Private capital can help make a difference

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, one key topic was the increasing importance of private rather than public capital in solving problems that don't respect national boundaries.

To really make a difference, capital needs to be invested on a massive scale. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals are 17 challenging global targets for the year 2030 in areas such as education, healthcare, and the environment. To meet them will require as much as $5-7 trillion of annual investment, according to the Brookings Institute. This aim sounds almost insurmountable unless you consider that in 2015 households globally were worth $250 trillion, according to Deutsche Bank estimates.

Private investment alone cannot meet the Sustainable Development Goals - regulatory change, philanthropy, and public investment will also be required - but it will be a crucial source of capital.