Trillions of dollars in annual funding are needed to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recently adopted by the 193 members of the United Nations. Catalysing significant private investment through the strategic use of public and philanthropic capital to mitigate risk is fundamental to advance progress towards these global sustainable development goals (SDGs). To date, the project has developed the concept and model of Blended Finance to bring public, philanthropic and private capital together to explore specific opportunities to achieving sustainable economic growth in global growth markets. Previous work has focused on adoption of a common lexicon (Primer on Blended Finance), outlining the change mangement process (How-To Guide) and a landscape survey of existing Blended Finance funds.
Additionally, two Blended Finance platforms have been launched: the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership and Convergence. Both of these platforms provide capital suppliers with access to a pipeline of individual Blended Finance project transactions. As a result, there is substantial interest and growing recognition of the critical role of Blended Finance as a business opportunity for development funders and private and institutional investors. The project will transition to a operationalise phase which will build out these initiatives, scale the growth and effectiveness of tools and partnerships, and disseminate these concepts to new geographies (Asia) while building capacity with public institutions and foundations. This will be accomplished by scaling the level of engagement with institutions, building the operational infrastructure for self-sustaining partnerships, broadening awareness by hosting workshops and events in new geographies and with new partners, and by filling the gaps for supportive policy frameworks that facilitate Blended Finance by benchmarking best practices.
Objectives
The project will accelerate understanding and implementation of a pioneering approach to development finance. Specific aims include:
- Extending the reach and efficiency of official development assistance through the complementary deployment of philanthropy, impact and other private investment
- Boosting private investment in developing countries through the complementary deployment of risk mitigation and concessional finance tools and
- Expanding the amount of foreign and domestic capital available for economic development. Successful implementation of the project will result in:
- Active engagement of new investors, financial institutions and companies in projects that contribute to development such as improved infrastructure
- Increase in available capital for emerging and frontier markets *Dramatically improved livelihoods for people in these countries
- Regulatory policies that are conducive to attracting and supporting investment flows
