The UK’s MOBILIST programme is set to receive an additional NOK 40 million (£2.9 million) in funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) over the next three years. This funding aims to help MOBILIST unlock greater private capital investment in emerging markets through publicly listed financial products. The extension of support was formalized at a signing ceremony at Norad’s headquarters, highlighting the longstanding partnership between the UK and Norway in leveraging public markets to mobilize private finance for development.
Created by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), MOBILIST is the only development finance programme focused on public markets. It provides catalytic equity investment for initial public offerings (IPOs), develops new listed products, and conducts research to drive policy reform. Norway has been supporting MOBILIST since 2022, previously providing NOK 34 million in technical assistance funding. Norad will also act as a co-implementer of the EMDE Public Markets Coalition, launched at the UN’s Fourth Financing for Development Conference, which seeks to facilitate greater investment in emerging markets through public markets by providing a toolkit for multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and investors.
Officials from both countries emphasized the strategic importance of the partnership. UK Ambassador to Norway Jan Thompson CMG OBE highlighted the collaboration’s impact on emerging market businesses addressing climate and development challenges, while Norad Director General Gunn Jorid Roset noted that MOBILIST bridges development finance and global capital markets, enabling investors to actively participate in solving urgent global issues.
Since its inception, MOBILIST has committed $141.5 million to eight investees, mobilizing $349.8 million in private finance. Its investments include participating in the IPO of Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation in the Philippines and co-investing in the Green Guarantee Company, the world’s first climate-focused guarantee company. The Norwegian funding will also support technical assistance for companies navigating listing processes and developing market guidance, particularly in emerging capital markets with limited access to such expertise.
Technical assistance projects under MOBILIST have included creating a handbook for Mexican SMEs on raising funds via listed corporate debt, developing frameworks for gender bonds in emerging markets, and facilitating the first green bond listing on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The programme demonstrates how targeted support can strengthen public market participation while addressing climate and development priorities.
The EMDE Public Markets Coalition aims to accelerate private capital flows to emerging markets, where development finance is most urgently needed. With over $250 trillion in capital circulating through listed stock and bond markets annually, only a small portion reaches emerging markets. The coalition, co-implemented by the UK, Norway, and the African Development Bank, has also received endorsement from governments and institutions including the Philippines, Switzerland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, OECD, British International Investment, and the Centre for Development Finance Studies. Its goal is to harness public markets to tackle critical climate and development challenges at scale.
