Expert Voices: Ian Jennings (EBRD) - Who Pays What for Urban Mobility series (session 3)
Urban mobility systems across the Global South face a fundamental and often unresolved question: who pays for what, through which mechanisms, and with what long-term sustainability? Building on MobiliseYourCity’s latest publication Who Pays What for Urban Mobility? this Expert Voices series consisting of three sessions brings together leading practitioners and financiers to unpack the realities behind funding and financing urban mobility.
Rather than presenting financing as a purely technical issue, the series explores it as a strategic policy question, one that shapes accessibility, equity, and system performance over time. Each session combines insights from the publication with real-world experience from development finance institutions, consultants, and practitioners, addressing how cities can design coherent funding policies, mobilise resources, and structure sustainable investment pipelines.
Session 3: Developing urban mobility portfolios in African cities
This session addresses how cities, particularly in Africa, can move from isolated projects to structured urban mobility investment portfolios. Building on insights from the publication ‘Who Pays What for Urban Mobility ?, the discussion will explore how to prioritise investments, sequence projects, and mobilise diverse funding sources.
The session will also examine challenges specific to African contexts, including limited fiscal resources, reliance on informal transport systems, and the need to balance infrastructure development with operational sustainability. The discussion will highlight how development banks and city-level actors can work together to build bankable, scalable mobility programs.
Our guest speaker – Ian Jennings (EBRD)
Ian Jennings is a Senior Urban Mobility Specialist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where he works on urban transport investments and policy reform across emerging markets. He has contributed to projects focusing on bus system reform, electrification, and institutional strengthening, supporting cities in developing sustainable and efficient transport systems. His work combines technical, financial, and policy expertise to improve project design and delivery. He has also contributed to policy papers on urban transport reform within the MobiliseYourCity partnership.