Blended Finance in the Least Developed Countries 2019
The world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs) are among those most at risk of being left behind. While official development assistance and domestic public resources remain essential for their development prospects, they alone will not be sufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. With the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the international community acknowledged the need for significant additional public and private finance, and development partners are increasingly focusing on blended approaches.
What are the trends in blended finance for LDCs? What can it achieve and how? The OECD and UNCDF are working together to shed new light on these issues. Building on a 2018 publication, this edition presents the latest data available on private finance mobilised in developing countries by official development finance, extending the previous analysis to cover 2016 and 2017 as well as longer-term trends from 2012 to 2017. It discusses the most recent international policy trends shaping the blended finance market, and what these might mean for LDCs. Stakeholders and practitioners also share their views on the challenges and opportunities in designing and implementing blended finance operations in LDCs.
Views from the field: Guest contributions
This chapter contains a curated set of guest pieces by practitioners and experts working in the blended finance space – including from representatives of multilateral development finance institutions, a private impact investor, a research institute, a local intermediary, and a non-governmental organisation.The evidence and viewpoints that emerge from these pieces add colour and nuance to the analysis in the previous chapter by showcasing the opportunities and challenges of applying blended finance solutions in LDCs and in particular sectors. They also raise a number of important questions about how best to deploy blended finance solutions in LDCs.