Investment Facilitation in Transitional and Fragile States

The report from the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development outlines a new tool for policymakers to encourage private-sector development in developing nations. Specifically, it argues that in fragile states there is an intermediation gap between sources of capital and entrepreneurs seeking investment. This gap prevents investment by raising transaction costs and exacerbating information asymmetry. Jake Cusack and Matt Tilleard present a case study of this gap as observed in their work in South Sudan. Then they propose a model of investment facilitation that bridges the intermediation gap. The model is based on donor funding of a neutral nongovernment facilitator to identify attractive investment opportunities, link them to capital, and facilitate transactions.