The fifth edition of the Finance in Common System (FiCS1) convened in Cape Town, South Africa, co-hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), with the support from Agence française de développement (AFD) and other key global and regional institutions2. It took place for the first time alongside the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. Participants expressed their support to the G20 work and thanked the authorities of South Africa for the smooth organization, excellent hospitality.
The 5th edition brought together about 2000 delegates over three days, including half from the public development banks (PDBs) ecosystem as well as governments, international organizations, regulators, private sector, investors, credit rating agencies, philanthropy, civil society, think tanks and academia. The vibrant agenda included 45 high level sessions gathering almost 300 speakers, numerous side-meetings, networking and business pitching opportunities, as well as an Arena, a specific space recognizing the transformative role of sport, arts and culture for development.
Under the overarching theme, “Fostering Infrastructure and Finance for Just and Sustainable Growth”, the Summit was an occasion to launch a consultation on a PDBs Reference Book summarizing the results of the FiCS Global Research Network3, agree on a collective contribution to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), take stock of the work of the 13 FiCS coalitions, and discuss financial transformation and innovation to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2025 edition of the PDB&DFI database was also unveiled, a unique and comprehensive inventory of 536 PDBs and DFIs worldwide, detailing their mandates, 23 tn$ of assets, and geographic presence. The Cape Town Summit highlighted the need to seize the opportunities and manage risks associated to relevant emerging issues, such as the possible contribution of PDBs for nutrition, AI, the care economy, sport and cultural industries.