Accelerating the transition journey

Evaluation of the EBRD’s approach to Early Transition Countries (2017–2022)

Background

This evaluation reviews the early transition country (ETC) classification and its use in the EBRD, and the extent to which it is furthering TI in EBRD’s smaller, and less advanced countries. It provides an assessment of the results of EBRD’s work there from 2017 to 2022, across the three strategic priority areas identified in 2016 for ETCs. These included: i) private sector development and access to finance; ii) sustainable infrastructure development and renewable energy, and iii) inter-regional connectivity and international integration.

The evaluation question covers three areas guided by the OECD development assistance criteria including the relevance and coherence of the approach; effectiveness and results achieved; and, efficiency, whether tools and resources used efficiently. The scope included the range of tools and instruments deployed in the ETCs including those of the Small Business Initiative such financing frameworks, municipal frameworks for infrastructure, CAPEX grants, donor supported advisory services for SMEs and financial institutions, policy dialogue and legal transition initiatives.

The evaluation team took into consideration constraints present across ETCs during the evaluation period including the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine, geo-political dynamics including conflict and the challenges of the political economy.

Main findings

The main findings of the evaluation were threefold. First, the relevance of the ETC classification and transition approach is not always adequate. Second, some countries show positive results despite pandemic delays while others lag. Lastly, Bank resources are used more efficiently with delegated frameworks and local staff, but country donor fund allocations remain unclear.