Leaders and Intrapreneurs: Driving Investment in Frontier Markets

The report argues that 'organizational readiness'—the preparedness of an institution to undergo major change—is the primary enabler for scaling private sector investment in fragile contexts. It details how leaders create the 'space for change' by removing bureaucratic barriers and empowering staff, while intrapreneurs implement specific strategies across five pillars: mandate, organizational support, systems and procedures, resources, and implementation. Through four case studies, the document demonstrates the application of the 'Organizational Readiness and Enabling Private Capital for Innovative Financing in Humanitarian Contexts' playbook to transition from small-scale pilots to sustainable, market-driven solutions.

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) established a formal mandate for new financing models (NFMs) by integrating a quantifiable target into its 2020–2030 resource mobilization strategy (RMS), aiming to mobilize the equivalent of 5% of its annual expenditure by 2030, or 150 million Swiss francs per year.
• The ICRC's Humanitarian Impact Bond (HIB), a payment-by-results mechanism, unlocked 18 million Swiss francs from private investors to establish three physical rehabilitation centres in Nigeria, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, serving over 3,000 patients annually.
• DG ECHO utilized the Organizational Readiness playbook to move beyond theoretical research and implement 'humanitarian blended finance' pilots, using grants to de-risk and attract private financing for projects such as water infrastructure in West Irbid, Jordan.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Accelerator employs lean start-up and human-centred design methodologies to pilot solutions with smaller funds before scaling, including the 'WFP Innovation Bridge' partnership with UNCDF to provide concessional loans and guarantees.
• FMO's MASSIF fund, managed for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addresses the DFI tendency to focus on large-ticket investments by providing resources and targets that enable smaller, higher-risk transactions in frontier markets, such as a €5 million investment in Fin’Elle in Côte d’Ivoire.
• A significant global humanitarian funding gap exists, estimated at $27.55 billion, which necessitates the expansion of the donor base beyond traditional governmental resources toward private sector engagement.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Leaders and Intrapreneurs: Driving Investment in Frontier Markets. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Leaders_and_Intrapreneurs_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Leaders and Intrapreneurs: Driving Investment in Frontier Markets. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Leaders_and_Intrapreneurs_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Leaders and Intrapreneurs: Driving Investment in Frontier Markets |date=January 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Leaders_and_Intrapreneurs_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023leaders, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Leaders and Intrapreneurs: Driving Investment in Frontier Markets}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Leaders_and_Intrapreneurs_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }