conservative estimate. At the same time, the conversations surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) often includes the phrase "billions to trillions"--representing the point that in order to achieve the SDG agenda, finance flows for sustainable development projects have to grow exponentially…and fast. But with just 10 years to achieve this agenda, those finance flows are instead moving from the billions to the...billions. 

For Episode 8 of Capital Musings, we sat down with Joan M. Larrea, CEO of the global blended finance network Convergence, to hear her insights on the current state of SDG finance, what blended finance can do to improve the status quo, and what it cannot do.  

Capital Musings is a production of the Partnerships, Policy and Communications unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the UN Web TV.

Producers: Fernando Zarauz, Carlos Macias

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Capital Musings
Capital Musings is the Podcast show of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

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United Nations Capital Development Fund

The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 45 least developed countries (LDCs).

UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

UNCDF pursues innovative financing solutions through: (1) financial inclusion, which expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the local economy, while also providing differentiated products for women and men so they can climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; (2) local development finance, which shows how fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion, women’s economic empowerment, climate adaptation, and sustainable development; and (3) a least developed countries investment platform that deploys a tailored set of financial instruments to a growing pipeline of impactful projects in the “missing middle.’’