Creating investable opportunities for business in underdeveloped markets will be even more vital as the world looks toward economic recovery in a post-COVID-19 world.

Through frank conversations with leaders at the intersection of business and global development, we’ll explore how companies can create sustainable jobs that promote progress on the Sustainable Development Goals — even where informality persists. We’ll also hear what companies are doing to drive smart business growth while building resilience in markets that need investment to reverse pandemic declines.

We are living through a time of crisis and transformation. Governments around the world are struggling to keep economies afloat while preventing the spread of COVID-19. Citizen-led movements are demanding greater accountability around issues of structural racism, police violence, and corruption. The pandemic has lent new urgency to calls for universal health coverage, social protection, and financial inclusion — while the increasing impacts of climate change drive growing movements for just and equitable economies and societies.

At this pivotal moment, hear from those who are marshaling global energy to tell new stories about what might be possible and building people-powered movements for change.

COVID-19 has highlighted an important challenge for the development sector: the need to prioritize the collection and use of data to support decision making and response. Data both informs and transforms the way that aid is delivered. Satellite and mobile data can inform policy and help us reach underserved populations. Being data-driven is no longer a question of if, but of how. Now is the time to leverage the transition to a greater digital approach by investing in the necessary data and systems.

Together, we’ll dig into ways to operationalize new data tools and to partner effectively – especially with tech companies – to achieve impact. We’ll also discuss the barriers that exist – technically and culturally – to communicating data and how to overcome them with an open approach.

While the international development industry has borrowed innovation practices from Silicon Valley, these projects often fail to make the transition from pilots to impact at scale. The devastating effect of COVID-19 requires the sector to move beyond the buzzwords to ensure that innovation accelerates progress on the SDGs.

What are the best practices for scaling development innovation, and how can we move from hype to discipline across the sector?

The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated development finance challenges, with estimates from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggesting a significant increase in the SDG financing gap as a result. The crisis has brought rising debt burdens to the fore, with particular pressure on low-income countries. Meanwhile, funding from donors appears to be ebbing, as they face their own challenges at home. Development finance institutions — from the bilateral and multilateral to the local — are rising in influence, trying to define their role and mobilize the private sector.