According to the State of Blended Finance Report 2021 by Convergence, the devastation caused by the pandemic has further exposed gaps and shortcomings of the healthcare sector and amplified the need for new solutions, innovations and increased healthcare capacity and infrastructure. The white paper introduces the principles of blended finance as an instrument and how it can play a role in India’s healthcare sector. By using a combination of public or philanthropic (grant) with commercial (equity or debt) capital to create a new funding structure, India can move towards closing the funding gap needed to achieve developmental impact in healthcare at scale.
Several case studies included in the white paper highlight the advantages of using different types of blended finance structures to help entities access affordable debt to scale operations, significantly improve a project’s viability and encourage financial institutions to lend into new markets and make credit available to under-served borrowers. Even though there is no one-size-fits-all solution to initiating or scaling blended finance, it can create investment opportunities for development and be truly transformational to social and health outcomes in India.
