In its fourth issue of The Investment Promotion Agency Observer, UNCTAD examines to what extent outward investment agencies are facilitating foreign direct investment into the Sustainable Development Goals.

Outward investment agencies (OIAs) are institutions which carry out programmes to promote and service investment abroad. They include outward investment promotion agencies, development finance institutions, and investment guarantee schemes. For decades, OIAs have been catalyzing foreign direct investment to developing countries, often in challenging investment environments.

The Investment Promotion Agency Observer, No. 4 describes how partnerships between OIAs in home countries and inward investment promotion agencies in host countries could be beneficial to both institutions in the promotion and facilitation of SDG investment projects.

The document includes case studies from OIAs in the Netherlands, South Africa, and the United States of America.

Highlights

• Outward investment agencies (OIAs) promote and service investment abroad – they include outward investment promotion agencies, development finance institutions, and investment guarantee schemes.

• UNCTAD reviewed 101 OIAs and found that 45% indicate on their websites that they provide some level of services particularly for investing in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Nearly all regional and multilateral OIAs provide SDG-related services, against two out of five OIAs in developed economies and one out of five OIAs in developing and transition economies.

• UNCTAD’s 2015 Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development defines a paradigm shift in investment policymaking and calls for action to prioritise investment promotion in SDGs.

• Partnerships between OIAs and investment promotion agencies can encourage and facilitate investment in SDGs through information sharing, technical cooperation, and marketing of SDG investment opportunities.

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The IPA Observer series is prepared by the Investment Promotion Section of UNCTAD. Its objective is to show examples of strategic and operational best practice in investment promotion from agencies worldwide to practitioners and governments in developing countries, with a view to share lessons that are practical and replicable for their investment promotion agencies.