Financing Industries for Development.

 

Industry is the backbone of economic progress and wealth creation. It creates jobs, drives innovation and strengthens resilience. For developing countries, industrialization is one of the most reliable ways to reduce poverty and build a lasting foundation for a more prosperous future. Investing now in sustainable industrialization is the smartest choice amid shrinking official development assistance worldwide. Industry is the key to generating income for workers and for businesses, as well as for the public sector through tax revenues. This in turn enables investments in broader societal development, from education and healthcare to infrastructure, thereby reducing aid dependency in the long term. But today, financing for industrial development is endangered. Many countries are reducing development assistance as global crises put pressure on public budgets. However, new opportunities are also opening up. Domestic resources, foreign investment, remittances, and blended finance can all help countries finance their own industrial transformation. UNIDO works with governments, international partners, local and international financial institutions and the private sector to unlock these opportunities. Our many projects across the globe as well as our country and regional programmes show how industrial strategies can be linked to investment promotion, bringing together the public and private sectors. With the right policies, tools, financial mechanisms and partnerships, countries can harness industrial development as a powerful engine of sustainable growth. This report highlights the changing landscape of finance for developing the future of industry. It calls for an expanded approach combining both domestic and international efforts, mobilizing private and public resources, and which places industry at the center of economic development strategies. Only by investing in industry today can we build prosperity, resilience and sustainability for tomorrow.

Gerd Müller, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Read the full publication Financing Industries for Development: Unlocking Private, Public, andBlended Investment in a New Aid Era!