The development sector is facing its sharpest funding contraction in history. USAID has been dismantled, and other traditional donors are pulling back. For NGOs, consulting firms, and development organizations that built their programming and revenue models around traditional donor funding, the question is no longer whether the landscape is changing; it is whether they can adapt fast enough to survive it.
Yet capital is not disappearing from development. It is moving. Blended finance, impact investing, philanthropic capital, catalytic capital, and private commercial and public investment are increasingly filling, or competing to fill, the space that retreating donors are leaving behind. Development finance institutions are scaling up while philanthropic capital is being deployed in new ways. The money exists. The problem is that most development organizations do not know how to find it, structure for it, or meet the conditions that these new funders require.
This session will close that gap. DevelopmentAid invites NGOs, consultants, development practitioners, social enterprises, foundations, contractors, and development finance professionals to join its interactive Ask Me Anything live session, Aid Budgets Are Tightening. Where Will Development Funding Come From Next?, featuring Joan M. Larrea, Chief Executive Officer of Convergence Blended Finance. and one of the world’s foremost experts on mobilizing private, public, philanthropic, and catalytic capital for sustainable development. The session will take place on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, at 11:00 AM Washington, DC / 5:00 PM Brussels.
Drawing on nearly three decades of experience at the intersection of development finance, public-private investment, philanthropy, and emerging-market investing, Joan will respond directly to participants’ pre-submitted questions with grounded analysis and practical guidance on how organizations can reposition themselves for the new funding capital that is already taking shape.
Key Takeaways
- A clear picture of where non-traditional development capital is actually flowing and what it means for your organization’s programming, partnerships, and long-term strategy.
- A practical understanding of blended finance: how it works, who it is genuinely designed for, and what NGOs and consulting firms need to do to engage with it realistically.
- Expert insight into what impact and private investors, DFIs, and philanthropic partners are looking for and how to position your organization to meet those requirements.
- Concrete first steps your organization can take today to diversify its funding base and reduce structural dependence on traditional grant streams.
Speaker
Joan M. Larrea, Chief Executive Officer, Convergence
Joan M. Larrea is one of the world’s leading authorities on blended finance and innovative development funding. As CEO of Convergence, the global network for blended finance that has tracked over US$90 billion in blended transactions across more than 200 countries, she works at the intersection of sustainable development, philanthropy, and private capital, helping organizations design and scale financing solutions that can reach the markets and communities traditional capital does not.
With nearly three decades of experience in emerging-market investing, Joan has held senior leadership positions at the International Finance Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Global Environment Fund. She currently serves on the Global Environment Facility’s Advisory Group of Finance Experts, the Advisory Council of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Finance and Investment Committee of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and the ASIA Panel for Infrastructure Asia in Singapore.
Joan holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in international studies from the Lauder Institute.
Host
Ion Ilasco, External Relations and Events Coordinator, DevelopmentAid
