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Sep 2020
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Easy Solar Raises $5m in Series A Equity and Debt Funding to Scale Operations in West Africa
September, 30 2020
West Africa - Easy Solar announced the closing of a $5m round of funding, to scale operations in West Africa including a $3 million Series A Equity round led by global impact investor Acumen and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, in addition to a $2m debt facility from investment platform Trine ...
South Africa Pins Infrastructure Hopes on Green-Bond Appetite
September, 29 2020
South Africa - South Africa plans to tap global appetite for green bonds to help fund an infrastructure program worth as much as 2.3 trillion rand ($135 billion) over the next decade ...
Cambodia: MFI’s Bad Loans Remain in a Stable Condition
September, 28 2020
Cambodia - The non-performing loan rate for Cambodia’s microfinance industry remained stable at 2.31 percent for the month of August, after rising from 1.33 percent in January and peaking in May at 2.61 percent, according to an industry report seen by Khmer Times ...
ADB, KfW Partner to Boost COVID-19 Response and Financial Inclusion in Indonesia
September, 26 2020
Indonesia - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and KfW, the German state-owned development bank, today signed agreements for €450 million (about $525 million) in cofinancing to improve Indonesia’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response and enhance financial inclusion in the country ...
IFC Adopts New Climate Rules to Deter Lenders from Backing Coal
September, 25 2020
Global - The World Bank's private-sector arm has introduced new climate change conditions for its investments in commercial banks to encourage the lenders to wind down support for coal projects in Africa and Asia ...
India: Samunnati Raises $20 Million in Debt from US International DFC
September, 25 2020
India - The newly raised capital will help the company to expand its financing and technical assistance to low-income farmers and enterprises throughout the agricultural value chain in India ...
EBRD and GCF Boost Climate Financing for Mongolia
September, 24 2020
Mongolia - Smaller firms in Mongolia will benefit from new opportunities to make their businesses more energy efficient and productive thanks to a $4 million loan provided by the EBRD and GCF to XacLeasing, one of the country’s largest financial leasing companies, the EBRD said on September 21 ...
Brazil Announces New Measures to Expand Credit to Micro-Sized Firms
September, 24 2020
Brazil - Brazil's National Monetary Council (CMN) on Thursday announced new measures to expand and speed up the flow of credit to micro-sized businesses, many of whom have been hardest hit by the economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic ...
COVID Response Spawns Network to Support Latin American Entrepreneurs
September, 23 2020
Latin America - This spring, organizations supporting entrepreneurs in Latin American scrambled to help small and growing businesses survive the COVID disruption. This fall, they’re turning their new collaboration into an ongoing network ...
IFC and COMPASS GROUP Announce Investment for up to US$21 Million to Help Micro and Small Peruvian Enterprises
September, 23 2020
Peru - The alliance is materialized in IFC’s investment commitment for up to US$21 million to be invested in one of the funds managed by Compass Group SAFI, “Compass – Fondo de Inversión Adelanto de Efectivo”, which translates itself as a cash advance investment fund. ...
COVID-19 and Fintech: Myanmar's Chance to Expand Financial Inclusion?
September, 23 2020
Myanmar - Myanmar has seen an increase in financial technology (fintech) and digital payment offerings since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, raising hopes for the expansion of financial inclusion in a country where banking penetration remains below the regional average. ...
Fund to Cut Emissions in Developing World Cities Launched
September, 23 2020
Global - Implemented by the World Bank and the European Union's lending arm, the European Investment Bank, the City Climate Finance Gap Fund aims to unlock at least 4 billion euros ($4.66 billion) for low-carbon and climate-resilient projects ...
D. Waldron, CGAP: The Breaking Point: How Warranties Support Sustainable Asset Finance
September, 22 2020
Global - Despite the obvious importance of warranties, there are many signs that they are being treated as an afterthought in emerging markets, with adverse financial implications for both the suppliers and distributors who provide asset finance ...
Pakistan: Microfinance during Covid
September, 22 2020
India - Overall, the state of the microfinance sector in the early months of the crisis now looks like a mixed bag, between shrinking outreach and growing deposits. But it’s not a terribly bad picture during a global pandemic and local recession ...
Greenlight Planet, Solar Pay-As-You-Go Market Leader, Secures $90 Million Investment
September, 22 2020
Global - New Funding to Expand the Company’s Pay-As-You-Go Solar Financing Business, Backed by Leading Investors CDC Group, FMO, Norfund, and ARCH Emerging Markets Partner ...
How a Mandate for Impact in Emerging Markets Helped the IFC Outperform the S&P 500
September, 21 2020
Global - Investors often meet skepticism when they say that they can make money while doing good. A new analysis of every equity investment International Finance Corporation has ever made validates this notion, especially when capital is scarce ...
In Latin America, Impact Finance Demonstrates Remarkable Progress and Untapped Potential
September, 21 2020
Latin America - There is significant interest in impact investing in Latin America as a whole, but most of the financial activity occurs at the national level, providing an opportunity to develop diverse and country-spanning investments ...
What Is the Point of Green Bonds?
September, 19 2020
Global - A new study by the Bank for International Settlements, a club of central banks, raises questions about the purpose of green bonds ...
How off Track Are the SDGs, Exactly? We Don't Know, but It Might Not Matter
September, 18 2020
Global - The pandemic has set the ambitious, but shaky, Sustainable Development Goals even further off track for completion by 2030. But exactly how badly has COVID-19 derailed progress ...
EBRD and World Bank Finance Solar Power Project in Kazakhstan
September, 18 2020
Kazakhstan - The loan consists of an EBRD local currency loan of up to $ 28 million, a concessional loan of up to $11.5 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and a concessional loan of up to $3.1 million from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) ...
India: Fourth Partner Energy Receives INR 1.26 Billion to Expand Distributed Solar Footprint
September, 17 2020
India - The bond was issued by Symbiotics’ sponsored bond issuance platform. The investors in the bond are ASN Groenprojectenfonds at INR 345 million (~$4.6 million), Triodos Groenfonds for INR 345 million (~$4.6 million), and Symbiotics’ advisory and mandated fund with INR 570 million (~$7.7 million) ...
MSCI Launches Tool to Help Investors Align with UN Sustainable Development Goals
September, 16 2020
Global - The tool brings together MSCI's framework covering over 8,600 equity and fixed income issuers, with analysis of the full range of a company's operations, products, services, policies and practices, to evaluate its net contribution to addressing the global challenges the UN SDGs aim to tackle ...
Striving for Sustainable Impact: The Role of Entrepreneurship in Closing Gender Gaps in Myanmar
September, 15 2020
Myanmar - The report showcases ten innovative startups, outlining their motivation, vision, management structures, and business models used to drive development of enterprises, products, and services to serve women employees and customers ...
How Big Is the SDG Backslide? Gates Foundation Presents New Data
September, 15 2020
Global - The fourth annual Goalkeepers report, which launched on Monday ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, draws on new data to provide what the Gates Foundation describes in a press release as “the most current global dataset for how the pandemic is affecting progress toward the Global Goals. ...
EIB Lending 50 Mln Euro to Back Recovery of Montenegrin SMEs
September, 15 2020
Montenegro - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide a 50 million euro loan ($59.4 million) to Montenegrin small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in tourism and other sectors severely affected by COVID-19, it said ...
Lumos to Expand Solar Footprint in Nigeria with Latest Investment Win
September, 15 2020
Nigeria - Solar home system provider Lumos has obtained $35 million in financing from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to expand its existing solar power market in Nigeria ...
Green Bonds and Future Financing in Egypt
September, 14 2020
Egypt - Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) approved the legal framework for issuing such bond ...
India: Asirvad Microfinance Raises Rs 220 Crore from Invest in Visions GmbH
September, 14 2020
India - Asirvad Microfinance has raised Rs 220 crore (Euro 25 million) of debt from Germany based social impact fund Invest in Visions GmbH for onlending ...
A. Majid, Managing Director at KMR: Four Tools for Increasing Sustainable Energy Financing
September, 14 2020
Global - A supportive policy and regulatory framework as well as a sustainable finance ecosystem with the appropriate financial tools are required to mobilize capital. ...
India: RBI Asks Microfinance Institutions to Learn from Past; Gives Mantra to Maintain Credit Discipline
September, 12 2020
India - Building capital buffers and managing liquidity would be crucial for MFIs in fortifying their balance sheets against coronavirus-led disruptions ...
ADB Okays Financing for Cambodian Grid, Utility-Scale Battery
September, 11 2020
Cambodia - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of USD 127.8 million (EUR 108m) to support the expansion of Cambodia's transmission infrastructure and a grant for the country’s first utility-scale battery ...
Brazilian Fintech Supersim Raises Debt Financing to Fund Rapid Loan Book Growth
September, 11 2020
Brazil - SuperSim Análise de Dados e Correspondente Bancário Ltda. ("SUPERSIM"), a leading Brazilian fintech startup with a focus on promoting technology-enabled financial inclusion for the working class, recently announced a securitized debt facility of up to 30MM BRL (approximately 6 million USD) ...
Y. Saltuk Lamy and D. Kolar, CDC Group: Trade Finance Provides ‘Systemic Liquidity’ to Emerging-Market Businesses in COVID Crisis
September, 10 2020
Global - Trade finance, and other forms of invoice or inventory-backed working capital financing, is exactly the type of support businesses need to maintain operations and jobs without jeopardizing financial health by taking on leverage or diluting ownership during a crisis ...
M. Mangeni, A. Molino and J. Musyoka, Intellecap and Viktoria Ventures: A Guide To Angel Investing During COVID-19: Eight Tips for Investors in East Africa
September, 09 2020
East Africa - If you’re an angel investor focused on East Africa, how can you ensure that you not only select companies that are likely to succeed, but also that you will get some level of returns from your capital? Below we’ll discuss some practical considerations that can guide your investment thesis ...
M. Griffin and E. Duflos, CGAP: Elevating the Collective Voice of Poor Consumers in Financial Policy
September, 08 2020
Global - How can poor people be better represented in financial policy making? This is a question that the financial inclusion community has been asking itself for the past two decades. ...
EBRD Lending $54 Million to Turkey's Isbank
September, 08 2020
Turkey - Since 2009, the EBRD has invested 12.4 billion euro through 311 projects in various sectors of Turkey's economy. The EBRD’s 7 billion euro portfolio in Turkey is the largest among the 38 economies where it invests ...
Smart Subsidies for Africa’s High Risk, Low Return Smallholder Finance Market
September, 08 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - A financing model from Aceli is looking to turn tens of millions of dollars in donor capital into hundreds of millions in lending by mitigating risks and boosting the returns for lenders to the least-served and most impactful African agribusinesses ...
EU Legislation Seen Pushing Impact Investing into Mainstream
September, 08 2020
EU - The European Union’s (EU) impending regulations on sustainable finance will not replace current responsible investment frameworks but seek to move impact investing into the mainstream, according to Cerulli Associates ...
A. Misra, CEO at MFIN, and V. K. Singh: Can OCEN Fill the Credit Gap to India’s ‘Missing Middle’?
September, 07 2020
India - The Open Credit Enablement Network provides the building blocks for a credit marketplace, and could enable easier flow of funds to MSMEs, but we should not expect any quick turnaround in the fortunes of these businesses ...
M. Söderberg and Floris Faber, ACT Alliance EU: Developing Countries Deserve Fair and Transparent Climate Support from the EU
September, 04 2020
Global - The EU has committed to mobilise climate finance to support developing countries in their efforts to combat climate change. However, new research shows that EU institutions fall short on delivering on their financial commitments, write Mattias Söderberg and Floris Faber ...
Swedfund Makes Large Commitment to the Off-Grid Solar Energy Sector
September, 04 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - Swedfund, the Swedish Development Finance Institution, commits USD 12m to the Solar Energy Transformation Fund managed by SunFunder ...
Arisaig Launches ‘Pioneering’ Public Markets EM Impact Fund
September, 04 2020
Emerging markets - Emerging market investment boutique Arisaig Partners has launched a public markets impact fund, with the strategy understood to include seed money from a Scandinavian pension fund ...
India: Micro-Credit Lenders in the Process of Developing Credit Assessment Tool
September, 03 2020
India - Lenders in the micro-credit space are developing a credit assessment tool which will support them to go beyond multiple/over lending limits and more systematically evaluate the low-income customer vis-a-vis cashflows, leverage and repayment history, including use of comprehensive credit information report (CCIR) ...
FirstRand Secures $225m to Finance Green Projects in South Africa
September, 03 2020
South Africa - International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a loan to FirstRand Bank to enable increased financial and advisory support to energy-efficient and water-smart projects in South Africa, helping the country meet decarbonisation goals and other environmental targets ...
SSA: $25m Investment Expands Horizon for Clean-Energy Firm
September, 03 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - Independent private equity fund manager Metier has announced a $25-million investment into clean-energy company Broadreach Energy, which specialises in deploying renewable-energy and energy efficiency projects in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors of various African countries ...
K. Imboden, Lead Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP: Yes, Financial Inclusion and Financial Stability Are Compatible Goals
September, 02 2020
Global - In a time of crisis when financial policy makers are focused on protecting the stability of the financial system, it is important not to lose sight of financial inclusion goals. In fact, evidence has continued to mount that the stability of a financial system depends, to some extent, on how inclusive it is ...
Indonesian Insurtech Startup Pasarpolis Gets $54 Million Series B from Investors Including Leapfrog and SBI
September, 02 2020
Indonesia - PasarPolis, the Indonesian-based startup focused on making insurance policies more accessible in Southeast Asia, has closed a Series B round totaling $54 million. Investors include LeapFrog Investments and SBI Investment, both firms that focus on financial services; AlphaJWC; Intudo Ventures; and Xiaomi ...
Pakistan: Telenor Microfinance Bank Receives $45m Equity Injection to Continue Its Growth on Digital Strategy
September, 02 2020
Pakistan - Telenor Microfinance Bank, the first scheduled microfinance bank of Pakistan and the operator of the country’s leading digital payments platform Easypaisa, has received an investment of $45 million from its shareholders Telenor Group and Ant Group Co., Ltd. (Ant Group) ...
Eradicating Global Poverty Could Be as Simple as Donating 0.1% of GDP - So Why Haven't We Done It Yet?
September, 01 2020
Global - Contributing would ensure that poorer countries have a voice in funds’ governance, whether symbolically, as a sign of their moral right to be heard, or physically, as members of the board deciding on priorities and policies ...
Pakistan: Changing Repayment Behaviour of Small Borrowers
September, 01 2020
Pakistan - The gathering storm over the country’s microfinance industry that serves about 7.3 million poor households and micro-enterprises with a gross loan portfolio of over Rs300 billion appears to be dissipating slowly ...

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