Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to analyse the contribution of the private sector in EU's blended finance.

Paper long abstract:

The use of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to mobilise private finance is increasingly seen as essential to meet the SDGs. Numerous development agencies have set up diverse de-risking initiatives to attract private investment to development projects. Such measures have reportedly been successful in raising private finance and in improving development outcomes. There are, however, concerns with this approach. Funds may be channelled to private shareholders and fail to go to sectors and regions most needed. Funds remain insufficient to plug the SDG funding gap. Blending can create longer-term risks for development agencies while costs for recipient governments and the full impact is often not captured in traditional evaluations. Furthermore, there is an opportunity cost to using ODA in this way as blending may promote the perspective of financial investors over development outcomes, and public oversight over aid may be loosened. This paper proposes to provide an assessment of how EU's blending facilities contribute to the pursuit of the EU's development objectives. This includes a critical assessment of existing evaluation methods of blended finance and impact on developing countries using specific case studies.