Post by FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank

Last week, 80+ donors, foundations, market builders, DFIs and impact investors gathered at the Global Forum of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development in Nairobi to explore a simple question: Can repayable grants help us build markets more effectively? Repayable grants are catalytic capital instruments that sit between traditional grants and mainstream debt and equity. Capital is recycled without interest, subject to partners achieving carefully calibrated impact and/or commercial targets. Backed by the European Commission's IYBA Market Creation program, our #marketcreation team launched the Repayable Grant Learning Lab, bringing together donors interested in deploying repayable grants in their partner-led programs, experienced users, curious newcomers and sceptics to share lessons from both frustrations and opportunities. Building on our hands‑on experience using repayable grants to bridge early-stage opportunities to investment, the Learning Lab creates space to exchange practical insights and further professionalize how this instrument is used. We heard insights from experts from the Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Investisseurs & Partenaires - I&P and FSD Africa's Early-Stage Finance team about how repayable grants are being used to stretch scarce development resources further and support partners with the right level of consessionality. The response was clear: donors, investors and practitioners working on private sector development want to continue the conversation! Repayable grants are still a niche instrument but one with real potential to shift behaviors, unlock effective approaches to market development and deliver greater impact per development dollar. Watch this space as the ‘Repayable Grant Learning Lab’ gathers momentum in 2026 and beyond, bringing donors and implementers together to learn more about the smart application of this instrument! Anne Ytreland, Mehraz Rafat, Michiel van der Pompe, Linde Breukelaar, Julia Kho, Elisabet Montgomery, Oscar Idman, Marina Pannekeet, Patrick Obonyo, Andrew Gartside, Tertia Bailey,  Steven G. Anette Andersson Haileselassie Medhin