On 23 May 2022, the World Investment for Development Alliance (WIDA) was launched during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, at an affiliate session entitled “Driving Development with Investment Alliances” organized by WAIPA and UNCTAD on behalf of the WIDA founding organizations. The session included participation from representatives of the founding organizations as well as from governments, businesses and other actors present at the Annual Meeting and interested in the topic of sustainable investment.  

Key Takeaways

• WIDA was launched to create a mechanism for collaboration on international investment, especially focused on sustainable investment, through a platform for to facilitate such collaboration among organizations, building on a foundation of earlier discussions.
• This is the first time leading organizations from the investment for development community have come together in this way. The ten founding organizations include: the Academy of International Business (AIB), the African Union Commission (AUC), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), the World Bank Group (WBG), and the World Economic Forum. Organizations with capacity and activities related to investment for development are welcome to join.
• The launch event consisted of two parts: an opening session and a panel discussion. The opening session was moderated by James Zhan, Director of the UNCTAD Division on Investment and Enterprise. James Zhan made an introduction of WIDA, i.e., its rationale, objective, principles and functions. The Secretary General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, and Mokgweetsi Masisi,  President of Botswana (read by Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme, Ambassador  of Botswana to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva) delivered keynote speeches, followed by the presentation of the video statements of founding organizations, a formal announcement, and the release of a shared think piece.
• The panel discussion was moderated by Matthew Stephenson, Head of Investment Policy and Practice at the World Economic Forum. The panelists included Ismail Ersahin, CEO (a.i.) of WAIPA, Jonathan Wong, Chief of Technology and Innovation of ESCAP, Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner, Industrial Development and Director, Industries and Commerce of the Government of Karnataka in India, and Sithembile Ntombela maNdaba, CEO (a.i.) of Brand South Africa. The discussion focused on how public private partnership can help WIDA drive sustainable development, through sharing of experiences and ideas such as improving social infrastructure and R&D, bringing together IPAs for creating enabling ecosystem for global investors, or creating ecosystem for inclusive business and women enterprises, through FinTech and Innovative finance solutions.

Possible Next Steps

• Create working groups for key themes identified as areas of mutual interest for collaboration, and hold regular calls. The next call is scheduled for 30 June 2022.
• Develop projects to facilitate investment, called ‘Enable Action on Sustainable Investment’ or EASI projects. Botswana expressed interest in the role of WIDA to develop activities in that direction, which could help Botswana with the “best possible strategies to attract and incentivize sustainable development.”