Bridging the Trillions-Gap: Insights & Key Takeaways from Our Blended Finance Event

In April, GOPA and Convergence Blended Finance brought together global leaders in Brussels to explore how blended finance can mobilize private capital for climate and development goals.

The annual financing gap to achieve the development and climate goals is over $4 trillion. This gap has progressively increased over the past decade. As public sector funds are not sufficient to close this gap, private sector action is required. Blended finance has proven to be a useful solution, but the impact is not yet widespread. How can private capital do more to benefit communities, preserving biodiversity and reducing climate change?

To answer this key question, GOPA in collaboration with Convergence Blended Finance, organized a roundtable on Scaling Blended Finance. 

In a hybrid event, organized in our Brussels office, we brought together development agencies, DFIs, multinational companies and asset managers from Europe as well as the UK who are working across the emerging markets and developing economies.

Holger Christ (Managing Director at GOPA AFC) opened the roundtable, laying down the challenges faced by development cooperation, highlighting the need for blended finance solutions. He reminded the house that the imperative is to use blended finance as a strategic tool—leveraging development finance to mobilize the private sector capital essential for transformative climate and development impact. 

Martin Güldner (CEO, GOPA Group) joined the event, which provided strong commitment, leadership and gravitas. 

Key note speeches were delivered by:

• Michael Krake, Deputy Director General, BMZ Germany, and 
• Sebastian Lesch, Head of the Development Section at the German Permanent Representation in Brussels.

Tom Sanderson, Head of Private Sector Development at the FCDO UK, shared vital lessons learned, providing a practical framework for future interventions.

The New Business Imperative

Our expert panel highlighted a significant market shift: Multinational companies are now moving beyond traditional corporate social responsibility, deepening their involvement in responsible investments by integrating them directly into their core business models. The panel was moderated by Regina Vasarais. Our esteemed panelists included:

• Zahir Dasu from British International Investment
• Manon Jacquot from GIZ International Services
• Jasper Siegfried from Lion’s Head Global Partners
• Lindsey Block from Primark
• Simon Duchatelet from Unilever

These are the three key takeaways by Mehnaz Bhaur (GOPA Blended Finance Lead):

1. Where international investors are critical, the billions to trillions agenda can only be met by also leveraging domestic capital markets and tailoring solutions to the local context for sustainability.
2. A limited pipeline of strong bankable projects is a critical barrier for investors. By enhancing project structures, blended vehicles can effectively attract private capital.
3. To achieve real scale, we must transition from complex, one-off, bespoke deals to standardized, replicable fund structures that reduce transaction costs and maximize efficiency.

This roundtable reinforces GOPA’s unique ability to drive the global agenda on inclusion and sustainable development. We are committed to turning these insights into actionable, bankable realities.

We would like to thank once more all our participants, especially from British International Investment, EBRD, European Investment Bank (EIB), Enabel, FCDO Services, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, KfW and representatives of fund managers.