To plug the funding gap, the world needs redoubled efforts to mobilize investment at scale, foster enterprise competitiveness and redirect capital towards global public goods.
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Investment is more than capital flows and project pipelines. It’s a signal of where we’re placing our bets as a society.
That’s why the current global landscape is concerning.
Developing countries continue to face an estimated $4 trillion annual financing gap to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In 2024, international project finance fell sharply by 26%. Many economies, particularly in developing regions, saw capital stagnating or bypassing sectors like infrastructure, public services and industries crucial to driving job creation and inclusive growth.
Tackling these challenges head-on, the 16th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) will explore emerging directions for investment and entrepreneurship policy – two mutually reinforcing tools – to shore up capital for development.
Topical focus at UNCTAD16
The conference aims to chart a multilateral action agenda that aligns global investment and entrepreneurship policies with sustainable development objectives, with forward-looking strategies to enhance private and cross-border capital flows, foster enterprise competitiveness.
It’ll promote scalable solutions and partnerships that help direct investment to where it is most urgently needed. The discussions will centre on key areas including:
- Building enabling ecosystems to facilitate investment: What challenges developing and least developed countries need to overcome?
- Policy solutions to foster entrepreneurship and attract investment in areas critical to development, such as resilient supply chains, the energy transition and the digital economy.
- Harnessing digital tools – including digital government solutions – to facilitate business registration and streamline investment procedures.
- Lessons learned from successful global and regional initiatives.
UNCTAD16 will also inform policymaking ahead of major international conferences including the World Investment Forum 2026 and the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference, where investment facilitation will be high on the agenda.
More broadly, what UNCTAD is doing to help
UNCTAD is at the forefront of efforts to reform the international investment regime towards a more predictable and conducive climate.
Through research, capacity building and advisory services, UNCTAD helps countries enhance transparency, streamline procedures and leverage digital tools – such as single windows – to lower transaction costs and catalyze investments.
Its tailored investment policy reviews – objective assessments of a country’s or region’s legal, regulatory and institutional framework, provide action-oriented recommendations to boost investment and maximize its benefits.
For more insights on global foreign direct investment (FDI) activities and trends since 1990, see UNCTAD’s interactive tool “FDI Explorer”.
Key reports
For more data and analysis on the digital economy, sustainability and inclusive development, see:
- World Investment Report 2025: International investment in the digital economy
- Global economic fracturing and shifting investment patterns: A diagnostic of 10 FDI trends and their development implications
- Global Investment Trends Monitor
- Investment Agreements Issues Note series
UNCTAD16 programme and registration
The full programme is available. All participants, including members of the press, are required to register online for the Conference.