Achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) requires a massive increase in investment. The concept of ‘blended finance’ has been developed to describe a set of approaches and mechanisms that seek to mobilise additional investment towards the SDGs, given that existing sources of finance, including grant donors, international financial institutions (IFIs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) are insufficient. The private sector is widely seen as the most feasible source of additional large-scale funding.
ADE has a track record in evaluations and studies in development finance and blending. We keep abreast of the rapid changes within the global development finance landscape, and actively contribute to international thinking on the roles of public, private and blended finance.
ADE is Consortium Leader for the EU Framework Contract on Innovative Financing for Development (DG INTPA FWC SIEA 2018 Lot 6).
Key services include
- Evaluation of investment facilities and funds, and of blended finance mechanisms
- Evaluation of financial inclusion policies and programmes
- Knowledge-sharing on development finance topics through technical assistance (including training), studies, and seminars and conferences
- Studies on specific finance instruments, many of which are concessional (loans, risk capital, guarantees, factoring, leasing, and other innovative instruments, grants, principally in the form of project investment, interest rate subsidies or technical assistance)
Project examples
- EU – Evaluation of EU cooperation with the World Bank (ongoing)
- OECD – Study on Uses of Core Concepts in Blended Finance and Implications for Evaluation (2021)
- SES – Evaluation of Belgium’s International Climate Finance (2021)
- EIB – End-term and Mid-term evaluations of the EU-ACP Investment Facility (2020)
- EC – Final Evaluation of the EU Support to the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment Partnership (2019)
- NL – Evaluation of the Dutch Infrastructure Development Fund managed by FMO (2018)
- EC – Evaluation of EU Blending, covering the EU’s seven regional investment facilities and projects by EBRD, EIB, AFD and KfW (2016)
- EC – Training of numerous EU staff on Blending (through the MKS programme 2015-2019)
- NL – Evaluation of the Dutch Building Prospects and Access to Energy Fund managed by FMO (ongoing)
- EC – Technical assistance mission to coordinate regional infrastructure projects and prepare project applications for blending finance in Central Africa