The COFER project focuses on a topic that is severely under-examined in development studies yet has been elevated to a key feature of the SOG 2030 agenda: private sector involvement in development.
The new innovative financing modalities, which often explore avenues to raise financing from private sources or at minimum use market-based approaches, have the potential to become a significant source of financing for development, They are supposed to help close the funding gap that yawns from relying exclusively on public funds, that is, funds garnered either from governments in low and middle income countries or from bilateral and multilateral donors. These traditional forms of financing are supposed to be complemented by a wide array of innovative financing mechanisms and sources, including results-based financing, philanthropic giving, social corporate responsibility programs, remittances, diaspora bonds, social impact bonds, just to name a few.

Project summary

Swiss Partners

Department of Education Sciences, University of Fribourg
Prof Dr. Cathryn Magno

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
Prof Dr Gita Steiner-Khamsi

Zurich University of Teacher Education
Prof Dr Markus Maurer

South partners

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, lndia
Prof Archana Mehendale and Prof Padma Sarangapani

Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneu­rship, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Aunnie Patton Power

Institute of International and Comparative Educati­on, Beijing Normal University, PR China
Prof Dr Teng Jun

Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, Argentina
Prof Dr Felicitas Acosta