Tracking Inequalities in Development Finance: The I-Marker Now Integrated into EFSD+

At the forefront of advancing equitable development, the European Commission has taken a significant step by integrating the Inequality Marker (I-Marker) into the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). This integration, effective from Spring 2025, ensures that all EFSD+ investments—both guarantees and blending operations—are systematically assessed for their contribution to reducing inequalities. For now, the application of the I-Marker to EFSD+ will begin with blending operations, and will be extended to guarantees in the next programming round.

What is the I-Marker?

Adopted as an internal tool in 2022, the I-Marker enables DG INTPA to better understand, track, and benchmark the impact of development cooperation interventions on inequality reduction across all sectors, including Global Gateway priorities. The tool was officially launched to external stakeholders in June 2023 in Paris, marking a commitment to strengthening evidence-based approaches in development policy.

Aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 10 (SDG 10), the I-Marker applied to EFSD+ will identify the extent to which investments contribute to reducing socio-economic disparities. It assesses interventions through a three-tiered classification:

• I-2: Investments that have the general/principal objective and at least one specific objective/outcome aimed at reducing inequality and generating a positive impact on the bottom 40% or other socio-economically disadvantaged individuals, households, or groups.
• I-1: Investments that have at least one significant specific objective/outcome directly aimed at reducing inequality: (i) at the national level, (ii) in a specific geographical area, or (iii) within a particular sector.
• I-0: Investments that do not have a specific inequality reduction objective.

Each score is determined based on four assessment criteria, outlined in the newly released EFSD+ I-Marker Guidelines. 

The integration of the I-Marker into EFSD+ is a major step towards embedding equity considerations into EU development finance, ensuring that investments actively contribute to a more inclusive world.

Resources

To support this transition, the European Commission has developed detailed guidance:

• Guidance for applying the inequality marker to the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus
• I-Marker Guidelines
• I-Marker One-Pager
• I-Marker Video
• I-Marker E-Learning Module

For more information or to discuss project alignment with the I-Marker to EFSD+, contact the G4 Unit focal point, Mathilde Cournut (Mathilde.Cournut@ec.europa.eu).