You recently published a letter entitled “Britain makes a poor fist of explaining its aid effort” (March 17) that argued that British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, had prioritised impact over financial returns.
In fact, the mandate of BII, which was founded in 1948 to “do good without losing money”, is to balance both. We aim to bring about positive economic, social and environmental outcomes for millions of people in developing and emerging economies — countries that other investors ignore — while making a financial return.
We have been successful in delivering both. First, our investments create jobs and opportunities. They generate tax revenues. They help combat the climate crisi. For example, our investments provide clean energy to 26mn people across sub-Saharan Africa. And since 2020, we have invested £1.6bn in climate finance.
Second, we’ve secured value for the UK taxpayer by making a financial return of £1.3bn over the past decade. That financial return can then be reinvested.
BII also plays a critical role in mobilising much-needed private capital into developing and emerging economies. Between 2017 and 2023, the investments we made mobilised £6bn from the private sector. We are accelerating this work, including through a new £100mn facility launched by Sir Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, to boost the flow of private capital into developing and emerging economies.
Investment is not a panacea for the global challenges we face. But it has an important part to play in the UK’s approach in developing and emerging countries.
Leslie Maasdorp
CEO, British International Investment, London SW1, UK