Emerging Market Finance Refugee Crisis Application: Rationale and Roadmap

In 2019 the World Refugee & Migration Council issued “A Call to Action” recognizing the need for private sector innovation to meet the fiscal challenges posed by the global refugee crisis. The majority of countries hosting refugees are emerging markets where global banks and fund managers actively invest. Traditional credit and capital market instruments including sovereign refugee bonds and equity funds can be adapted to fill the gap left by inadequate UNHCR and other public sector funding. Designed under a public-private partnership, these new products would have broad appeal to both mainstream and Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)-focused investors.