Against a backdrop of trillion-dollar funding gaps to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), blended finance has gained momentum among providers of development finance as a means to leverage and catalyse both more finance to meet the SDGs and build the capacity of different actors, the private sector in particular. Continued and growing ambitions to use of blended finance in financing sustainable development have, however, highlighted key considerations on the appropriate level and nature of transparency and data availability. Transparency is a key consideration for providers, implementers and recipients of blended finance resources – as demonstrated, among other things, by existing efforts and initiatives by multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions (DFIs), donors and other actors. While acknowledging the barriers, challenges and limitations; better and more robust data and information will enable all stakeholders to better understand impact, the status of their interests and strengthen accountability to taxpayers, intended beneficiaries and clients.
This paper aims to provide a useful reference for all blended finance stakeholders to build a common understanding of where we are and what needs to be done to further improve blended finance transparency.
