Flagship program

«Impact Investment & Blended Finance for Development Agencies & Foundations» (IIBF)

Our next program takes place from September 11 to 13, 2024 in Zurich, Switzerland, as an in-person event. If you are interested in joining us in 2024, please wait until we release the new application link and program dates (expected in October/November 2023).  If have any questions about the program, please reach out to Christina Moehrle (Education Lead): cmoehrle@roots-of-impact.org.

Together with our program partners Roots of Impact, Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth (CSP) at the University of Zurich and Convergence we run an actionable, practice-driven executive program that has received excellent feedback to date.

The program aims at empowering public, philanthropic and private sector funders to collaborate effectively to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. A special ingredient are solutions that demonstrate how to enable high-impact enterprises with market-based solutions to scale and deliver positive impact in a sustainable way – a bottom-up approach. Our more than 190 IIBF alumni to date come from major organisations across the globe, e.g. UNDP, USAID, SDC/DEZA, GIZ, Global Affairs Canada, IFC, SECO, FAO, IFAD, as well as renowned foundations and NGOs such as UNICEF, Shell Foundation, Aqua for All, Danish Red Cross, SOS Children’s Villages International, Fundacion Chile, and Refugee Investment Network.

IIBF typically runs as an open program (based upon application) at its home base at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. It is also offered as a client-specific iteration in selected locations (e.g. 2 previous program runs for UNDP Egypt and UNDP Jordan). IIBF was designed and implemented based on the experience of close to 50 in-house training iterations offered and held by our program partner Roots of Impact since 2017. In addition, it builds on the extensive academic and practical expertise of our program partners Convergence and the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth (CSP).

Our education programs

Started, ongoing and planned

Determined to join us for the upcoming IIBF?

Interested but not yet certain when to apply?

IIBF Target Groups

First piloted in 2018, our IIBF programs can generally be shaped towards two different target groups. Our current IIBF iterations are exclusively targeted at group (1):

(1) Executives from develop­ment agencies, public or multi­lateral organizations as well as foundations with a focus on international development (i.e. catalytic and concessional capital providers).

(2) Institutional and private investors engaged in sustainable finance and impact investing, including investment advisors, development finance institutions and impact finance intermediaries (i.e. commercial capital providers).

IIBF Testimonials

IIBF 2024: Confirmed Speakers

> Karen E. Wilson, Associate Fellow at Said Business School at Oxford University / Founder GV Partners

> Aakif Merchant, Associate Director Training & Engagement, Convergence

> Bjoern Struewer, Founder & CEO, Roots of Impact / Initiative Lead, Initiative for Blended Finance at the University of Zurich

> Audrey Desiderato, Head of Africa and Emerging Markets Strategy, Mirova SunFunder

> Dr. Falko Patzold, Initiator and Managing Director, Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth at the University of Zurich / Academic Lead, Initiative for Blended Finance

> Matthieu Pegon, Head of Blended Finance, IDB Invest

Additional live cases with impact entrepreneurs and impact investors will be announced in early 2024.

IIBF Impressions