Join us to mark the formal launch of the LSE Blended Finance Lab, funded by the Global School of Sustainability. We will start with a brief update on the work of the Lab. Then, with the help of an esteemed group of panellists, we will ask what needs to happen for blended finance to make a material contribution to meeting our sustainability challenges. The event will be followed by a networking reception.

Panellists:

• Hans Peter Lankes, Deputy Chief Executive and Managing Director, ODI Global
• Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, LSE Visiting Professor in Practice; former Deputy General Manager, Bank for International Settlements
• Odile Renaud-Basso, President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• José Viñals, Special Strategic Advisor and former Chairman, Standard Chartered; Member of the LSE Council

About the Blended Finance Lab

It is widely recognised that there is an enormous gap between transition finance requirements and what is being delivered globally, with a particularly stark gap in emerging and developing markets. Blended finance has long been identified as an important tool for crowding in private capital but overall remains very subscale compared with what is required. While some of the reasons for this are well understood, there remains a need to work on practical solutions.

LSE has decided to devote resources to this effort through the launch of a Blended Finance Lab. The Lab will provide a format for LSE to bring its breadth of capability to bear in working with market participants to address specific practical problems within the market for blended finance. The Lab will work cooperatively with other initiatives to provide problem-solving capability in an agile way in response to market needs.