Purpose and scope

State of Blended Finance is Convergence’s recurring research series on the global blended finance market. First published in 2017, it examines how catalytic public and philanthropic funding can mobilise additional private investment for sustainable development, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies.

The series aims to improve understanding of blended finance transactions, investment structures, market participants and barriers to mobilising capital. It provides an evidence base for assessing how development finance can support investment opportunities that might otherwise struggle to attract commercial funding.

Methodology

The reports draw primarily on Convergence’s database of historical blended finance transactions, supplemented by market intelligence, publicly available information, data-sharing arrangements and input from development finance institutions, investors and other market participants.

The analysis examines transaction volumes, financing vehicles, concessional capital, guarantees, investor participation, sectors, geographical distribution and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Individual editions include thematic research, practitioner interviews, policy analysis and transaction or country-platform examples.

The 2026 edition also uses regression analysis and examines country, currency, credit and climate risks. Convergence acknowledges that its transaction database is not exhaustive, because reporting and disclosure practices vary across market participants.

Use by finance professionals

The series can help investment managers, banks, development finance institutions, impact investors and public finance professionals understand how blended finance structures allocate risk and mobilise capital.

It supports research into concessional financing, guarantees, investment vehicles, emerging-market risk, development impact and sustainable investment opportunities. The reports also provide comparative information for transaction design, investment strategy, market research and discussions between public and private capital providers.

Scope and limitations

The series is a market research and transaction analysis resource, not a formal investment performance benchmark or sustainability rating system.

Its annual editions vary in thematic emphasis. The 2022 and 2023 reports focus specifically on climate blended finance, while the other editions cover the wider blended finance market.