Committee publication · Correspondence · 28 April 2026
Correspondence from the Minister of State for International Development & Africa relating to an update on the new five-year strategy of British International Investment (BII), 22 April 2026
Summary
Baroness Chapman updates the International Development Committee on British International Investment's (BII) new five-year strategy launching 23 April 2026. BII will invest £7–8 billion to drive development, targeting 25% of commitments to Least Developed Countries, mobilising £7.5 billion private capital, and allocating over 40% of commitments to climate finance. The strategy reflects a shift from donor to investor, emphasising economic development, resilience, and reducing dependencies in partner countries.
Key findings
- BII will invest £7–8 billion over five years, with a target to mobilise up to £7.5 billion in private capital, central to which is a new British Climate Partners initiative for energy transition projects in India and South-East Asia.
- 25% of new core portfolio commitments will target Least Developed Countries, with intensified policy engagement and technical assistance in Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.
- 30% of new commitments will qualify under the 2X Challenge supporting women's economic opportunities; over 40% of all new commitments will be in climate finance.
- BII will maintain a high-risk appetite with majority-equity portfolio, continuing focus on Africa as a leader among comparable Development Finance Institutions in regional investment proportion.
- Strategy reflects Government's modernised development approach following ODA reduction to 0.3% GNI by 2027, prioritising economic development, resilience, and value-for-money for UK taxpayers.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Sarah Champion MP, British International Investment (BII), Foreign Secretary, UK Government
Notable line
“BII will continue to embody the shift from 'donor to investor', maintaining a high-risk appetite and delivering on this Government's ambitions to scale up private investment in developing countries.”
Key Quotes
“… faced with growing global security threats, the Government last year took the difficult decision to reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the equivalent of 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) by”
“Over the next five-years BII will aim to invest between £7 to £8 billion to drive productive, sustainable, and inclusive development.”
“… five-years, it will target 25% of new core portfolio commitments to be in LDCs. In a smaller number of focus LDCs, beginning with Nepal, Sierra Leone and Zambia, BII will strengthen its work by combining policy engagement and technical assistance alongside its investments.”
“BII aims to mobilise up to £7.5 billion of private capital over the next five-years. Central to this effort is the launch of a new initiative - British Climate Partners (BCP) - to develop and scale …”
“BII will place a strong focus on Africa in its next strategy, maintaining its position as a leader among comparable DFIs in terms of the proportion it invests in the region.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗