Pilot investment index for emerging markets and developing economies (MOBILIST programme)

Closed: Call for proposals by 9 February 2024 for the design and construction of a pilot investment index to mobilise private capital through listed investment products.

From:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Published
9 January 2024
Funds:
Closed
Countries:
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo, Congo (Democratic Republic), Djibouti, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, The, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Philippines, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Sector:
Innovation, Private sector/business, Research
Eligible organisations:
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UK-based non-profit organisations, UK-based small and diaspora organisations, Companies, Educational institutions, Humanitarian relief organisations, Organisations based in Low to Middle Income Countries (LMIC)
Value of funding:
£100,001 to £500,000

This call for proposals closed on 9 February 2024.

Overview

The Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures (MOBILIST) programme is sponsoring an ambitious programme of research to inform and influence financial markets actors. The programme will help fill knowledge gaps and correct misperceptions to enhance the volume and efficiency of capital allocated to emerging and frontier markets.

Combined with MOBILIST seed capital and technical support for high-potential firms and fund managers, MOBILIST’s research outputs will help demonstrate the potential of emerging and frontier market-listed assets for international portfolios.

This request for proposals relates to the design of new investment benchmarks and, potentially, investment products with potential to mobilise private capital through listed structures. The research will address the knowledge gap around potential innovation in equity investment opportunity indices and their potential to:

  • capture opportunities for returns
  • spur economic activities in developing countries

What the fund will achieve

The successful bidder will provide current, original, actionable insights on the following design questions:

  1. conceptualisation: building from existing prototypes, what alternatives to mainstream benchmarks/indices could increase the flow of capital into emerging markets and developing economies by better meeting the objectives of investors?

  2. feasibility: to what extent are high-potential, alternative indices feasible with existing data? Where data are missing how could they be collected? To what extent would these alternatives meet investors’ demands?

  3. backtesting: how do alternative benchmarks perform relative to existing emerging and frontier market indices in the context of: (i) dedicated equity strategies in emerging and frontier markets and (ii) globally diversified portfolios?

  4. piloting: how do the most promising benchmarks perform in a pilot with one or more market participants? To what extent could these benchmarks extend asset allocation by both global institutional investors and emerging and frontier market portfolio managers?

  5. scale: what are the routes to adoption at scale of successful benchmarks?

How to apply

You can access full application details including background and instructions on submitting tenders:

Design research on index construction

You should submit proposals by 10pm GMT on 9 February 2024.

Background information on the fund

MOBILIST is focused on mobilising public markets to catalyse new scalable and replicable financial products that support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and net-zero transition. It is a flagship Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) programme.

MOBILIST is funded by the UK government in partnership with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and implemented by Chemonics and other partner organisations. It competitively selects emerging and frontier market investment products and supports the sustainable finance ecosystem through:

  • research
  • monitoring evaluation and learning
  • communications and advocacy

MOBILIST research will help enhance the flow of capital into assets that contribute to sustainable economic development in emerging and frontier markets. MOBILIST seeks to contribute to development outcomes/impact, including:

  • inclusive growth and productivity
  • job creation, climate resilience
  • decreased poverty around the world

Procurement lead contacts

Published 9 January 2024
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