Blurred lines: Cases of EU development and commercial instruments for matchmaking

This study takes a closer look at three European private sector support programmes - EuroMed Invest, AL-INVEST in Latin America, and the Enterprise Europe Network - with a strong focus on matchmaking, two of which represent development cooperation and one of which has explicitly commercial objectives. The study aims to better understand their potential to serve development interests while trying to seek an answer to the following research question: what are the lessons to be learnt from development and commercial EU matchmaking instruments to engage business for development? This case study is not intended to be an assessment or evaluation of those matchmaking instruments, but rather aims at a better understanding of their objectives, synergies and differences as well as challenges and limitations. This can help to inform policy makers, those implementing and managing the projects and final beneficiaries to make better use of such instruments as well as better leverage private sector activities for development objectives. It additionally provides insights into whether the considered examples can be replicated in sub-Saharan Africa.