‘Amalgamated Capital’ to finance Sustainable Development in Africa

With over one billion people still living in extreme poverty globally, accelerating progress towards the eradication of extreme poverty remains the primary goal of international development agencies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Seen from the outside, Africa is often characterized as a continent of civil conflict, of refugee and displaced populations of economic crisis. Yes, some of the bloodiest conflicts since the end of WW II have been among Africans. Yet amid this gruesome picture, Africa is rising as the fastest growing continent in terms of aggregate economic indicators. One of the main outcomes of the Rio20 Conference was the agreement by member States to launch a process to develop a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will build upon the MDGs and con¬verge with the post 2015 agenda. It was decided establish an inclusive and transparent intergovernmental process open to all stakeholders, with a view to developing global sustainable development goals to be agreed by the General Assembly. Africa has no choice but to meet the SDGs, using this opportunity.
Available data suggest that development aid has nearly multiplied by tenfold in less than a decade from around $3 billion in 2003 to $30 billion in 2012. Ultimately, sustainable development will require investments of all kinds: public and private, domestic and international. It requires making the best possible use of each public dollar, beginning with the $135 billion in ODA. Amalgamated (Blended) Finance is the strategic use of development finance and charity funds to mobilize private capital flows to emerging and frontier markets. Amalgamated (Blended) Finance enhances the impact of develop¬ment aid resources by using those funds to tap into private capital in global markets, offering promising a latent solution to close the SDG funding disparity.
See the lecture here or http://www.academia.edu/14067768/_Amalgamated_Blended_Capital_to_finance_Sustainable_and_Inclusive_Growth_and_Development_in_Africa_-_Panelist_lecture_and_keynote_address_background_notes