CPI experts will participate in several events during the 5th Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), co-hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

*All times in SAST

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Global Selection Meeting

📅 Feb 24 | 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM
📅 Feb 25 | 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM

The Global Selection Meeting is a key event in the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance’s annual cycle, where Lab members get together to vote on and select the innovative ideas that will become part of the new class.

In 2025, the Lab will develop nine innovative solutions to overcome climate investment barriers in emerging markets, with a special focus on:

• Themes: Adaptation, mitigation, and sustainable food and agriculture systems. Each sector will select one idea.
• Regions: Brazil, Southern and East Africa, India, the Philippines, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Each region will select one idea, except for Latin America and the Caribbean, which will select two.

For the first time, this event will be hosted in an emerging market, marking a significant milestone for the Lab. Bringing the Global Membership to South Africa offers a unique opportunity to connect with the regional panel, the local investor network, and Lab alumni.

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Addressing the Urban Climate Finance gap: Partnering for Change

📅 Feb 26 | 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

As cities and local governments worldwide bear the brunt of climate impacts, their role in tackling the climate crisis has never been more critical. However, the urban climate finance gap remains vast, with an estimated USD 800 billion needed by 2030 to accelerate climate action at the local level.

This FiCS session, featuring CCFLA’s Priscilla Negreiros, will build on the Urban Climate Finance Roundtable at COP29, ensuring urban climate finance remains high on the global agenda toward COP30. The discussion will bring together key stakeholders—including cities, Public Development Banks (PDBs) at all levels (multilateral, regional, national, and sub-national), UN agencies, and NGOs—to address:

• The role of effective partnerships, learning from successful collaboration models, overcoming challenges, and defining a joint action plan to mobilize finance.
• Strategies and instruments for scaling urban climate finance, exploring diverse funding solutions, including innovative mechanisms to unlock finance for cities.

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Finance in Common Innovation Lab 

📅 Feb 27 | 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

This discussion will highlight the progress, contributions, and strategic direction of the FiCS Lab, with a focus on its four working groups and the FiCS Lab Incubator.

The mission of the FiCS Lab is to be a platform that fosters innovation and collaboration among PDBs in mobilizing private capital and expanding climate finance, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies.

This session will bring together FiCS, CPI, and IDB leadership, working group co-chairs, and selected Lab proponents to:

• Showcase Key Findings – Insights from the Lab’s four working groups, which have identified challenges faced by Public Development Banks (PDBs), shared best practices, and developed knowledge products to support climate finance implementation.
• Highlight the Power of Collaboration – Demonstrating how the FiCS Lab enables PDBs and National Development Banks (NDBs) to engage with cutting-edge financial solutions and expand their role in climate action.
• Announce the FiCS Lab Incubator Selections – A key moment to unveil the selected proposals from PDBs, showcasing innovative financial mechanisms that will receive dedicated technical support from the Lab.

This session is an opportunity for PDBs, development finance leaders, and climate finance practitioners to engage with the FiCS Lab’s mission and explore how collaborative action can accelerate climate finance innovation.

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Friends of CPI Networking Event

📅 Feb 27 | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

A networking event to celebrate the opening of CPI’s Cape Town office. Please email caroline.dreyer@cpiglobal.org if you are interested in attending.

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How can Green Banks Unlock Climate Finance? 

📅 Feb 28 | 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM

This FiCS session, hosted by CPI and the Bezos Earth Fund, will explore the transformative role of Green Banks in mobilizing climate finance, particularly in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs), where financial gaps for sustainable development remain significant. As part of the Summit’s emphasis on innovative climate financing, this event underscores Green Banks as pivotal institutions capable of catalyzing climate investment at scale and crowding in private capital. 

The aim of this session is to:

• Facilitate an interactive discussion among climate finance experts, banking leaders, and international organizations on the role of Green Banks in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).
• Share initial findings from CPI’s global survey and closed-door discussions with experts from both developed and developing countries, highlighting key insights on how Green Banks can contribute to scaling climate finance.
• Gather expert perspectives on addressing challenges related to establishing Green Banks and integrating green finance principles into traditional financial institutions.

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