UN Global Compact Issues Playbook to Scale Corporate Blended Finance

The new guide, "Business-Led Blended Finance: A Practical Playbook," was unveiled during London Climate Action Week 2026. While the blended finance market has expanded to $24 billion annually, the UN Global Compact noted that existing frameworks are designed primarily for development banks and governments. This leaves corporate finance leaders without a roadmap for structuring deals that align commercial viability with national development goals.

Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, emphasized that corporate leadership is essential to bridge the global funding deficit. The Playbook provides standardized tools, including risk management modules and due diligence checklists, to simplify the complex structuring process. Energy and infrastructure projects currently account for 75 percent of corporate activity in this space, acting as primary entry points for companies looking to secure long-term assets.

Industry leaders such as Cemex CFO Mahar Al-Haffar and Tata Steel CFO Koushik Chatterjee highlighted that the guide addresses the resource-intensive nature of these transactions. By providing concrete methodologies, the initiative aims to move blended finance from a niche concept toward a mainstream mechanism for industrial transformation. Case studies included in the text range from FCC Construcción’s digital infrastructure coordination in Europe to Safaricom’s telecom expansion in Ethiopia, demonstrating how businesses can partner with multilateral institutions to mitigate regional investment risks.