Financial innovation platform
Making existing financial flows work better to create a fairer financing system.
Innovation
Coordinating flows that already exist
The Concept
Launched in 2026, Sustainabar FX Lab is Sustainabar’s dedicated financial innovation platform, developing new financial architectures to address persistent barriers to investment in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).
Its founding insight is simple. Every day, millions of people in diaspora communities send money home, converting foreign currency into local currency. At the same time, investors financing local projects often need to convert local currency back into foreign currency.
These flows have historically operated separately, despite having naturally complementary currency needs.
Sustainabar FX Lab is exploring how they can be coordinated to make Foreign Exchange (FX) hedging more affordable and accessible. The approach seeks to use existing financial flows more efficiently, without reducing the value of remittances, creating new sovereign debt or relying on new pools of capital.
The Problem
Across EMDEs projects often generate revenues in local currency while investment is provided in foreign currency. Where affordable long-term FX hedging is unavailable, this currency mismatch can significantly increase financing costs and prevent otherwise viable investments from proceeding.
The consequences extend beyond investors. When investment is delayed or does not happen, businesses struggle to grow, infrastructure is not built and communities lose access to jobs, services and economic opportunity.
By improving the affordability and availability of FX risk management, Sustainabar FX Lab aims to unlock private investment that might otherwise be delayed, reduced or not happen at all.
Who it serves
Stakeholders
Sustainabar FX Lab is being developed for the institutions and markets affected by the cost and availability of FX risk management:
Investors and financial institutions seeking more affordable FX protection
Development finance institutions and multilateral development banks
Governments and market institutions seeking to unlock investment in local currency
Ultimately, the local businesses and communities whose growth depends on access to affordable finance
The pilot
Sierra Leone is the first pilot market
It was selected because of its clear market need, significant diaspora remittance flows, supportive institutional environment, emerging pipeline of investable projects and strong local partnerships.
But Sierra Leone is the beginning, not the destination.
The pilot is designed to test and establish a scalable framework that can be adapted to other markets. The longer-term ambition is to develop an open-source approach that other countries can learn from and build upon, with early interest already emerging in The Gambia and Liberia.
Evidence
Feasibility Study Findings
A first-stage feasibility assessment examined the concept across six dimensions: market, institutional, legal and regulatory, commercial and financial, operational, and development.
The assessment identified a genuine and well-recognised market failure, alongside strong interest from financial institutions, investors, legal advisers and development partners.
The work found no fundamental barriers to progressing the concept towards a structured pilot, while identifying the technical, operational and risk-sharing questions that must now be addressed through further development and testing.
Publications
Read the work
Sustainabar FX Lab Concept Note
The Concept Note sets out the mechanics of the solution in detail, including the cash flow structure, the financing instruments involved and the roadmap from concept to pilot.
Sierra Leone Feasibility Assessment
The Sierra Leone Feasibility Assessment sets out the rationale, proposed architecture and early findings behind Sustainabar FX Lab’s first pilot. It examines the market opportunity and the legal, institutional, commercial, financial and operational considerations involved in developing a remittance-backed approach to more affordable FX risk management.
Values
Our Approach
We believe market-shaping financial innovation should be developed as a public good.
The evidence generated through Sustainabar FX Lab will be shared openly, whether it confirms or challenges the original hypothesis, allowing others to learn from the work and build on what is developed.
The objective is not simply to create a solution for one market or one transaction, but to contribute to a broader body of knowledge about how existing financial flows can be used more efficiently to unlock investment.
Frequently asked questions
About Sustainabar FX Lab
What is Sustainabar FX Lab?
Sustainabar FX Lab is Sustainabar’s dedicated financial innovation platform, developing new financial architectures to unlock investment in EMDEs. Its flagship work explores how everyday diaspora remittance flows can be used to make FX hedging more affordable and accessible, helping unlock private investment held back by currency risk.
How does the Sustainabar FX Lab mechanism work?
Diaspora remittances typically involve converting foreign currency into local currency, while investors financing local projects may need to convert local currency back into foreign currency. These flows have complementary currency needs. Sustainabar FX Lab is exploring how they can be coordinated through financial institutions to improve the availability and reduce the cost of FX hedging, without reducing the value of remittances.
Why is FX risk a barrier to investment in emerging markets?
Many projects in EMDEs generate revenues in local currency, while investment is often provided in foreign currency. Where affordable long-term FX hedging is unavailable, this currency mismatch can increase financing costs and prevent otherwise viable investments from proceeding. Improving access to affordable FX risk management could therefore help unlock investment that might otherwise be delayed, reduced or not happen at all.
Why is Sierra Leone the first pilot?
Sierra Leone combines a clear market need, significant diaspora remittance flows, a supportive institutional environment, an emerging pipeline of investable projects and strong local partnerships. The pilot is intended to test a framework that can generate learning for other markets. Sierra Leone is the beginning, not the destination.
Is the feasibility assessment available to read?
Yes. The Sierra Leone Feasibility Assessment sets out the rationale, proposed approach and first-stage findings behind Sustainabar FX Lab’s pilot work. It is available to explore on this page, alongside the Concept Note.