Can private finance ever work for the world’s poorest?

We hear, again and again, that the amount of money needed to eradicate global poverty can only come from “incentivising” the private sector to invest in developing countries.

The UK government has made this assumption explicit in its development strategies and public declarations, mostly recently in leaked comments by Penny Mordaunt, who said that that 0.7% aid commitment is “unsustainable”.

As the UK government move towards higher investment in Africa, more and more aid is being delivered through the private sector. What do these trends mean for the poorest countries? And how can we as NGOs break through the political rhetoric of a “Global Britain” to practically and positively engage with the privatisation agenda?

We’ve brought together a range of sector experts to interrogate whether private finance can ever really work for the world’s poorest. Bond’s Kate Oliver chats to Liz May, head of policy and advocacy at Traidcraft Exchange, Toby Quantrill, global lead on economic justice at Christian Aid, and Jesse Griffiths from the Overseas Development Institute.

Listen to the podcast below, on Apple podcasts or on your Android player.