Mid-term evaluation of the Investment Facility and EIB own resources operations in ACP countries and the OCTs

The Investment Facility (IF) is a risk bearing instrument established in the framework of the Cotonou Agreement. It is managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). It is available to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and overseas countries and territories (OCTs). It is funded on grant resources from the 9th and 10th European Development Fund (EDF). It provides risk capital, loans and guarantees to private sector initiatives conducive to economic growth and poverty reduction. It also provides funding for essential public sector investments essential to private sector growth and a competitive business environment. Private sector development (PSD) is at the heart of the Investment Facility. The Facility and EIB own resource operations over the period 2003-09/2009 mainly supported the financial sector (incl. through credit lines) and the sectors of energy, transport and water. Operations were led mainly by the private sector, but several also by the public sector or by public-private partnerships (PPPs). This investment facility is a regional blending mechanism in the sense that it ‘blends’ grants with loans and other financial instruments. Through its higher risk-bearing capacity, the Facility (funded itself on EDF grants) provided risk capital enabling to finance operations that could not be have been funded under EIB own resources, and allowed interventions with a larger range of financial instruments (e.g. subordinated loans, equity, quasi-equity, guarantees). A grant envelope further enabled to provide interest rate subsidies and technical assistance. The mid-term evaluation that ADE conducted aimed to assess, over the period 2003-2009, (1) the relevance and performance of the Investment Facility (IF) and EIB own resources (OR) operations in ACP countries and OCTs (relevance, impact, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, coherence, and the EIB value added) and (2) to identify key lessons learnt in order to improve the current and future EIB operations in ACP countries and OCTs. In particular, the relevance of the operations with regard to development needs was assessed, as well as the coherence with national and regional EU development policies/strategies and with partner country national policies. The evaluation further reviewed the IF’s effectiveness in terms of access to finance, enterprise performance, private sector growth, social and environmental impact, and its catalytic effect or mobilisation effect. Moreover, the overall risk profile and the financial sustainability of the IF were assessed, as well as its overall efficiency. Finally, coordination and complementarity of the operations with those of the Commission and EU Member States and of other international and bilateral institutions and agencies (incl. European Development Finance Institutions – EDFIs) were reviewed. Most stakeholders supervising the evaluation mentioned that they considered the report as excellent. It is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/evaluation/evaluation_reports/2010/1285_docs_en.htm


Project Details
Country ACP COUNTRIES
Start date 2009.09.29
End date 2011.04.19
Client EC
Sector EVALUATION
Sub-sector Thematic
Ref. ADE A377-02