Unlocking the Peace Premium: An Evidence-Based Review of the Potentials and Pitfalls of Private Sector Finance for Conflict Transformation

Unlocking the Peace Premium is a comprehensive evidence review that evaluates how private sector activities can foster peace in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. Commissioned by the Finance for Peace initiative and produced by LSE IDEAS, the report distils decades of research and case studies on the business-peace nexus. It focuses on specific, tangible, and measurable contributions that companies make to peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Rather than theoretical pledges or broad corporate social responsibility claims, this report emphasizes concrete actions with demonstrable peace impacts. The findings highlight what has worked, why context matters, providing a framework to scale up peace-positive investment. This summary is intended for policymakers, investors, private sector leaders, and peacebuilding practitioners, offering insights from the evidence base.