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We’re not just a bank. We’re a solutions institution.” - Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group (2023) Development finance is undergoing a fundamental rethinking in light of today’s rapidly evolving geopolitical and economic context. In the wake of COVID-19, developing countries are grappling with significantly constrained fiscal space, rising debt burdens, and limited capacity to fund social and infrastructure priorities. At the same time, the global economy is contending with new headwinds—intensifying trade and tariff frictions, climate shocks, and shifts in monetary policy—that are reshaping capital flows and deepening financing gaps. In this environment, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are being called to play a much broader role—one that extends beyond lending, to enabling and catalyzing capital, crowding in private finance, and aligning public, philanthropic, and market-based resources toward sustainable development. This course takes a forward-looking and practical approach to understanding the architecture of the development finance ecosystem, the strategic tools and instruments DFIs deploy, and the new expectations placed on them by both investors and governments. Students will explore how DFIs are responding to today’s multi-crisis world—rethinking risk, return, and impact—and the mechanisms they use to design and finance development projects. We will draw on foundational concepts in corporate and project finance, as well as real-world case studies and hands-on assignments. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the analytical tools and contextual awareness needed to navigate a career in international development finance.