During the month of April Mr Boitumelo Mashilo, one of GTAC’s own from the Capital Projects Appraisal Unit, joined global leaders in infrastructure and development financing at a high-level workshop on social infrastructure investment held in Paris.

Convened by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) under its Chairship of the Heads of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) initiative, the workshop brought together senior representatives from MDBs, the South African G20 Presidency, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. It aimed to elevate social infrastructure investment on the broader MDB agenda, structured around three core questions: How can we do more? How can we do better? And how can we better capture what we do?

Mashilo’s participation underscored government’s commitment to strengthening the planning and delivery of infrastructure in South Africa, especially in sectors critical to human development such as education, healthcare, and housing. The workshop reaffirmed the central role of social infrastructure in promoting inclusive growth, resilience, and long-term productivity.

Speaking at the workshop, Mashilo emphasised the importance of collaborative approaches to addressing infrastructure financing challenges:

“We believe that leveraging infrastructure investments through effective partnerships with the private sector, MDBs and other actors – countries can raise the necessary financing and technical expertise to close the large financing gap and by extension fast track infrastructure provision, improve access to social services and accelerate the achievements of SDGs. At a time when the world faces multiple crises including climate change, underdevelopment, poverty and inequality, amongst others, the time is opportune to put a spotlight on social infrastructure.”

Participants acknowledged that while social infrastructure is already a priority across MDB portfolios, there is significant scope for deeper collaboration and system-wide innovation. These efforts are becoming increasingly urgent in light of mounting fiscal constraints and global development challenges.

Insights from the workshop will contribute to a high-level discussion among the Heads of MDBs in Paris this June, where proposals for more integrated and collaborative approaches to social infrastructure investment will be further developed.

Stakeholders involved in the workshop, were contributing to shaping global conversations and strategies around inclusive and sustainable infrastructure development.

Click here to see what else he had to say following the workshop.

The Jobs Fund, is one of the largest challenge funds globally and is now taking applications in its 12^th funding round.

Since its launch in 2011, the Jobs Fund through its 11 Funding rounds has catalysed innovative job creation interventions creating 210,719 permanent jobs and 114,534 short-term jobs/internships  across multiple economic sectors.

The focus with this round of funding is on creating employment opportunities in South Africa’s green economy, as well as in the informal economy.

In the call for proposals the Jobs Fund says: “The Jobs Fund invites proposals that will address critical employment barriers in South Africa’s green and informal economies. We seek sector intermediaries from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors with solid implementation expertise to propose innovative and implementable solutions that will create sustainable jobs and stimulate economic growth. Successful proposals must demonstrate how interventions will overcome labour market barriers and ensure job sustainability beyond the initial grant funding period.”

They are focusing on the green and informal sectors due to the potential they both present, “Over 3.3 million people are employed in the informal sector, however the sector remains underdeveloped compared to other emerging economies. Both the green and informal economy hold untapped potential for job creation but face barriers such as skills gaps, financing challenges and regulatory issues.”

Applications opened on 22 April and will close on 5 June. Please feel free to attend the briefing session on 8 May, or the training session on 13 May.

For more information visit the Jobs Fund website or download their brochure and term sheet.