16th Conference – London, United Kingdom

Navigating the Shifting Landscape

Date: 6–7 November 2025
Location: London, United Kingdom
Host Institution: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Objectives

On 6–7 November 2025, the CGDF held its 16th Annual Networking Meeting, titled “Navigating the Shifting Landscape”, at EBRD headquarters in London. The event brought together DFI staff, corporate governance practitioners, experts, government officials, legal practitioners, academics and selected private-sector stakeholders to exchange ideas, share experience, discuss new developments in corporate governance and strengthen the CGDF network.

The first day was open to members and guests and focused on the changing corporate governance landscape, including boardroom responses to geopolitical, cybersecurity and AI disruptions; sustainability and ESG recalibration; the revised OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises; and incentives for companies to adopt better governance practices. The second day was reserved for CGDF signatories and focused on implementation of the Corporate Governance Development Framework, the CGDF annual questionnaire, DFI experiences in embedding governance commitments, the Progression Matrix Questionnaire, and future strategic priorities for the network.

Main Highlights

• The 2025 CGDF meeting reaffirmed the Framework’s role as a practical platform for DFI collaboration, positioning corporate governance not as a compliance exercise, but as a driver of competitiveness, resilience and sustainable growth in increasingly volatile markets.
• Discussions on “Boardroom 2025” highlighted the expanding expectations placed on boards, including the need to navigate geopolitical uncertainty, cybersecurity and AI disruption, sustainability regulation, corporate culture and human capital challenges.
• The ESG debate was framed as a recalibration rather than a retreat: while terminology and market sentiment may be shifting, the core governance issues of climate resilience, integrity, data quality, materiality and credible disclosure remain central to DFI engagement.
• The revised OECD Guidelines for State-Owned Enterprises were presented as an important reference point for modern SOE reform, with emphasis on professionalised ownership, transparency, effective boards, sustainability and the separation of state ownership and regulatory functions.
• The conference explored how DFIs can move companies from formal compliance to meaningful governance improvement, including through governance-linked milestones, conditionality, pricing incentives and clearer consequences for persistent governance weaknesses.
• The DFI-only sessions focused on turning the CGDF into a more operational tool, including lessons from the annual questionnaire, challenges in embedding CGDF commitments within institutions, use of the Progression Matrix Questionnaire, and future priorities for the network.

DFI Participants

• Asian Development Bank
• Black Sea Trade and Development Bank
• British International Investment
• CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean
• COFIDE
• COFIDES
• DBSA
• EBRD
• EIB
• FinDev Canada
• Finnfund
• FMO
• IDB Invest
• IFC
• New Development Bank
• World Bank