PIPELINE BUILDER PILOT
Investors are looking to align their investments with the SDGs as demand for action continues to grow. The next generation of wealth owners will accelerate demand.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of most emerging/developing economies. They are developing new, sustainable business models and innovations linked to the SDGs everywhere around the world.
While this ecosystem is well organized and growing, entrepreneurs encounter a fragmented and inefficient market for capital. All this prevents larger capital flows for climate innovation and the SDGs.
We are piloting an innovative approach to connect the two sides of this growing marketplace
under the umbrella of the Pipeline Builder project.
"The Ground_Up Project has a track record of working with international partners such as WIPO Green, the International Trade Centre, UNCTAD, UN Foundation, TBN, Green Cape, AVPN, Yale Centre for Business and the Environment, Accelerate 2030 and many others around the world growing SDG-focused businesses, to source and screen strong enterprises, assess investment-readiness and educate entrepreneurs on investors expectations.
We take our work to the next level by building the competence to broker investments for the SDGs in a completely innovative way. We aim to fill an important intermediation gap in the impact market, which will hep national SDG roadmaps attract capital to where it is most needed."
Brindusa Burrows, Founder & CEO, The Ground_Up Project
The Pipeline Builder is currently being incubated within the SDG Lab at United Nations in Geneva. This initiative is in a conceptual stage and will soon enter a pilot phase to test assumptions, determine a working model, and assess the potential to scale.
The Pipeline Builder is an integrated solution that utilizes development expertise and financial industry acumen to address the missing middle of SDG investment and to broker deals for SMEs that will make a difference for the SDGs at the country-level. The initiative utilizes three key elements to provide a comprehensive solution to both entrepreneurs and investors:
1) SDG Roadmaps – country SDG strategies clearly define the priorities of governments and people for sustainable development in a given country. They can be mapped to key sectors and translated into investment opportunities. The Pipeline Builder uses these roadmaps to guide prospecting for SDG investments.
2) Pipeline Building – guided by the SDG Roadmaps, the Pipeline Builder leverages existing local and international networks to identify and screen a vast range of SMEs working in the SDG space. This includes through governments, the United Nations, accelerators, trade associations, universities, impact entrepreneurial networks, competitions, etc.
3) Brokering – utilizing deep development impact expertise, boutique brokering services are provided for deal origination and structuring. The Pipeline Builder provides financial advisory work, ensures the smooth flow of capital, and improves allocation efficiency for investors. In addition, it facilitates access to capital for entrepreneurs so that they can focus more on building their businesses and less on constant fundraising.
Investment banks play critical roles in capital markets:
• ensure the smooth flow of capital
• Improve allocation efficiency
• offer businesses different types of capital matched to their different stages of growth
• create exits for investors with functioning secondary markets
• help entrepreneur focus on business building and not constant fundraising