From private money to digital divides, world leaders in Aspen grapple with the future of the sector.

Few places in the world where leaders gather to discuss global problems can rival Aspen, Colorado, in the summer. Nestled in picturesque mountains and surrounded by some of the most expensive homes on the planet, this is a village where the bagel shop sells caviar, and, on the drive in, a moose ambled down the roadside. Something for everyone.

Each summer you’ll find here some of the most powerful people in the world — their hair down, adorned in mountain chic — gathered to consider, and even shape, the future.

Much of the hobnobbing happens at Aspen Institute events throughout the summer, including the high-powered Aspen Security Forum that took place last month. It was on the sidelines of that national security convening that a group of around 40 honchos — leaders of major philanthropies, aid agency chiefs, former members of the U.S. Congress, prominent social entrepreneurs, and influential thinkers — got together to debate the future of global development. Organized by the Aspen Global Innovators Group, the closed-door retreat was convened by Peggy Clark and Jim Pickup and steered by co-chairs Henrietta Fore and John Nkengasong.

The search for new money is reshaping impact investing
With governments pulling back from development finance, impact investors are eyeing new markets and models — but the capital gap remains far beyond what private money can cover.
When aid plummeted last year, the development landscape started looking everywhere for funds: Europe, Asia, the Gulf, philanthropies, and impact investing. But no individual donor or industry looked able to fill the gap left by the drastic cuts.
“When USAID was disintegrated there was a lot of conversation among impact investors and particularly foundations, those that work in development finance,” Fran Seegull, president of U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, told Devex. “The sheer magnitude of the withdrawal, there would be no way, unless they were highly coordinated vehicles at scale, to really plug the gap.”
That’s still the case. As of the end of 2024, a Global Impact Investing Network survey of 368 investors showed that $448.2 billion out of a total of $13.1 trillion across all investment strategies was allocated to impact investing — just 3%.