What role can the private sector play in building lasting peace? Investing for Peace took part in an official side event during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville on Thursday, 3 July 2025, from 10:30 to 12:00.
Titled “Mobilizing Innovative Private Finance for Peace”, the event explored emerging strategies to engage the local private sector in fragile and conflict-affected settings — turning finance into a catalyst for resilience and peace. Speakers from the public and private sectors presented practical solutions for financing peace through innovative investment models, emphasising approaches that deliver both social impact and financial returns in fragile contexts.
The discussion was co-hosted by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations, the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and Interpeace.
Speakers included:
- Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, United Nations
- Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary, UNCDF
- Pierre Van Hoeylandt, Senior Adviser on Peace Finance, German Federal Foreign Office
- Zane Dangor, Director-General, Department of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
- Itonde Kakoma, President and CEO, Interpeace
- David Kuijper, General Manager, EDFI
- Jonathan Bellish, CEO, Shuraako Capital
- Hodane Osman, Governor, Somalia Development Bank