InFiNe.lu at the European Development Days

InFiNe.lu at the European Development Days

InFiNe.lu attended the European Development Days (EDD), a two-day forum where actors of the development and cooperation sector share their ideas and experiences.
For its 13th edition, the EDD 2019 “Addressing inequalities: Building a world which leaves no one behind” aimed to bring together the European Union’s commitment to address inequalities with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The stands of international actors and projects including, among others, several InFiNe.lu’s members, demonstrated the benefits of the EU’s international cooperation. Panels and discussions offered the opportunity for the development community to share innovative projects, research initiatives, knowledge and lessons learnt and showcase achievements such as the DEVCO Academy or the EU Blending Facilities.

• The DEVCO Academy is a new platform openly accessible to the entire development community providing free access to learning sources (development policies, methodological approaches, financial management,…) in different formats (webinars, e-learning courses, video, documents) and languages. The topics are diverse like gender, knowledge sharing, climate change, human rights, resilience, financial & contractual procedures. Here are a few of the following online courses offered:
• • A Systematic Approach to Financial Inclusion (to better understand financial inclusion)
  • 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (to understand the SDGs)
  • Poverty Reduction Quizz (to test your knowledge in the area)
  • Social Media for Development
  • Risk Management

• The EU Blending Facilities is the use of a limited amount of grants to mobilise financing from partner Financial institution’s and private sector to enhance the development impact of investment projects. It therefor mobilises public and private resources. This instrument of the EU external cooperation is established in all regions where it is active (7 in total) and is structured in 7 Investment Facilities:
• • Latin America Investment Facility (LAIF)
  • Asia Investment Facility (AIF)
  • Investment Facility for Central Asia (IFCA)
  • Africa Investment Facility (AfIF) and
  • EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (ITF)*
  • Caribbean Investment Facility (CIF)
  • Investment Facility for the Pacific (IFP)

Blending is implemented via 4 types of support:

1. 1. Grants for direct investment and interest rate subsidy
   2. Technical assistance
   3. Risk capital to help mobilise additional financing
   4. Guarantee mechanisms to reduce risk and improve access to finance.