Official development assistance (ODA) fell by 9% in 2024, with a further 9%–17% decline projected for 2025 (OECD, 2025). With global aid budgets under pressure, development finance institutions (DFIs) and donors must do more with less.

This heightens the urgency of ensuring that blended concessional finance (BCF) is used strategically, transparently and with maximum catalytic impact – a concern that precedes the current aid crisis. While BCF has long been seen as critical to unlock private investment in high-risk markets, questions have persisted about whether it is being deployed in ways that truly maximise additionality and reinforce markets.

This working paper fills a knowledge gap between high-level frameworks and operational practice. It draws on nine anonymised case studies from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) across three sectors: renewable energy, financial institutions (FIs) and agricultural value chains.

Report by the Overseas Development Institute