Seville, July 2, 2025
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), held in Seville from June 30 to July 3, has been a turning point in the global conversation on how to finance sustainable development in a world marked by persistent inequalities, climate crisis and geopolitical tensions.
One of the most significant announcements of the event was the adoption of the Commitment of Sevillea document that establishes a new international financial architecture. This commitment seeks to close the USD 4 trillion annual gap needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and proposes structural reforms, such as mobilizing private capital through innovative financial instruments and improving international fiscal cooperation.
One aspect of this agreement that we can define as revolutionary is the commitment of countries to stop using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the main measure of economic progress, and to opt for new indicators that measure well-being, sustainability, resilience and equity. This shift responds to a growing consensus on the limitations of GDP to reflect the real development of societies and aligns public and private finance with the 2030 Agenda.
In this context, Latimpacto, the network of impact capital providers, whose focus is to promote a more strategic deployment of resources in Latin America and the Caribbean, has played a leading role, not only as an organization, but also as an articulator of a vibrant, innovative and expanding ecosystem.
Carolina Suárez, CEO of Latimpacto, participated thanks to the delegation that managed ANDE and played an active role in two key events. He moderated the panel "Opportunities from the Global South for the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda." of APC-Colombia and was a panelist in the UNDP event "De-risking the Future: Building Resilience through Sustainable Finance in Latin America and the Caribbean.".
A key announcement in this space was the upcoming creation of the LAC Facility for Financing Resilient Human Development by UNDP, a platform that will seek to mobilize investments for resilient human development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Latimpacto expects to become a strategic partner of this initiative, contributing its experience in regional articulation and in the use of catalytic capital to accelerate high-impact solutions.
During her speech, Carolina highlighted how the Latin American impact ecosystem is leading financial innovation from the local level: "De-risking is not only about complex financial structures, but also about trust, articulation and shared vision from the territories. At Latimpacto, we make this possible by mobilizing catalytic capital, generating contextualized knowledge, and building alliances between diverse actors".
Latin America: from receiver to solution designer
During the FFD4, various stakeholders emphasized that Latin America cannot be seen only as a vulnerable region, but as a laboratory of social and environmental innovation, with the capacity to propose replicable models for other regions of the global south.
The region is key to:
- Global food security (produces 1/6 of the planet's food).
- The global energy transition (with vast renewable resources and 7% of projected green hydrogen production).
- Climate resilience (home to 40% of the world's biodiversity and 46.5% of the world's forests).
In the words of Carolina Suárez, "For the future to be truly resilient, we must rely on local knowledge, mobilize patient capital and transform the perception of risk. Latin America not only has challenges, it has solutions".
In line with this transformative vision, one of the most recurrent themes in the Seville discussions was the call for innovation in financial mechanisms to achieve more inclusive and resilient sustainable development. While the need to mobilize greater financial resources was recognized, stakeholders agreed that the real tipping point lies in how to strengthen cooperation, collaboration and communication between different providers of capital.
In this sense, blended finance is emerging as one of the most promising tools to attract private investment in impactful projects. In fact, the most recent Convergence report reveals that, globally, 1,123 blended finance transactions worth USD 213 billion have already been registered. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Latimpacto has been instrumental in catalyzing this type of instruments, articulating strategic alliances, mobilizing flexible capital and promoting the adoption of mechanisms such as social impact bonds, natural capital restoration funds or results-based solutions.
Participation in FFD4 reaffirms that the work that each member of Latimpacto is doing is part of a broader global transformation. From Seville, the message is clear: Latin America has a voice, proposals and leadership in the construction of a new financial architecture focused on people and planet.
As a network, we must take advantage of this momentum to continue articulating initiatives, adding voices and mobilizing capital with purpose. Because the opportunity to redesign the future is not only global, it is also ours.
