UK’s flagship public markets programme receives Norwegian support

The UK's MOBILIST programme will receive NOK40 million (£2,9 million) of additional funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) over the next 3 years to help it unlock greater private capital investment in emerging markets through products publicly listed on stock exchanges.

The extension of support was marked at a signing ceremony at Norad's headquarters, where the countries highlighted their longstanding partnership to use public markets to mobilise private capital for development. Public markets represent a powerful but untapped opportunity for mobilising development finance to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) at the scale needed to address urgent challenges.

Created by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), MOBILIST is the only development finance programme that focuses on public markets. The programme provides catalytic equity investment toward initial public offerings (IPOs) and the development of new listed products, as well as research to drive policy reform. Norway has been supporting MOBILIST since 2022, previously providing NOK34 million in technical assistance funding.

Norad will also represent the Government of Norway as a co-implementor of the ‘EMDE Public Markets Coalition' launched by the UK and its partners at the UN's Fourth Financing for Development Conference (FFD4) in July this year. The Coalition will develop a Toolkit for MDBs, DFIs, and investors to support them in facilitating greater investment in EMDEs through public markets.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Jan Thompson CMG OBE, His Majesty's Ambassador to Norway, said: “The UK welcomes the extension of Norway's support to the MOBILIST programme. This partnership has been invaluable for increasing the impact MOBILIST has on emerging market businesses tackling climate and other development challenges. This collaboration demonstrates UK and Norway's continued strategic partnership and shared ambition for innovative approaches to development finance.”

Gunn Jorid Roset, Director General of Norad, said: “By extending our support to MOBILIST, Norway is underlining its belief in the power of capital markets to deliver development impact, and as a key component in solving development challenges. In strategic partnership with the UK, and through MOBILIST, we are bridging development finance and global capital markets — enabling more investors to become active partners in addressing the urgent needs of our time.”

Since its inception, MOBILIST has committed $141.5 million to eight investees and mobilised $349.8 million in private finance. The programme's investments include participating in the IPO of Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation, the second-largest solar energy producer in the Philippines and investing alongside Norway in the Green Guarantee Company (GGC), the world's first dedicated climate-focused guarantee company.

The funding from Norway enables MOBILIST to provide technical assistance to companies on their listing journey or to develop products offering insights or guidance to the wider market. This support is crucial in capital markets that are not fully developed and where companies have limited access to the technical support and advice needed to list.

MOBILIST's technical assistance projects have included providing support to develop a handbook to guide Mexican SMEs on raising funding through listed corporate debt, a framework for investing in gender bonds in emerging markets, and the first green bond to list on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

More about the EMDE Coalition:

More than $250 trillion in capital is channelled through listed stock and bond markets every year. This is roughly 20 times the value of all assets held in private markets and 100 times the total capital on the balance sheets of multilateral development banks (MDBs). However, only a fraction of capital invested through public markets is allocated to emerging markets, where development finance is most urgently needed. The EMDE Coalition, launched under the Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA) Initiative ‘Public Markets Mobilisation for Development', aims to turbocharge private capital mobilised through public markets to tackle key climate and development challenges.

Alongside the UK and Norway, the Coalition will be co-implemented by the African Development Bank and has received endorsement from the Governments of the Philippines, Switzerland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), British International Investment (BII) and the Centre for Development Finance Studies (CDFS).

About Norad

Norad is the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. Norad is an administrative and professional body for international aid, and shall assist in realizing the goals of Norwegian development policy. Norad manages grants for long-term aid in developing countries and for humanitarian aid, and provides aid and administrative advice to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Climate and Environment. www.norad.no

About MOBILIST

A flagship UK government programme, MOBILIST supports investment solutions that help deliver the climate transition and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing economies. MOBILIST focuses on mobilising institutional capital to spur new, scalable, and replicable financial products. MOBILIST invests capital, delivers technical assistance, conducts research and builds partnerships to catalyse investment in new listed products.  www.mobilistglobal.com