An Innovation and Investment Ecosystem and Economic Resilience in the Commonwealth

the Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network (CBWN) is convening a pivotal roundtable discussion: An Innovation and Investment Ecosystem and Economic Resilience in the Commonwealth. This event will be held during Global Entrepreneurship Week just weeks after member states agreed the adoption of the Commonwealth Strategic Plan 2025-2030 under a new Secretary General and just after the commitment by Finance Ministers to accelerate transformation through the wider adoption of AI and digital infrastructure for which the benefits for unlocking innovation could be significant. The meeting will be limited to Governments from across the Commonwealth, key Commonwealth organisations, academics and invited guests.

We convene at a critical time. The global landscape, defined by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA), presents acute challenges for the Commonwealth’s 56 member states. Extensive analysis has identified a core paradox: the primary barrier to our collective economic transformation is not a shortage of capital, but a systemic deficit of "bankable projects" ready for investment. In response, and guided by clear mandates from the 2022 Kigali and 2024 Samoa CHOGM, an integrated strategy has been developed in collaboration with the private sector, including women in business, investors and several member states. This strategy combines the Commonwealth Resilience, Inclusion, and Scale-up Ecosystem (C-RISE) framework with the newly established Commonwealth Investment Network (CIN) to create a complete, end-to-end system for translating innovation into investment and sustainable growth.

We will be seeking to engage governments, the private sector, investors, AOs and our ecosystem partners with the purpose of this roundtable being to move this strategy from mandate to momentum. Aligning with the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025 theme, 'Together We Build', we aim to secure the stakeholder commitments necessary to energise this new ecosystem. We will be seeking to engage governments, the private sector, investors, and our ecosystem partners to build a resilient and prosperous common future for the Commonwealth's 2.5 billion citizens.