The European External Investment Plan - Funding Sustainable Urban Development

Continued rapid urbanisation combined with severe infrastructure backlogs mean that mobilisation of finance for sustainable urbanisation will be one of the key challenges in the decades to come for a host of cities and partner countries.

The European Union launched in December 2017 the European External Investment Plan (EIP) that will assist in mobilising private and public funds for development in partner countries in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood. The EIP seeks through an initial allocation of EUR 4 billion to mobilise EUR 44 billion targeting a range of sectors through so-called investment windows. 'Sustainable Cities' has been identified as one of the first prioritised investment windows.

One of the innovative elements of the EIP is the setting of a new guarantee mechanism to mitigate investment risk in difficult environments such as fragile countries and fund socially attractive projects. Guarantees will be combined with technical assistance to project preparation and can further be enhanced through blended finance and other supportive measures. Structural dialogues will underpin wider improvements in frameworks for investment and finance.

This event will present the workings of the EIP and how it may best advance sustainable urbanisation. The design and putting in place of effective financing schemes require close cooperation among the different actors. A panel of core stakeholders will discuss and suggest what can be done to ensure the effective deployment and use of the innovative EIP. The panel, which will include international financing institutions, mayors, and representatives from local authorities, will address the following questions:

• What are the opportunities and constraints for mobilisation of private and public finance for sustainable urban development in developing countries

• What will be required from different stakeholders to effectively ensure that finance may be mobilised

• What can donors like the EU do to support these processes