PIDG at Ecosperity Week 2025: Scaling Blended Finance for Sustainable Infrastructure in Asia

Since its inception in 2014, Ecosperity has evolved into a premier sustainability forum in Singapore and Southeast Asia, drawing investors, development finance institutions (DFIs), developers, financiers, and government representatives from across the region and around the world. This year’s event provided a platform to advance dialogue on accelerating impact where it is most urgently needed.

We at PIDG opened the week by hosting “The Multiplier Effect: The Next Phase of Blended Finance in Asia,” a high-level roundtable dinner that brought together senior leaders from across the infrastructure sector to catalyse action for scaling blended finance beyond proof-of-concept projects.

Six insights for advancing sustainable infrastructure finance in Asia emerged:

1. Commercial Imperative: Sustainable finance must be positioned as a core business strategy rather than merely a social responsibility, especially as climate disasters increasingly threaten business continuity.
2. Committed Local Partners: Effective blended finance requires local sponsors with genuine “skin in the game” who can drive additional, repeatable transactions that crowd in private capital.
3. Local Currency Solutions: Developing local currency debt markets and mobilising domestic institutional investors is essential for sustainable financing in markets like India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
4. Risk Perception Gap: A persistent disconnect exists between risk ratings that insurers seek and what banks or investors are willing to fund, highlighting the need for better risk communication and credit enhancement mechanisms.
5. Pipeline Development: The industry must move beyond one-off deals to create “factories of deal origination” that consistently produce bankable transactions through standardised, accessible investment products.
6. Market Specificity: Rather than applying broad “emerging market” labels, investors must recognise the unique characteristics and opportunities within Asia’s diverse markets.

In partnership with Convergence and the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA), PIDG hosted an invitation-only fireside chat at our offices focused on local currency solutions for mobilising private sector capital. 100 senior leaders from across our networks attended the interactive panel discussion, which was prefaced by a preview of Convergence’s State of Blended Finance 2025 report.

Looking Forward: The Need of the Hour

Ecosperity Week reinforced that the sustainable infrastructure finance sector must focus on several priorities to achieve meaningful scale:

1. Developing standardised investment products that balance yield requirements with sustainability objectives.
2. Creating mechanisms for early-stage project preparation, including dedicated funding and technical support for feasibility studies, environmental assessments, and stakeholder engagement.
3. Establishing platforms for local currency financing to reduce foreign exchange risk and mobilise local institutional capital.
4. Designing blended finance structures that strategically leverage concessional capital to unlock commercial investment while demonstrating measurable impact.
5. Building capacity of local institutions and sponsors to create a pipeline of investable projects.
6. Identifying which ecosystem players need to step in to address the priorities listed here.

The path to closing Asia’s infrastructure gap requires patience, innovation, and collaboration. By bringing together diverse stakeholders – from local developers to global investors, policymakers to technical experts – we can turn our Ecosperity discussions into tangible projects and plaforms that deliver both financial returns and sustainable impact.

As we build on the momentum from Singapore, PIDG looks forward to working with partners who share our commitment to scaling investment for sustainable infrastructure.