Mobilising private capital has become central to development finance and to the future of the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) itself. In this episode of Think Change, we unpack what private capital mobilisation actually means in practice, and why it has become such a defining measure of success.

We explore the pressures facing the IFC, the changing expectations of global and institutional investors, and what’s really “in it” for the private sector as well as for development outcomes in emerging markets.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano, (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Alfonso García Mora, Vice President for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group)
• Nazmeera Moola, Chief Commercial Officer, Private Markets at Ninety One
• Martin Koehring, ODI Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Centre for Private Finance in Development

How do wars actually end, and what does it take to make peace lasting and just? What lessons has the world still not learned about how wars end?

In collaboration with Conciliation Resources, this episode reflects on what past conflicts can teach us about the pathways out of war, what current wars might tell us about the limits and possibilities of peacemaking today, and how peace processes can be designed to be not only durable but also just and inclusive.

Looking ahead, we ask: in a world of increasing geopolitical tension and fragmented global governance, how might wars end in the future, and what role can civil society, diplomacy and public engagement play in making peace possible?

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Founder and CEO, International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
• Jonathan Cohen, Executive Director, Conciliation Resources
• Claire Hajaj, Executive Director, Inter Mediate
• Jago Salmon, Principal Policy Fellow, ODI Global

This episode is dedicated to Nicholas “Fink” Haysom – a close friend and an extraordinary figure in global peacebuilding.

Over a lifetime of service, Haysom played a pivotal role in some of the world’s most complex conflicts, from supporting Nelson Mandela during South Africa’s democratic transition to leading UN missions and peace processes across Burundi, Sudan, Sri Lanka and beyond. He was widely respected not only for his expertise, but for his integrity, humility, and deep commitment to dialogue as a path to lasting peace.

For those who knew him, his loss is deeply personal. This episode honours his legacy and the values he lived by, and reflects on the responsibility to carry that work forward.

Across many countries, legislative strategies are increasingly being used to roll back hard-won rights related to gender and bodily autonomy.

This International Women's Day, we're asking: what can be done at national and multilateral levels to resist further erosion of sexual and reproductive rights worldwide?

This episode explores the political and ideological forces behind the growing politicisation of Women's Sexual Health and Reproductive rights, the weaponisation of gender issues globally.

Building on new evidence on efforts to undermine safe abortion - Sierra Leone, efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights in Kenya, and initiatives to reverse the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia - we examine the narratives that allow these agendas to gain traction and the role our institutions play in safeguarding rights.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI Global (host)
• Aatif Somji, Senior Research Officer, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion ODI Global
• Satang Nabaneh, Director of Programs for the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton, and Member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)
• Maria Antonieta Alcalde Castro, Incoming Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation

Related resources

Navigating the politics of backlash: women's rights and repealing the FGM ban in The Gambia (Working Paper, ODI Global)

Think Change episode 85: Algorithms and online misogyny – how do we fix a system built to harm women? (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)

Research series: Navigating the politics of backlash to sexual & reproductive rights (Research series, ODI Global)