The financialisation of official development assistance is increasing, yet remains an under-researched area of public policy. This project will enhance understanding of the scope, drivers, and consequences of the financialisation of UK official development assistance (ODA), with a particular focus on private equity investments channelled through British International Investment in Kenya. As the UK’s primary private sector instrument for official development assistance, British International Investment’s activities have expanded significantly over the past decade, yet their development impact remains insufficiently explored.

Working in collaboration with Kenyan researchers, this project will combine document analysis and new interview data to evaluate UK financialised ODA, and host a workshop at the University of Nairobi’s Institute for Development Studies to share project findings, engage with other scholars and practitioners, and plan future collaborative funding applications and publications.

By employing qualitative methods to investigate private equity, this project offers a novel approach to a topic often dominated by quantitative analyses. It mobilises our collective multi-disciplinary expertise across political economy, international development studies, politics, and critical finance studies, to generate new data and provide an innovative nuanced understanding of the depth and impact of the financialisation of aid on the ground.

The project therefore addresses the pressing social challenges associated with the effective use of ODA. With progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals slowing, particularly following COVID-19, the effective use of ODA is more critical than ever. Although the UK reduced its ODA budget from 0.7 percent to 0.5 percent of gross national income in 2022, the newly elected Labour government has indicated a willingness to review its development policies. This project is therefore both timely and globally significant, offering evidence-based insights to inform policy and practice at a crucial juncture.