From Promise to Performance: Reforming Blended Finance for Scale

Authors

Perrine Toledano, Columbia Law School, Columbia Center on Sustainable InvestmentFollow
Ana M. Camelo Vega, Columbia Law School, Columbia Center on Sustainable InvestmentFollow
Tucker Wilke, Columbia Law School, Columbia Center on Sustainable InvestmentFollow

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

6-2025

Abstract

Blended finance has the potential to help close the sustainable development financing gap. Strategically combining public and philanthropic capital to unlock private investment, it has proven to be an effective tool to de-risk impact investments. But without bold, structural reform, it risks remaining a niche tool – promising in theory, underperforming in practice. Drawing on over 65 expert interviews and in-depth analysis, this report from the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) maps the systemic barriers preventing blended finance from operating at scale, and outlines a practical path forward. With bold leadership and coordinated reform, blended finance can become a mainstream channel for sustainable investment at scale.

Disciplines

Banking and Finance Law | International Law | Law | Law and Economics

Recommended Citation

Perrine Toledano, Ana M. Camelo Vega and Tucker Wilke, From Promise to Performance: Reforming Blended Finance for Scale (New York: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), June 2025).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sustainable_investment/57