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Solutions Lab
Welcome to the Solutions Lab: Scalable Solutions for Investments for the Reduction of Inequality
The Global Solutions Initiative (GSI) and Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) launched “Solutions Lab,” a series of engagements to contribute to broader G20 discussions in Brazil and South Africa on how to tackle this global challenge of persistent inequalities. More precisely, the Solutions Lab aims to develop scalable solutions to leverage joint investments from existing transformation agendas, such as Climate Action, Biodiversity Conservation, and Agenda 2030 to strengthen initiatives that reduce inequalities, particularly in the Global South.
Deep inequalities persist across countries and within societies. Today, 71 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where socio-economic inequality has grown. That is why the fight against inequality has once again been brought to the forefront of the global policy debate by the Brazilian G20 Presidency.
The Lab brings together a diverse range of actors from G20 and other countries, including think tanks, academia, civil society, government entities, development banks, and international cooperation agencies. We want to promote a long-term exchange between G20 stakeholders and their non-G20 counterparts, integrating a wide range of perspectives into the G20 dialogue on inequality reduction.
By sharing experiences, identifying challenges, and developing actionable recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders we seek to create a deeper understanding of how to align investments allocated to multilateral agendas with initiatives aimed at reducing inequality.
Our Lab adopts a unique, laboratory-like approach that emphasizes open discourse, diverse viewpoints, and curated contributions by topic experts. Participants are encouraged to propose themes and formats – ensuring a truly co-creative and inclusive process.
Over the course of this project, we will conduct three in-person dialogues: in Brazil (November 2024), in Germany (May 2025), and South Africa (Q3 2025), complemented by a virtual dialog. One of the key forums where we will present our work is the 2025 Global Solutions Summit in Berlin. Our findings and recommendations will be showcased at this event, contributing to the Summit’s global dialogue on sustainable and inclusive development.
Our lab builds on the ongoing discussions of the Brazilian G20 Presidency and will be guided by the priorities and themes of the upcoming South African G20 Presidency.
At the end of the G20 New Delhi Summit, the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said: “If we want to make a difference, we have to put reducing inequality at the center of the international agenda”. This key priority is also reflected in the motto of the Brazilian Presidency: Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet highlighting the reduction of socio-economic inequalities as crucial for growth and the realization of transformative goals like the SDGs, Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
One key initiative of the Brazilian G20 presidency is the establishment of a Global Alliance against Poverty and Hunger. The goal of the Alliance, which is set to be launched during the upcoming G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is to provide significant political momentum for leveraging existing funds and solutions. Moreover, the Alliance seeks to create an operational framework that will mobilize financial resources and knowledge to the implementation and scaling up of actions.
Our Lab is going to analyze what hampers the uptake of existing solutions and to upscale investment approaches that work, centered around two challenges:
- Integrating inequality reduction in the investments across the agendas 2030, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Defining the prerequisites for scaling solutions through identifying the procedural and technical issues
