By: Rosemary Noelke
As a twenty-something-year-old, I am constantly told that I am entering an “exciting” chapter of my life: a stage of growth defined by climbing the corporate ladder. Popular culture glorifies this supposed sovereignty over my time through TikTok trends such as “my 5 to 9 before my 9 to 5”. But what if I don’t want to “grow” in the manner defined by mainstream society? What if I never want to step onto the corporate ladder?
The romanticization of hyper-productivity, profit-seeking and individualism is also evident in development finance. Built on the very foundation of the promise of continual growth, blended finance does not provide solutions for low-income countries. According to the data, low-income countries receive only a fraction of contracts. Furthermore, this mode of development financing shifts investment away from the public services needed most by low-income populations, focusing instead on profitable investments.
In my personal life, I have begun to focus on existing and flourishing in an attempt to “degrow” my mindset. I believe that we can debunk the myths of blended finance by subjecting its key assumptions to similar scrutiny. It is clear that blended finance is designed to push the global capitalist narrative of excessive growth in new directions, but we need something else instead of more public-private partnerships. Drawing inspiration from the concept of degrowth, we can begin to deconstruct the colonial and capitalist narratives founding this strategy.
What is Degrowth?
The concept of “degrowth” opposes the global capitalism system, which values growth above all else, exploiting people and the environment in the process. Degrowth activists and researchers advocate for prioritizing social and ecological well-being rather than corporate profits and overproduction. To do so, this strategy calls for radical redistribution and reduction in the material size of the global economy.
The problem targeted in degrowth is not individual consumption but rather overall capitalist and colonialist narratives. Degrowth is more than just a critique of Western overconsumption; it challenges the mechanisms of colonial appropriation and exploitation that form the foundation of capitalist growth. Degrowth and other forms of “eco-socialism” go hand in hand with anti-imperialism. After all, progressive politics in the North are useless if not aligned with the effort for decolonization in the South. It is, therefore, essential to situate degrowth relative to the Global South and Indigenous resistance movements. This decolonial degrowth promotes recovery, renewal, and resistance through re-rooting and re-commoning.
Applying degrowth to blended finance
It all begins with a mindset shift. To apply degrowth to blended finance, we must first tackle its profit-driven nature. To ensure aid goes to those who need it most, blended finance must be restructured with the degrowth mindset of care, solidarity and autonomy.
With this in mind, DFIs such as Findev can commit to and revitalize the Aid Effectiveness Agenda. In addition, instead of focusing on private enterprises, DFIs could use their resources to push a pro-public agenda by decommodifying and expanding public goods. This would mean that governments should update the mandates of their DFIs to prioritize projects aimed at improving public services, for these services are most likely to help the poor. Findev can adopt a public-public partnership approach to financing, prioritizing projects to enhance basic infrastructure and service delivery.
DFIs should also refrain from utilizing tax loopholes such as tax havens. Contrary to the mission of degrowth, tax havens hinder economic and social development, weaken public services and contribute to social and political instability. Tax havens are a clear product of blended finance’s prioritization of economic growth over public services and community well-being.
By utilizing these strategies, blended finance can mirror degrowth methods of redistribution and public service prioritization. This degrowth framework is essential in rewriting the capitalist narratives that found traditional conceptions of international development, including blended finance. It is time to change our definition of growth to a concept that promotes autonomy, agency, and human flourishing.
Sources:
Rosemary Noelke 
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