Scope

Institutional investors manage well over $120 trillion globally, yet only a small fraction flows into emerging and developing economies (EMDEs), particularly least developed countries (LDCs) and lower middle-income Countries (LMICs). These markets represent the fastest-growing regions in the world, with GDP growth projected to outpace developed economies 2–3x over the next decade. From 2000 to 2022, capital market financing grew by 400% in middle-income countries and 800% in low-income countries. As a share of GDP, the amount in low- and middle-income countries has doubled.

EMDEs, including LMICs and LDCs offer:

• Portfolio diversification: Reduce overall portfolio risk and offer potential downside protection during downturns in mature economies.
• Access to higher growth: Can deliver superior growth potential due to favorable demographics, urbanization, and low valuations. These dynamics often translate into returns that outperform developed economies.
• Opportunities in digital infrastructure and frontier sectors: Provide access to fast-growing, underserved sectors such as digital platforms and critical infrastructure –areas that are often saturated in developed markets enabling creation of higher impact.

Despite the opportunity, capital flows remain constrained by risk perceptions, limited track records, and structuring complexity. This is where blended finance becomes a powerful enabler by combining catalytic capital with commercial investment, managers can mitigate risk, align incentives, and make underserved market strategies investable at scale.

Blended finance transactions involving fund and asset managers are among the largest in the market, with a median deal size of ~$175 million. These structures demonstrate the ability of blended finance to mobilize significant volumes of commercial capital around institutional-scale opportunities. Yet despite this potential, mainstream fund and asset managers have participated in only 21% of blended finance deals to date, highlighting a vast untapped opportunity for scalable, replicable vehicles that can bring institutional capital into high-growth EMDE markets.

The Accelerator for Fund Managers (A4FM) is designed to help fund and asset managers capture this opportunity. Whether you are a first-time manager or an established firm entering new markets, A4FM equips you with the tools, expertise, and partnerships to create scalable, bankable investment vehicles. The program supports institutional investors in diversifying portfolios, entering high-growth markets, and gaining early access to frontier opportunities,while building lasting capacity for blended finance.

Close Date: 22 October 2025