Canada’s Innovative Finance Programs

Canada’s Innovative Finance Programs are piloting the use of targeted investments, through repayable funding, to support innovation and sustainable development in developing countries. These programs will demonstrate that investing in support of the Sustainable Development Goals can provide both development and financial returns.

Our Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) recognizes that the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls requires the transformation of social norms and power relations. Canada will apply a gender lens across all innovative finance activities to ensure gender and social analysis contribute to and improve investment decisions and calculations of risk.

International Assistance Innovation Program

This five-year pilot program (2019- 2024) makes targeted investments to help mobilize additional private investments in developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  

Sovereign Loans Program

This five-year pilot program (2019 - 2024) provides low-interest sovereign loans, primarily to middle-income countries, to support their investments in poverty reduction and peace and security.

International Climate Finance Program

Canada’s 2021-2026 commitment to climate finance for developing countries.

Conditionally Repayable Contributions

This five-year pilot project introduces a new funding tool that will support select sustainable development projects in least-developed countries, low-income countries, conflict-affected regions and other locations and sectors where access to financing is difficult.

Mobilizing Private Finance

Canada’s innovative finance programs help to make it attractive for private investors to put their money into investments with SDG impact in developing countries.  They do so by mitigating or absorbing risk and by helping to improve local capacity and the enabling environment.