The Malaga Global Coalition for Municipal Finance – A unique alliance for a financial ecosystem that works for cities and local governments

The Malaga Global Coalition for Municipal Finance was formed in 2018 as a response to the challenges faced by local and regional governments (LRGs) in accessing finance to advance sustainable and inclusive development in their territories. LRGs play a critical role in achieving the sustainable development agendas – including the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement. Yet, many institutional, regulatory, technical and financial challenges prevent them from having effective control over the access to and management of their finances, severely restricting their ability to finance the implementation of these agendas and carry out their mandate. This is particularly true in developing and emerging countries, where lack of sufficient municipal financing is further exacerbated by the increased needs of a fast-growing urban population. Overcoming these barriers is vital for LRGs to be recognized as fully-fledged public actors, bringing about transformation and delivering services to their citizens, leaving no one behind.

The Malaga Coalition was created with the ambition of developing common positions and strategies to break through these obstacles and to reshape a new global financial ecosystem that enable LRGs to deliver on the global agendas. Since 2018, the Malaga Coalition has been convened twice by United Cities and Governments (UCLG) in collaboration with the Global Fund for Cities Development (FMDV), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and the city of Malaga and has brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including local and regional authorities, central governments, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), UN agencies, national and subnational development banks, public and private banks, credit rating agencies and academia. Its last two meetings explored solutions for transforming municipal finance and promoting an enabling environment for local governments to achieve the SDGs. Panel discussions put forward the perspective of key stakeholders involved in local finance: LRG officials, national ministers and public and private financial institutions.

One of the main outcomes of the Malaga Coalition is the setting up of a dedicated investment fund for local governments, the International Municipal Investment Fund (IMIF), to make capital available at the right price and in the right format for LRGs and intermediary cities in developing and emerging economies to finance local transformative projects. The IMIF was introduced at the second meeting of the Malaga Coalition by its lead partners, UNCDF and UCLG in collaboration with FMDV. The Fund, whose management is entrusted to a third-party asset manager, Meridiam, is backed by a technical assistance facility (TAF) to assist local governments in structuring their investment project prior to submission to the IMIF.

Please consult the Roadmap of the Malaga for the year 2021-2022