- Non-traditional private sector actors are willing to engage in global development agendas, but lack clear entry points. Fintechs, insurers, impact investors and cooperatives are motivated to contribute to Financing for Development discussions, yet they require trusted intermediaries to connect them with government and multilateral spaces. - Ecosystem building is a prerequisite for meaningful private sector engagement. Individual consultations are insufficient. Collective sensemaking and ecosystem approaches enable alignment across actors with different incentives, languages and levels of maturity. - UNDP’s neutrality and convening power are critical enablers of trust. Participants consistently highlighted that UNDP’s role as a neutral facilitator allowed for open, high-level and honest dialogue that would not have occurred otherwise. - Shared narratives increase the quality and legitimacy of policy influence. Co-created inputs carry more weight than isolated positions. The collective narrative strengthened Colombia’s voice in global FfD discussions. - Colombia has strong potential to position itself as a regional reference on innovative finance for development. The diversity and sophistication of non-traditional financial actors provides a solid foundation for leadership on blended finance, inclusive insurance and impact innovation.

The handover focused on sustaining the ecosystem and its influence, rather than transferring ownership to a single institution. The outputs of the Action Learning Plan were embedded into UNDP Colombia’s strategic positioning for the Sevilla Conference and shared with both government counterparts and participating private actors. Key elements of the handover included: Consolidation of the co-created narrative into a formal report used for advocacy and dialogue in Sevilla. Alignment with UNDP Colombia’s broader Financing for Development agenda. Identification of early champions to maintain momentum beyond the conference. The Accelerator Lab remains positioned as a neutral facilitator and ecosystem orchestrator, supporting continuity rather than execution ownership.

The challenge required understanding alignment, readiness and collective intent, rather than measuring financial flows or individual performance. Available data on Financing for Development is largely quantitative and transactional, and does not capture how different private sector actors perceive global agendas, relate to government counterparts, or converge around shared priorities. We therefore prioritized qualitative, process-based and relational data, including: Insights emerging from iterative multi-actor dialogues. Reflections and feedback from participants throughout the co-creation cycles. Patterns of convergence across recommendations and narratives. Communications reach and engagement data to understand external resonance. These data types addressed critical gaps related to trust-building, ecosystem dynamics, narrative alignment and feasibility of collective action—dimensions that are largely absent from traditional policy or financial datasets but are essential for effective ecosystem building and strategic policy influence.

The frontier challenge was not technical or transactional, but systemic and relational in nature. It involved aligning actors with different incentives, levels of influence, institutional logics and languages around a global agenda that traditionally excludes non-conventional private sector voices. Conventional analytical or consultative approaches would not have revealed these dynamics. Innovation methods were necessary to make the invisible visible. Sensemaking and systems thinking helped unpack how public institutions, financial actors and global agendas interact, where misalignments occur, and why previous engagement efforts remained fragmented. Ecosystem mapping allowed us to visualize relationships, gaps and complementarities across actors that do not usually converge. Facilitation and guided co-creation created a neutral and safe space where power asymmetries were reduced, enabling honest dialogue and the emergence of shared priorities. Rather than collecting isolated opinions, these methods transformed dispersed perspectives into a coherent system-level understanding and a collective narrative. Together, the innovation methods enabled us to move from fragmented inputs to system-level insight, identifying leverage points for policy influence, ecosystem activation and sustained engagement in the Financing for Development agenda—outcomes that would not have been possible through traditional approaches.

The combination was decisive. Innovation methods created structure and safety; new forms of qualitative data captured trust and convergence; and unusual partners brought perspectives absent from traditional development dialogues. Together, this interplay enabled: The emergence of a shared narrative rather than competing positions. Mutual learning between government and non-traditional private actors. The positioning of UNDP as a platform for long-term ecosystem building, not just event-based engagement. These insights—and the level of alignment achieved—would not have been possible through standard consultations or bilateral engagement alone.

Thank you!