GB Invest Initiative is a holistic private sector-led platform that is dedicated to developing investment readiness across the key areas of socially inclusive and eco-friendly economic activities in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Pakistan. It is an innovative approach, that is aligned to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, that recognizes the pivotal role of impact investments and private-sector-led partnerships in advancing socio-economic dynamics of a region with preservation of the environment. Therefore, since its inception, the GB Invest Initiative has been nurturing, monitoring, evaluating, and researching (NMER) on opportunities for equitable and participatory economic growth, that generates social benefits, protect environmental fragility, increase economic productivity, and bring about a long-term development in the region.

The GB Invest Initiative is led by a consortium of private sector partners, that are cohesively working together as the GB Invest Secretariat, which acts as the core implementing organ of the initiative, successfully maneuvering it towards the achievement of its mission.

GB Invest is a joint effort, powered by Rupani Foundation (RF) along with social impact advisors and academia including Reenergia (RE), Karakorum International University (KIU), and Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). Below are short profiles of these core partners:

1. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) – The premier Pakistani think-tank researching and developing policies on core national and regional issues, with an inimitable network of experts in development economics.
2. Rupani Foundation – An impact-driven Foundation which is the primary financier and investor in GB and the rest of Pakistan. It has already invested in impact-driven projects from Education, Skill Development to Climate Change Resilience.
3. Reenergia – Pakistan’s first ‘do-tank’, with a focus on designing and implementing impact investment strategies, and specialized expertise in mountain communities and developing nexus resilience.
4. Karakorum International University (KIU) – The academic beacon of GB located centrally in Gilgit with networks and academic-research alliances all across GB.

This private-sector consortium works in collaboration with the Government of Gilgit Baltistan (GoGB) to nurture and compliment regional development policies with its private-sector-led initiatives. The mission of GB Invest Secretariat is to attract, monitor, evaluate, and research impact investment opportunities and transactions that are funneled into GB to work in harmony with the public sector vision of creating social wellness, economic prosperity while preserving GB’s natural resources. The Secretariat provides policy direction and guidelines and manages the initiative throughout planning, implementation, and evaluation to ensure that the objectives are achieved. The secretariat allows stakeholders to engage and mutually develop the most relevant activities under the initiative, with a full consensus between the partners and showcases a true reflection of the diverse needs of GB. The Secretariat’s structure is headed by the Steering Committee (GoGB, RF, RE, KIU, and PIDE), under which there are working groups, and coordinators with focal persons to have a fully functional system in place that ensures successful maneuvering of GBII.

Website: https://gbinvest.org/