The Stream (with Will & Tom)
An unscripted conversation with guests who reject the status quo with a bias for action, in the world of water and beyond. Co-hosted by Will Sarni and Tom Freyberg.
The Stream (with Will & Tom)
From FIG to FIGS – Usha Rao-Monari on water economics and the need to make flexible financing work
Former UN Under-Secretary-General Usha Rao-Monari joins The Stream to explore why blended finance isn’t working for water, lessons from the energy sector, and how her FIGS model can drive change through finance, innovation, governance, and social equity.
In this episode of The Stream podcast, Will and Tom are joined by Usha Rao-Monari — Senior Partner at Wellers Impact and Former Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations.
Usha reflects on her 25+ year career across finance, infrastructure, and development, including her time as Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We dive deep into why blended finance — combining public and private investment, grants, equity, and debt — still isn’t working in the water sector, and what water can learn from energy and renewables when it comes to incentives and investment models.
She also shares her updated FIGS framework (Finance, Innovation & Infrastructure, Governance, and Social equity) — a model designed to drive real impact in complex systems.
If you've heard Usha speak before, you'll know how clearly she explains big ideas. This episode is packed with insight, inspiration, and practical takeaways for anyone working at the intersection of water, climate, finance, and development.
🧠 Topics include:
- The challenges and promise of blended finance
- Economic models for scaling water solutions
- Parallels between water and energy investment
- How to embed social equity into infrastructure strategy
- Career reflections from the UN and beyond
🔔 We hope you enjoy the episode and make sure to follow and subscribe to our channels to get alerts on the episodes.
We’re delighted you can join us on this voyage of discovery, as we journey down The Stream.
Special thanks to this season's sponsor, Raymond James.
And our charity partner, Frank Water.
And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water Institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.