The European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) is part of the EU’s investment framework for external action. It ensures world-wide coverage for blending, guarantees and other financial operations. It is included in the EU’s long-term budget programme for external action: Global Europe – NDICI.

It is a comprehensive instrument that includes

• guarantees
• grants provided through ‘blending’ (a mix of EU grants with bank loans)
• technical assistance to help improve the quality of projects and the implementation of reforms
• other support tools to support the development of partner countries

EFSD+ will raise financial resources for sustainable development from the private sector for inclusive economic development. It will support investment in partner countries to promote decent job creation, strengthen public and private infrastructure, foster renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, and support the digital economy.

The investment framework also includes the External Action Guarantee and together, the two components deliver a firepower of €53,45 billion for sustainable development.The External Action Guarantee has a capacity of €130 billion to guarantee EFSD+ operations. Together with the private sector and thanks to the leverage effect, this may mobilise more than half a trillion euros in investments for 2021-2027.