In a hotel ballroom in Can Tho, Vietnam, more than 100 entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers gathered around a series of pitches. A shrimp farmer explained how new systems withstand rising salinity. A start-up founder described turning agricultural waste into export-ready products. What connected them was not just innovation and the potential to achieve impact at scale, but a shared trajectory—each enterprise had been supported through the Impact Private Sector Partnerships (IPSP) programme.

Following its closure in June 2026, IPSP’s legacy is not simply measured in outputs. It showed how relatively modest grant funding, combined with the right partnerships, can reshape how development is delivered.

A Different Model for Development

Delivered by Palladium with funding from the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), IPSP ran from 2019 to 2026 with a focus on mobilising private sector solutions to development challenges.

Its model brought together two complementary approaches: the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP), which co-invested with businesses to test and scale impact-driven models, and the Business Engagement Support Unit (BESU), which strengthened DFAT’s capability to work with the private sector.

Across 42 partnerships in 12 countries, the programme demonstrated how businesses, governments and communities can jointly deliver results in complex markets—particularly during disruption. As COVID-19 unfolded, partners adapted operations, protected jobs and maintained supply chains, underscoring the value of flexible, market-based approaches.

What Success Looked Like

On paper, IPSP’s results are significant. The programme:

• reduced more than 118,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions
• supported the creation of over 5,200 jobs
• enabled more than 85,000 people to gain new skills
• improved access to services, including electricity, for remote and underserved communities

But the impact becomes clearer at the level of individual lives.

In Papua New Guinea, solar agent Esther works at the centre of a growing energy market. Beyond selling solar systems, Esther supports households to access finance, learn how the technology works, and manage repayments. “It’s not just about selling solar. It’s about helping people understand the technology and showing them how it can change their lives,” she explains.

Across the Indo-Pacific, there are similar stories of opportunities harnessed. In Bangladesh, biodigesters turn agricultural waste into clean energy. In Nepal, low-carbon brick enterprises create jobs while rebuilding homes. In the Solomon Islands, solar systems provide cost effecive and reliableenergy for essential services such as hospitals.

These projects adopted a consistent approach to delivering sustainable impact: by devising solutions that operated within markets, rather than alongside them, their impact has continued beyond the initial pilot phase supported by grant funding.

Building Markets, Not Just Projects

One of IPSP’s defining features was its focus on shaping markets.

In Vietnam, partnerships supported the development of carbon market infrastructure—creating methodologies, testing systems, and building investor confidence. Across the Pacific, off-grid renewable energy initiatives combined technology with new financing and governance models to ensure long-term sustainability.

For those directly involved, the difference was tangible. “When I bought insurance, I didn’t really expect to receive any payout, so when I did, I was happy… This money helped me cover my costs,” reflected a farmer in the Mekong Delta on receiving a climate insurance payout for the first time:

The shift was subtle but significant: support was not delivered as one-off assistance, but helped to test and strengthen systems that could respond predictably to risk and provide assurance that enabled further investment in a new approach.

Inclusion Through Enterprise

In its later years, IPSP strengthened its focus on inclusion—embedding gender equality within business models rather than treating outcomes for women as a parallel objective.

Women moved into roles as technicians, cooperative leaders and entrepreneurs across multiple sectors. In Vietnam, targeted support to women-led enterprises helped businesses transition from pilot phases to commercial growth. In the Pacific, women played central roles in managing and maintaining local energy systems.

This reflected a broader transition: from women’s participation as beneficiaries to supporting their greater agency as decision-makers.

A Model that Endures

More than 80% of IPSP-supported business models continued beyond programme funding, supported by over AUD 28 million in additional investment mobilised through the grant-based partnerships. These outcomes point to a clear lesson. Development programmes that engage the private sector effectively do more than deliver short-term results—they create systems that sustain themselves.

Back in Can Tho, conversations continued long after the presentations ended. Investors exchanged details, partners compared approaches, and new ideas began to take shape.

IPSP may have closed, but the markets—and the opportunities—remained.