MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EDFI to Harmonize Measurement of Development Finance Institutions’ Impact Toward UN Sustainable Development Goals

EDFI, a Belgium-based association of 15 European development finance institutions (DFIs), recently announced the launch of an initiative to “deepen cooperation on… impact measurement.” As part of the effort, EDFI aims to work “towards common definitions and methods to measure impact on SDGs (sustainable development goals), with a focus on key impacts to which private sector enterprises contribute, including gender equality, job creation, reduced inequality, and fighting climate change.” The intention is to harmonize members’ as well as non-members’ usage of currently existing approaches to measuring the development impact of investments, resulting in greater transparency regarding their progress toward non-financial objectives.

Speaking about the new initiative, EDFI Chairman Bruno Wenn stated, “The European DFIs have long been at the forefront of responsible financing for sustainable development. We now build on our long experience as impact investors with strong common commitments on effective measurement of impacts towards the SDGs.”

Established in 1992, EDFI is a nonprofit platform for government-backed institutions to share knowledge and otherwise cooperate. As of 2019, the network’s members jointly manage approximately USD 50 billion of impact-oriented investments worldwide.

By Jolene Khor, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

EDFI news: “European Development Finance Institutions Bolster Measurement of Impact on SDGs”
https://www.edfi.eu/news/responsiblefinancing/

EDFI homepage
https://www.edfi.eu

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