Blended finance is playing an important role in financing the SDGs. Blended finance has demonstrated the strongest alignment to Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), Goal 1 (No Poverty), Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, & Infrastructure), Goal 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth), and Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities). The SDGs will only be realized through global and  cross-sectoral partnerships. The volume of blended finance solutions that target, to varying degrees, key themes of poverty elimination, sustainable infrastructure, and decent work highlights the proven value of blended finance as a piece of the development toolkit.

Ultimately, this Brief is an early effort to map the alignment of blended finance activities to date to the SDGs. The majority of blended finance deals analyzed in this Brief launched before the SDGs were established in 2015. While this analysis provides a useful indicator of where blended finance is playing an outsized role in financing the SDGs, we will have a more rigorous understanding of blended finance and the SDGs when more deals are launched and analyzed post the establishment of the SDGs. We look forward to updating this brief in the coming years when investing in the SDGs is mainstream. 

Blended Finance & SDG Alignment

Authored by Convergence