The 危 “Wei”: A Structural Crisis for International Geneva
For several decades, Geneva has hosted one of the highest concentrations of multilateral, humanitarian, and development actors in the world.
This unique ecosystem — 40 intergovernmental organizations, 180 permanent missions and diplomatic delegations, 400 international NGOs, and nearly 2,500 associations and foundations — generates:
- Around 45,000 direct jobs (international civil servants, diplomats, experts, support staff, NGOs, missions, etc.)
- Between 70,000 and 100,000 indirect jobs (service providers, hospitality, catering, real estate, security, transport, consulting, communication, translation, IT, etc.)
- An estimated annual added value of 20–25 billion CHF, or 20–25% of the canton’s GDP
The annual direct spending of international organizations and NGOs exceeds 5 billion CHF, not including the induced effects on the local economy, employment, education, and international attractiveness.
Yet this foundation is facing growing tensions:
- Erosion of bilateral and multilateral funding
- Shifting budget priorities of states
- Transformation of philanthropic models and foundations
- Competitive pressure from other international hubs around the world
Beyond the numbers, the real question is the preservation of expertise and influence of International Geneva.
The crisis is not only financial — it is also organizational, political, and symbolic.
The 機 “Ji”: The Opportunity Created by Impact Finance
Just a few tram stops from the United Nations, Geneva’s financial sector is undergoing its own transformation.
It includes:
- Around 120 banks, about 60% of which are foreign-owned
- Nearly 300 independent wealth managers
- Over 800 financial and consulting firms active in wealth management, ESG, and asset management
- Around 36,000 direct jobs (banking, asset management, compliance, insurance, fintech) and 15,000 indirect jobs (legal, IT, real estate, training, professional services)
- An annual added value of 12 to 14 billion CHF, or around 12% of the cantonal GDP
- Between 1,000 and 1,200 billion CHF in assets managed from Geneva
Historically focused on wealth management, this financial center is increasingly turning toward ESG, impact investing, and blended finance, aimed at funding the common good: climate, biodiversity, water, health, education, social infrastructure, etc.
For the first time, the needs of multilateralism and the tools of impact finance are becoming truly compatible:
- International organizations and NGOs have large-scale transdisciplinary projects, but lack innovative financial mechanisms and clear economic models
- Impact investors have abundant capital, but lack structured, measurable, and scalable projects
This is precisely where the concept of Wei-Ji takes on full meaning: the crisis opens a field of innovation to bring these two worlds closer together.
Two Vital Systems, One Nascent Interaction
Together, International Geneva and the financial sector represent:
- Nearly 40% of the cantonal GDP
- Over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs
- A significant part of Geneva’s identity and international vocation
Yet, despite this geographic and economic interdependence, structured interactions between these two universes remain weak — even nonexistent. The reasons are many:
- Different professional languages (impact indicators vs. return indicators)
- Distinct organizational cultures (mandate-driven vs. market-driven logics)
- Misaligned processes and timeframes (multi-year budgets vs. rapid capital reallocation)
- Lack of equipped frameworks to make multilateral projects legible for impact finance
In this context, impact finance is no longer just a moral niche. It becomes a transversal lever capable of aligning:
- Humanitarian and development goals
- Economic returns and job creation
- Accountability and performance requirements
- Expectations of investors, citizens, and public decision-makers
The Geneva Forum 2025: Turning Wei-Ji into a Driver of Systemic Innovation
The Geneva Forum dedicates the day of Monday, December 8, 2025, at the Palais des Nations, UN Geneva, to this historic shift, within the framework of its International Annual Conference on Finance for Peace and Sustainable Development.
The day’s theme is:
Impact Finance – Investment, Philanthropy, and Blended Finance for Peace and Development.
This edition is part of an ongoing effort to explore new large-scale operating and funding models for the actors of International Geneva and the UN system. Since its first edition in 2001 and its strategic redefinition in 2014, the conference has gradually developed tools, projects, and agile practices in service of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2025, it adopts the ultra-innovative form of a bootcamp to support International Geneva’s adaptation to this new financial landscape.
The day — and the full week that follows — will be dedicated to:
- Making UN organizations and NGOs legible to impact finance
- Identifying and presenting inter-silo transdisciplinary projects eligible for impact funding
- Testing partnership models for financing International Geneva and the UN system
- Running a dry run of the AGILE tool ↗ for impact finance applied to concrete projects
- Creating a space for interactive workshops to co-design solutions and project consortiums
- Publishing an official position statement at the end of the day
The Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva co-endorses and co-develops the opening of the conference, highlighting the strategic importance of finance connected to life — finance that can serve impact projects while strengthening International Geneva.
Impact Projects: Making International Geneva Legible for Impact Finance
The general theme of the Geneva Forum 2025 week is:
Impact Projects: Making International Geneva and the UN System Legible for Impact Finance. Joint Business Opportunities.
This means, in particular:
- Defining transversal impact projects that go beyond sectoral silos (health, climate, human rights, labor, biodiversity, technology, education, regenerative tourism…)
- Structuring these projects to become eligible for impact finance funding sources
- Creating consortiums where each organization contributes part of the solution in exchange for corresponding funding
- Enabling the countries involved to participate in the governance of the projects, based on collaborative governance principles
- Bridging the logics of philanthropy, investment, and public funding through blended finance structures
These approaches can then be modeled and replicated not only in Geneva, but also in New York and other major international hubs where actors in solidarity, sustainable development, industry, and finance coexist.
Toward a New Definition of Development
By combining multilateral expertise with the power of financial instruments, Geneva can become a laboratory where:
- Humanitarian and development projects are co-financed by impact investors
- Climate, biodiversity, or clean water projects become measurable assets with performance indicators
- Education, health, training, or regenerative tourism projects are funded as essential social infrastructure
- Philanthropy, investment, and public funding are viewed as complementary, not separate worlds
- All these projects generate financial returns and liquidity, as well as social and environmental benefits
It is no longer just about finding new donors, but about reinventing the meaning of development, by aligning:
- Social and environmental impact
- Economic viability
- Institutional robustness
- Inclusive governance
From Crisis to Reinvention
In light of the Wei-Ji concept, the current situation of International Geneva can be read as a turning point.
The danger:
- Weakening of traditional funding sources
- Risk of job losses, reduced expertise, and diminished influence
- Emergence of competing international hubs
The opportunity:
- Positioning Geneva as the global capital of impact finance aligned with the SDGs
- Creating structured bridges between diplomacy, field expertise, and capital
- Inventing new economic models for organizations in International Geneva and the UN system
The crisis is not the end of a model — it can become the starting point for a new cycle in which International Geneva fully assumes its role as a global laboratory for impact, in line with its history, values, and responsibilities.
In this sense, the Geneva Forum 2025 does not simply comment on the crisis. It offers a space to transform it into opportunity, and to make Geneva a place where Wei and Ji combine into a forward-looking strategy.