A flagship UK government programme, Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures (MOBILIST) supports investment solutions that help deliver the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and the climate transition. MOBILIST competitively sources and selects dedicated emerging and frontier market investment products. Our team supports these products to list on global and local public exchanges. By demonstrating products’ commercial viability, we build momentum for developing country investment opportunities at scale.
MOBILISING CAPITAL TO
MEET THE GLOBAL GOALS
MOBILIST identifies blockages impeding viable products from listing. We use equity capital, technical assistance and the UK government’s backing to address barriers and create the environment needed for products to list on public markets and stock exchanges. MOBILIST is guided by the core principles of scalability, replicability, commercial viability, additionality and feasibility. We look to bring products to market that are attractive to mainstream investors and that, at the same time, enable investors and investees to help tackle the pressing social, economic and environmental challenges facing our world.
We bring the development, investment and government communities together to unleash the potential of public markets. MOBILIST works with issuers, asset owners, asset managers and their intermediaries to act as a bridge: to each other, policymakers, new market participants and investors.
We don’t just invest capital and expertise. We conduct original research to guide and validate our work as well as share lessons and experiences. Our market-driven data and research is publicly available and designed to inform the investment and policy communities.
THE FINANCING GAP IS GETTING WORSE
The SDG financing gap in developing countries is not improving. Instead, it has risen to $4 trillion per year – or 60% to 70% higher than estimated in 2014.
This means more than $30 trillion of new investment is needed to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
To meet development goals and finance the climate transition, the public and private sectors must collaborate closely and innovate to mobilise capital. Together, we must use a broad range of tools and mechanisms to create investment opportunities that align with the Global Goals.
Institutional investors hold over $130 trillion in assets globally. Developing new pathways for these assets to unlock new profitable opportunities in emerging and developing markets could direct capital where it is needed most and help fill the SDG financing gap.
86%
of the world's population lived in EMDEs in 2023.1
59%
of the world's total GDP was produced in EMDEs in 2023.2
3.2%
Between 3.2% and 3.4% of the world's total pension assets are invested in emerging economies.3
‘Emerging’ and developing economies contribute significantly to global growth. Rapid urbanisation and growing human capital across these markets present significant investment opportunities in commodities, education, energy, health, infrastructure, logistics, natural capital and real estate.
Despite impressive economic growth and flourishing assets in many developing economies, these markets are underrepresented on public exchanges and within institutional investment portfolios. For example, across leading international financial centres, including London, there are relatively few dedicated African and limited ‘developing’ Asian listed investment opportunities.
Comprising 90% of most large-scale institutional portfolios, listed products dominate the finance universe for institutional and retail investors alike. Transparent, cost-effective and open, listed products provide a powerful source of capital for global development and the climate transition.
WHAT WE DO
MOBILIST Investments
Unlocking the development potential of listed products
Through the MOBILIST programme, the UK government invests equity capital and helps address technical barriers to listing
MOBILIST Research
Building sustainable emerging and frontier market finance ecosystems
MOBILIST produces evidence to guide emerging and frontier market investment
WE WORK WITH
Fund managers
Asset owners
Asset managers
Policymakers
Issuers and brokers
Development finance institution professionals
Stock exchange members
THE UK GOVERNMENT’S FOREIGN, COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
MOBILIST is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) flagship public market mobilisation programme and receives the full support of the UK government.
Through MOBILIST, the FCDO seeks to demonstrate that listed products can deliver the large-scale institutional flow of capital to help finance the Sustainable Development Goals and the climate transition.
Alongside British International Investments and the Private Infrastructure Development Group, MOBILIST is a part of the UK’s British Investment Partnerships toolkit.
MOBILIST has been endorsed as a ‘Market-Making Initiative’ by Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), a practitioner-led, global coalition of financial sector institutions and their industry alliances working together to enable the world’s transition to a net-zero economy. GFANZ is Co-Chaired by Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, and Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and Race to Zero Ambassador.
Partners
Chemonics International is one of the world’s leading partners in international development. Working in over 80 developing countries around the world, Chemonics has a unique understanding of the financial landscapes of emerging and frontier market economies and mechanisms.
Eighteen East seeks to put its partners’ expertise and capital markets experience towards connecting impact investing with the financial markets to unlock additional pools of capital and improve living standards across developing countries.
Lion’s Head Global Partners is a leading investment banking and asset management firm with a deep and proven understanding of emerging and frontier markets. We advise a diverse client base, including sovereigns, corporates, development finance institutions, and foundations across key sectors, including renewable energy, infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, financial services, and sustainable finance. With offices in London, Nairobi, Lagos, New York, Amsterdam, and Dubai, we are locally and globally placed to provide best in class advice and access to global investors across markets.
Palladium is a global firm that works with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. We connect clients with the capital they need to finance their growth. Our in-depth knowledge of local markets, extensive experience in corporate finance and access to global investor networks help clients grow, prosper, and contribute to emerging economies in effective and socially responsive ways.