30th WAIPA World Investment Conference, Geneva. Day 2.
3
09, 2026
Networking Reception
Evening networking reception for all delegates.
3
09, 2026
UNECE: Circular Systems, New Returns
Waste-to-value processing, industrial symbiosis, and product life-extension services are generating investable pipelines across multiple sectors.Where does circularity create commercial value?What [...]
3
09, 2026
FAO: Food Security as Investment
Agriculture and food processing are rising as strategic sectors for resilience and growth.Where are the investable gaps?How are risks reduced?
3
09, 2026
WAIPA Institutional Events
16:00 – 18:30. General Assembly (membership only).
3
09, 2026
ITU: Governing AI, Attracting Capital
AI regulatory frameworks, safety standards, and liability rules are becoming a new layer of investment location competition.Which governance models attract [...]
3
09, 2026
ILO: Talent Without Borders
Visa regimes, work permit systems, and talent mobility policies are often the binding constraint on technology, R&D, and professional services [...]
3
09, 2026
Boardroom Meets Cabinet Room
Senior leaders discuss how states and firms can manage risk without losing speed and ambition.Where do interests align?Where do they [...]
3
09, 2026
Coffee Break
Refreshments served in the foyer.
3
09, 2026
Agribusiness Investment Exchange
Investors and project sponsors connect around food systems, processing, and rural value chains.Where are scalable deals?How are risks reduced?
3
09, 2026
ITC: Investment Facilitation in Practice
Investment facilitation commitments can be translated into domestic reform.What capacity is missing?What can be done?
3
09, 2026
McKinsey: FDI Reshaping Industry and Trade
Investment increasingly flows along geopolitical lines and into future-shaping industries, reconfiguring trade networks.What do the investment patterns reveal?How do they [...]
3
09, 2026
Non-Equity Modes, New Entry Points
Licensing, franchising, and contract manufacturing can open new pathways into global production systems.What value can countries capture?How do firms upgrade?
3
09, 2026
Cities as Investment Platforms
Urban infrastructure, governance, and service quality are shaping subnational investment competition.Which city factors matter most?How can local agencies compete?
3
09, 2026
Consortium of Think Tanks
The Consortium will collectively shape the future Investment Policymaking Agenda in the new era of the global economy.What are the [...]
3
09, 2026
Coffee Break
Refreshments served in the foyer.
3
09, 2026
IPA–MNE Matchmaking (3)
Investment agencies and multinational firms meet for targeted pipeline-building.Where is investor interest?What support is needed?
3
09, 2026
IsDB: Regional Blocs, Shared Strategies
Regional economic groupings can coordinate investment promotion and harmonise facilitation to global investors.What coordination models deliver better results?How can regional [...]
3
09, 2026
AfCFTA: From Protocol to Practice
Turning the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment into practical outcomes via effective National Focal Points and coordinated investment facilitation.What makes investment [...]
3
09, 2026
Grievance Response That Works
Investor grievances require speed, clarity, and institutional authority to avoid escalation.What resolves issues fast?What damages trust?
3
09, 2026
Post-Conflict Investment Recovery
Fragile and post-conflict markets need credible sequencing, safeguards, and early wins.What builds first-mover trust?Which sectors lead recovery?
3
09, 2026
Investment Diversion and Beyond
Firms are diversifying footprints, but not always in the ways policymakers assume.What is driving relocation?What is just hedging?
3
09, 2026
Ambassadors in Dialogue with IPA Executives
Diplomatic missions and investment promotion agencies are natural partners, yet coordination between them remains inconsistent.How can synergies be created between [...]
3
09, 2026
Lunch Break
Lunch is served for all registered delegates.
3
09, 2026
Tech Infrastructure Investor Hub
Developers, energy providers, and digital investors meet around AI and data infrastructure.What assets are required?Which markets are prepared?
3
09, 2026
Chatham House: Green Industrial Strategies and Investment (tbc)
As economies pursue green industrial strategies, the challenge is to align efforts to attract investment and strengthen trade, rather than [...]
3
09, 2026
UNCTAD: Reading FDI Better
A data-focused session on how policymakers should interpret FDI trends and distortions.What do headlines miss?What should IPAs track?
3
09, 2026
Sector Pitch Masterclass
A practical workshop on building concise and convincing sector value propositions.What belongs in a pitch?What should be cut?
3
09, 2026
Services as Growth Engines
Producer services such as logistics, ICT, and finance are essential for productive investment.Which services unlock growth?Where are the biggest gaps?
3
09, 2026
Export-Led Investment
Export-oriented FDI remains one of the fastest ways to diversify and upgrade economies.Which sectors travel well?How do IPAs and TPOs [...]
3
09, 2026
Investment in the VUCA Era
Investors are rethinking when, where, and how much to commit in a volatile environment.Why are firms staging projects?How should hosts [...]
3
09, 2026
Coffee Break
Refreshments served in the foyer.
3
09, 2026
Frontier Market Investor Desk
A structured platform for early conversations on fragile and frontier market opportunities.What risk is manageable?What capital is available?
3
09, 2026
ITC: Gender, Inclusion and Investment
How investment can better support women, youth, and excluded groups.What outcomes are realistic?How should inclusion be tracked?
3
09, 2026
ILO: Investment and Decent Work
Labour standards and job quality are increasingly tied to investment quality and legitimacy.What do responsible investors expect?How can IPAs respond?
3
09, 2026
Facilitation That Delivers
A hands-on session on making investor journeys simpler, faster, and more predictable.What slows approvals most?What can be streamlined now?
3
09, 2026
From FDI to Local Value
The real development payoff comes when foreign investors connect with domestic firms.What are the practical tools?How are linkages built?
3
09, 2026
Digital Infrastructure at Scale
Data centres, fibre, and cloud services are becoming central to investment competitiveness.What assets matter most?What deters deployment?
3
09, 2026
Supply Chains Redesigned
This session explores how firms are redesigning production networks for resilience and speed.What shifts are durable?Who gains from them?
3
09, 2026
Coffee Break
Refreshments served in the foyer.
3
09, 2026
IPA–MNE Matchmaking (2)
Investment agencies and multinational firms meet for targeted pipeline-building.Where is investor interest?What support is needed?
3
09, 2026
IISD: Water, Land and Investment Risk
Natural resource pressures are becoming material risks in project design and investor screening.What must be assessed early?How are trade-offs managed?
3
09, 2026
McKinsey: Investment — Measure of Competitiveness
Investment trends highlight widening competitiveness gaps between Europe, the US, and China.What is the investor perspective on these divergent geographies?How [...]
3
09, 2026
Investor Targeting with Precision
This session focuses on how IPAs can identify and pursue the right firms more effectively.Who should be targeted?What data matters [...]
3
09, 2026
Health Investment for Resilience
Health systems are emerging as a serious investment frontier in service delivery and infrastructure.What opportunities are investable?What policy support is [...]
3
09, 2026
Investment in SDG Sectors
This session looks at how to attract capital into sectors with high development returns.What makes projects bankable?How is impact shown?
3
09, 2026
Industrial Policy Goes Global
A panel on how subsidy races and strategic sectors are redrawing the investment map.Which policies attract capital?Which create distortion?
3
09, 2026
Coffee Break
Refreshments served in the foyer.
3
09, 2026
Project Preparation Clinics
Sponsors receive expert advice on how to make priority projects more investable.What weakens bankability?What must be fixed now?
3
09, 2026
WFZO: Smarter SEZs
A new generation of economic zones is focusing on linkages, green industry, and services.What separates strong zones?How should impact be [...]
3
09, 2026
ILO: Jobs, Skills, Better Outcomes
Investment promotion is shifting from counting jobs to improving job quality and skills, and long-term employability.What metrics matter now?How are [...]
3
09, 2026
Aftercare First
Retention and reinvestment are often the quickest route to stronger investment performance.Why do firms stay?Why do they expand elsewhere?
3
09, 2026
Critical Minerals, Bigger Value
Resource-rich economies seek more value through processing, refining, and downstream industry.How can IPAs promote value-added FDI?What partnerships work best?
3
09, 2026
Energy Transition, Real Deals
Clean energy investment depends on credible projects, strong policy, and bankable structures.What makes projects investable?What slows financial close?
3
09, 2026
Investing in Sports for a Healthier Future
In partnership with European Football Clubs Foundation: how investment in sports can deliver commercial returns and societal impact.What models combine [...]
3
09, 2026
World Economic Forum: Leadership Breakfast — Highlighting Successful FDI
Invite-only. An interactive leadership discussion on how to ensure great FDI speaks for itself.What are examples of great FDI?How can [...]
3
09, 2026
WAIPA Steering Committee
Members only.