Plenary Panel - Financing Humanitarian Action - What Works in Practice?

21 Oct 2026
AidEx Main Stage

This opening plenary will frame humanitarian innovative finance through practical solutions already being tested in operational settings. It will explore how organisations are using different financing approaches to respond earlier, manage risk, sustain services, and build more resilient delivery models.

The session is designed for the broader AidEx audience and sets practical, solutions-focused context for the more focused sessions and case studies that follow.

Focus:

  • Examples of financing approaches that are already being applied in humanitarian and fragile contexts.
  • How different actors, including NGOs, donors, private sector partners, DFIs and MDBs, can support practical implementation.
  • What lessons can be taken into programme design and partnership development.
Speakers
Albashir Ibrahim
Albashir Ibrahim, Executive Director - Organization for Sustainable Development Africa (OSDA)
Colum Wilson
Colum Wilson, Former Head of Humanitarian Department - FCDO
Aisha Aljassim
Aisha Aljassim, Acting Head of Disaster and Emergency Relief - Qatar Fund for Development 
Mathias Mogge
Mathias Mogge, CEO and Secretary General - Welthungerhilfe (WHH)
Abhinav Verma
Abhinav Verma, Senior Manager, Nutrition Financing and Partnerships - Children's Investment Fund Foundation