Working Better Together in a Team Europe Approach

Blending¹³⁵ is the strategic use of a limited contribution to mobilise financing from partner financial institutions and the private sector to enhance the development impact of investment projects.

In blending, EU financing is combined with non-grant resources such as loans, equity and guarantees from finance institutions (FIs) as well as commercial loans and investments in order to achieve a leveraged development impact. In the context of development cooperation, blending projects are targeted at achieving sustainable growth and reducing poverty. The strategic use of a limited EU contribution can make projects with low financial returns but high economic and social gains possible.

The EU implements blending operations in the context of the EU Blending Framework through regionally or thematically focused blending facilities or platforms that support projects contributing to the fulfilment of EU and partner countries’ strategic development goals. Blending facilities and platforms cover all countries eligible under the relevant financing instruments or frameworks.

Joint implementation through this modality allows European partners to leverage larger amounts of financial support for the achievement of objectives, using ODA funds as a catalyst. In developing a blended operation, European partners working with European development finance actors can design actions that coherently combine different financial tools in pursuit of agreed joint policy objectives.

135 Guidelines on EU Blending operations - EXACT External Wiki - EN - EC Public Wiki (europa.eu).