This year, global leaders will meet in Seville, Spain, to discuss how to reform and scale up international development finance. Communication needs to be on the to-do list!
In 2015, multilateral development banks promised to scale up finance “from billions to trillions”. A decade later, developing countries continue to face massive financing and investment gaps. The money is not flowing fast enough.
Later this year, global leaders will meet to discuss how to turn things around. The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD-4), to be held in Seville, Spain, aims to “reform financing at all levels”.
Existential questions and negative perceptions
Amid their technical discussions, FfD-4 participants will need to confront some existential questions. Why are investors still so hesitant about emerging markets? With geo-political tensions rising, is sustainable development still a global policy priority? Do people still trust international finance to deliver development results?
These questions suggest that international development finance has a perceptions problem.
- Many investors perceive developing country destinations as being too risky for their money.
- Many nongovernmental organisations question whether private profits can be compatible with sustainable development.
- Many commentators, especially from the Global South, have become highly critical about unkept international financing promises.
- Many political leaders seem to believe that goals other than sustainability have more public support. They have made severe cuts to global aid and climate spending.
Perception problems are communication challenges. If they want to mobilise trillions for sustainable development, development finance organisations will need to change people’s minds. They will need to communicate better with investors, with policy makers and with citizens around the world.
Five communications priorities for Seville
The OECD DevCom Network regularly brings together communicators from development banks and financial institutions to share insights on good communication practices. Based on our most recent exchanges with these experts, here are 5 communications priorities for all organisation who want to make FfD-4 a great success.
Priority #1: Break stereotypes
Emerging markets represent huge opportunities for investors. Yet, stereotypes abound, which increases risk perceptions and leads to lower credit ratings. Africa No Filter argues that stereotypes cost the continent up to USD 4.2 billion every year in inflated interest payments.
Development banks can help turn the negative narrative around and bridge the trust gap. They need to tell the stories of countries that have managed to improve their investment climates. They need to highlight the long-term positive impacts of their projects on both profits and social outcomes.
Priority #2: Get investors the data
Stereotypes circulate more easily in the absence of facts. The 2023 African Development Dynamics Report found that investors – and credit rating agencies – simply don’t have enough detailed data to conduct accurate risk assessments. For instance, they need more reliable and comparable information on economic conditions and regulatory environments.
Within banks and investment promotion agencies, finance and data experts are working hard to gather and improve the available information on investing in developing countries. Communicators can help these colleagues ensure that the data are available and easy to use for key investors.
Priority #3: Tell better impact stories
Investors, NGOs, policy makers, communities in client countries: all these audiences need to be reassured about impact, and research shows that greater transparency can help increase trust.
Most development banks already communicate financial data and technical numbers describing the reach and outcomes of their projects. Some of them have also found very innovative formats to communicate these numbers.
For many, the next step must be to link this authoritative data with engaging human stories. There are so many stories to tell, for example about job creation and entrepreneurship, and about social and environmental outcomes!
Check out some examples of storytelling by the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, European Investment Bank and IMF, and please share your own.
Priority #4: Master the comms tech
The communications industry is transforming rapidly and radically. Communicators need to stay up-to-speed on where people go for information (AI chatbots!?) and which content formats can engage them (short-form video!).
Every month seems to bring promising new tools that can help communicators better understand their audiences, measure impact and generate content more efficiently. New tools carry risks, financial costs, careful consideration and training, but development banks that don’t invest will get left behind.
Priority #5: Go local & build communities
The 20th-Century “broadcasting” model is out of date. Instead, development finance organisations need to invest in relationships. At headquarters this may mean engaging in more genuine dialogue with NGOs and being open to their criticism. In project countries, it may mean listening to community leaders and responding to concerns in non-technical language or local dialects.
Local messengers and local media are also important. Local leaders and micro-influencers are often trusted in communities and may tell a more convincing story than financial institutions themselves. Similarly, clients can be more relatable ambassadors for new projects.
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These are just 5 ideas. You can also have a look at our compilation of development bank communication profiles which includes recommendations, an overview of their social media presence and links to their homepages and results reports. If you have others, we’d love to hear from you at OECD DevCom! How do you think we can communicate better to mobilise more development finance?
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