DFI Working Group on Blended Concessional Finance for Private Sector Projects: Joint Report 2022

Blended concessional finance can be used to unlock investment into sustainable development, especially through the private sector. The increasing use of concessional funds blended with Development Finance Institutions’ (DFIs’) own financing and that of others on commercial terms has brought DFIs together to (i) develop common standards for the implementation of blended concessional finance projects; (ii) provide transparent, comprehensive and consistent data on their blended concessional finance activities; and (iii) discuss and review the merits and adequacy of existing approaches to blended concessional finance activities. The ultimate objective of this work, with a distinct focus on private sector operations, is to increase development impact, crowd-in private investment while ensuring minimum concessionality, move towards commercial sustainability, and enhance trust and transparency for the use of blended concessional finance from DFIs, all without distorting markets.

In calendar year 2021, DFIs financed long term projects with a total volume of $13.4 billion supported by blended concessional finance. Concessional funds committed to these projects via DFIs were approximately $1.9 billion. The total volume of private sector finance leveraged was approximately $4.6 billion, and DFI own-account investments in these projects were about $5.3 billion.