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Feb 2021
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Jamaica: Micro Credit Act to Strengthen the Microfinance Sector
February, 28 2021
Jamaica - After years of discussions the Micro Credit Act, 2021, which aims to license and regulate microcredit institutions that provide financing to individuals as well as micro, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs), was passed in the Senate recently and now awaits the completion of the necessary processes before becoming law ...
Central Bank of Ghana Launches Regulatory Sandbox Pilot for Blockchain and Financial Projects
February, 28 2021
Ghana - The Bank of Ghana also stated that the project was one way it intends to breach the gap on financial inclusion in the country. The bank also directed that entities with innovations that follow the requirements can apply for evaluation and consideration. ...
A Lesson in Impact Investing: Achieving Measurable Impact in India through Education
February, 26 2021
India - On the global SDG Index, India's rank is an unflattering 117 out of 193 countries. To develop a roadmap for improvement, the Modi government has created a domestic SDG India Index ...
Google and IDB Pump Money into LatAm Microfinance Institutes
February, 26 2021
Latin America - Google and the IDB will give $8 million and $4.5 million, respectively, to Locfund Next, a regionally managed institution dedicated to providing financing in local currency ...
First in Latin America and Second Worldwide: BBVAMF Still Leads in Contribution to Development
February, 26 2021
Latin America - For second year running, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) ranks as the leading contributor to development in Latin America, and the world’s second, next to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ...
Where Do Green Billions Go?
February, 26 2021
Global - The attraction of green bonds lies in their simplicity, but more needs to be done to monitor where funds go so the investment does not leak back into the wider busines ...
Cambodia: NBC, IFC to Boost SME Financial Access
February, 25 2021
Cambodia - The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will join forces on the “Cambodia Supply Chain Finance Market Development” project and expand financial access for the Kingdom’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) ...
Beyond Capital Fund Supports Healthcare Innovation Initiatives with Investment in India's Redwing Labs
February, 25 2021
India - Beyond Capital is pleased to announce its recent investment in Redwing Labs, a healthcare drone logistics company that aims to optimize the delivery of time-critical medical supplies in hard-to-reach regions and crisis situations ...
Brazil: Mobile Payments Fintech RecargaPay Raises $70 MN in Series C Funding
February, 25 2021
Brazil - RecargaPay, Brazil’s largest payments and mobile money ecosystem, has announced securing $70 mn in Series C funding round to further enhance its all-inclusive payment platform, democratizing access to digital financial services for millions of new users. ...
Indonesia: P2P Lender Amartha Partners with Lendable, Receives $50 Million Commitment to Lend to Women MSEs
February, 24 2021
Indonesia - According to Amartha, the lending platform has partnered with Lendable Inc, including a commitment to fund $50 million in venture capital to Amartha’s Borrowers who are women MSEs in villages of Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi ...
Viridis Terra International Launches Treesoflives®, a Sustainable Impact Investment Fund
February, 23 2021
Latin America - The TreesOfLives® fund is an impact investment fund promoting the development of a green economy based on sustainable and durable activities. This fund will be used to finance restoration projects for degraded land in Latin America ...
Southeast Asia: ErudiFi Raises $5 Million in Series A Round Co-led by Monk's Hill Ventures and Qualgro
February, 23 2021
Southeast Asia - Tech-enabled company ErudiFi, providing access to affordable education financing in Southeast Asia, on Tuesday announced the close of a $5 million Series A round co-led by Monk's Hill Ventures and Qualgro ...
Impact Fund Managers Increasingly Ambitious on Financial Returns, New Listing Shows
February, 23 2021
Global - Impact fund managers included in this year’s ImpactAssets 50 database are increasingly targeting higher investment return rates, the latest listing reveals ...
Scatec and Nizam Energy Close Financing for Solar Plant in Pakistan
February, 22 2021
Pakistan - FMO agreed to provide half of the debt quantum under a credit facility of $39m. Three local commercial lenders will provide the remaining half under credit facilities of an aggregated $42m (PKR6.7bn) ...
J. Purcell, Group Head of Sustainable Investment, Quintet Private Bank: Don’t Believe the Hype - The Sustainable Investing Challenge
February, 22 2021
Global - Until sustainability is embedded in the asset-allocation process, writes James Purcell, our industry will continue to overstate and under deliver ...
India: Kinara Capital Secures USD $10 Million from Indusind Bank with 100% Guaranty from U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
February, 21 2021
India - The five-year investment from IndusInd’s Impact Lending division with backing from DFC will be utilized by Kinara Capital to stimulate small business growth across the manufacturing, trading, and services sectors in India. ...
EBRD Provides US$ 100 Million Loan to Turkey’s Denizbank
February, 21 2021
Turkey - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing US$ 100 million in new funds to Denizbank A.S. to finance companies’ investments in green technologies and support women-led businesses as the Covid-19 pandemic continues ...
R. Akinkugbe-Filani: Africa’s Housing Revolution Needs More Than Bricks and Mortar
February, 19 2021
Africa - Infrastructure development must be linked to a broader system of financial inclusion, a strong regulatory and institutional framework to govern service delivery and construction, resilient economic demand for services, long-term low-cost capital, and technology and innovation ...
African Alliance and Tshikululu Launch Unique Impact Investment Offering for Africa
February, 18 2021
Africa - African Alliance Asset Management, has joined forces with Tshikululu Social Investments, a social investment manager and advisor, to offer global investors Thrive Africa, a unique Impact Investment offering for Africa ...
REFFA Invests $3mln in West Africa’s Education System
February, 18 2021
West Africa - Fidelis plans to use this financial assistance to finance private educational institutions in Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire ...
Bhutan: RENEW’s Microfinance Project Benefits Farmers in Dagana
February, 17 2021
Bhutan - The project, in collaboration with Karma One Stop Shop, provides power-tillers at 15 percent less than the market price for farmers. For places, where there are orders for three or more, the machine is delivered free of cost ...
IDB Explores Private Sector, Expanding Shareholders for Pandemic Recovery
February, 17 2021
Latin America - A new coalition formed by the Inter-American Development Bank and private sector companies to increase growth and investment in Latin America and the Caribbean isn’t just “more rhetoric” but a “historic partnership,” IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone said Wednesday ...
Kenyan Energy Startup SunCulture Raises $11m to Expand Solar-Powered Irrigation Across Africa
February, 17 2021
SSA - The startup, which raised a US$14 million Series A funding round last year, has secured a US$11 million credit facility arranged by SunFunder, a financing company specialised in solar energy, and joined by new financial partners ...
Creation Investments Sets up Debt Fund to Invest $100 Million in India
February, 17 2021
India - Global impact investor Creation Investments Capital Management LLC is setting up a debt fund in India and will raise $100 million to invest in the country, the company said ...
FacePhi Provides Biometric Onboarding for Mibanco Customers in Latin America
February, 17 2021
Latin America - FacePhi continues to solidify its grip on the Latin American market. The facial recognition specialist has revealed that it is providing biometric onboarding services for Mibanco, which is the largest microfinance bank in the region ...
J. Curtin and D. Khanna, Rockfeller Foundation: How to Make Climate Investments Flow to Distributed Renewables
February, 16 2021
Global - There is widespread recognition that distributed renewables are often the least-cost option to provide energy access in a climate protective way. So why do DREs not get a bigger slice of the climate finance pie?  ...
C. Schwank, Program Lead, Siemens Stiftung: Social Enterprises as Job Creators - Four Ways the Sector Can Boost Employment Opportunities in Africa
February, 16 2021
Africa - According to a comprehensive analysis of 12 selected countries in Africa conducted and published by Siemens Stiftung, social enterprises (SEs) could create about 1 million direct jobs in the analyzed countries – but they need backing to maximize their untapped potential ...
D. Pieretti, Vice President, HSBC: Why Investors Should Heed the African Tech Startups Devouring Consumer Finance
February, 16 2021
Africa - In African countries like Egypt and Nigeria – two of the continent’s largest and most mature economies where financial exclusion rates remain orders of magnitude greater than in the US – hundreds of funded startups have already begun unlocking the long-term value in almost every sector, especially financial services. ...
India to See $500-Billion Investment in Renewables by 2030: IEEFA Report
February, 16 2021
India - India is set to see investments to the tune of around $500 billion in the renewables sector if the country has to achieve the target of 450 gigawatts (GW) of capacity by 2030, said a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) ...
ESG Demand Prompts More Than 250 European Funds to Change Tack
February, 16 2021
Global - Rising demand for “sustainable” investment prompted managers to change the strategy or investment profile of 253 European funds in 2020, helping to push regional assets invested in funds with an environmental, social or governance tilt to a record €1.1tn by the end of December, data from Morningstar show ...
India: Aavishkaar Group-Promoted Arohan Financial Files for IPO
February, 15 2021
India - The entities that will take part in the offer for sale are Maj Invest Financial Inclusion Fund II, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Tano India Private Equity Fund II, TR Capital III Mauritius and Aavishkaar Goodwell India Microfinance Development Company II Ltd ...
Do Not Write an Obit for Indian Microfinance Sector Just Yet
February, 15 2021
India - With its potential to emerge stronger through every crisis over the years, large entities in the NBFC-MFI sector have started drawing positive interest from bankers as they now look at this sector favourably ...
IFC Pledges $400million to Help Finance Providers Support Small Businesses
February, 13 2021
Global - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has stepped in to help financial services providers deliver funding to pandemic-hit small businesses and low-income households with a $400million support package ...
South Africa: DBSA Issues $242 Million Green Bond to Support a Low Carbon Economy
February, 11 2021
South Africa - The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has announced the launch of its first green bond. The €200 million ($242 million) bond was issued through a private placement with the French development finance institution, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) ...
Pakistan: BOP & FGEHA Sign an MoU
February, 11 2021
Pakistan - This MoU will go a long way in providing affordable housing to the employees of federal government and BOP will be a key player in materializing this vision ...
Kenyan Energy Startup, SunCulture Obtains $11 Million for Its Solar-Powered Irrigation Expansion across Africa.
February, 11 2021
Kenya - With these funds, the startup, which claims to be the first company to commercialise solar-powered irrigation in Africa hopes to prevent the emission of 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year as farmers replace diesel pumps with solar ones whilst facilitating income growth and job opportunities in rural communities. ...
Fiji: Landmark Payment System Reforms to Support Economic Activity and Boost Financial Inclusion
February, 11 2021
Fiji - Everyday transactions will be made easier and faster under reforms being introduced by the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) to modernize the nation’s financial system, in turn supporting small businesses and individuals and promoting inclusive economic development ...
Africa and Asia: DFC and Shell Foundation Launch New Collaboration to Accelerate Access to Renewable Energy and Gender Inclusion
February, 10 2021
Africa and Asia - The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Shell Foundation have announced a new collaboration to bring affordable renewable energy to more than 5 million people in low-income areas of Africa and Asia by 2025 ...
Future Returns: Investing in the Circular Economy
February, 09 2021
Global - The shift to a global economy based on reusing, repairing, and recycling—instead of making things, using them, and then throwing them away—is gaining traction as a sustainable investing theme ...
D. Jackson and J. Machano, UNCDF: Private Investors Can Help End Poverty - They Just Need to Think Small and Local
February, 09 2021
Global - All poverty is local. But all prosperity is local as well. The path to prosperity is only as sound as the infrastructure it is built upon. It is time for private investment, and the global financial system, to demonstrate this fact ...
World Bank Supporting Bangladesh to Provide WASH Facilities in Rural Areas
February, 09 2021
Bangladesh - Following a market-driven approach, the project will help build a more hygienic model, offset pit latrines for safe sanitation; and large and small piped water schemes for clean water. ...
J. Balani and D. Waldron: Emerging Tech-Based Financing Models in Affordable Housing
February, 09 2021
Global - The gap between demand and supply of affordable housing finance products is huge, estimated at $16 trillion by McKinsey & Company. This presents a sizeable business and social impact opportunity for financial service providers (FSPs) to develop new products and services that enable housing finance for low-income families ...
S. Madsbjerg and J. Rodin: What Impact Investors Can Learn from the Organizations They Work With
February, 08 2021
Global - In order for the sector to grow at the scale needed, we need to put investors in the same room as the “problem solvers” — the people and organizations working on the environmental and social problems that sustainable investors want to help fix ...
India: Fintech Startup Sarvagram Raises $10.5 Million in a Series B from Elevation Capital and Elevar Equity
February, 08 2021
India - This funding will be utilised to strengthen rural lending firm’s technology platform, expand its reach into new geographies and launch new offerings ...
EIB Provides €2.7m to Microfund for Women to Support Jordan's Micro-Enterprises
February, 08 2021
Jordan - The new financing is expected to support around 9 100 new beneficiaries, more than 90% of whom will be women ...
A. Bare and A. De La Cruz: Too Risky Not to Invest - Why Funding Latin America’s Healthcare Sector Should Be a Key Impact Investing Priority
February, 08 2021
Latin America - It’s time for bold action among investors who are willing to serve the nuanced capital needs of the region’s diverse health enterprises. Investors with the courage to broaden their lens will be rewarded by high social and economic impact returns on their investments ...
ESG Funds Defy Havoc to Ratchet Huge Inflows
February, 06 2021
Global - By the end of the year, the total assets in sustainable funds hit a record of almost $1.7tn, up 50 per cent over the year, on the back of a record year for sustainable fund sales. ...
Latin America and the Caribbean: IDB Invest Launches $ 1 Billion Inaugural Sustainability Benchmark Bond
February, 05 2021
Latin America and the Caribbean - The bond proceeds will finance eligible green and social projects as set out in its new Sustainable Debt Framework supporting IDB Invest's strategy to reignite growth through the private sector in Latin America and the Caribbean ...
‘Build Back Bluer’: Small Island Developing States Pursue New Finance Mechanisms
February, 05 2021
Global - As SIDS work to recover, diversify their economies, and build resilience for future shocks, blended finance can help them draw in impact investment and private sector financing to support their transition to sustainable ocean economies ...
India: MFIN Welcomes RBI Move to Harmonise Regulations for Micro Finance Lenders
February, 05 2021
India - Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) on Friday welcomed the Reserve Bank's decision to come out with a consultative document to harmonise regulatory framework for micro financiers ...
EBRD Lending 15 Mln Euro to Moldova's ProCredit Bank to Back MSMEs
February, 04 2021
Moldova - The financial package will allow businesses to invest in the modernisation of their equipment and production processes to EU standards in product quality, health and safety measures and environmental preservation, the EBRD said in a press release ...
Africa: AfDB, UNEP and Grid Publish Guide to Sustainable Sanitation
February, 04 2021
Sub-Saharan Africa - The African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Grid-Arendal have just presented a tool to assess and stimulate Africa's sanitation sector. The "Atlas of Sanitation and Wastewater" is the result of four years of research ...
Latin America: Bamboo Capital Partners Exits CONFIE after Triple-Digit Growth in Loans and Savings Portfolios
February, 04 2021
Latin America - Through its investment in CONFIE in 2007 as part of its first Financial Inclusion Fund, Bamboo has positively impacted the development of two microfinance institutions: Banco FIE in Bolivia and Fie Gran Poder in Argentina ...
Sri Lanka: SDB Bank Set to Boost SMEs and Women Entrepreneurship Nationwide
February, 04 2021
Sri Lanka - The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has approved a USD 40 Million (Rs. 7.5 Billion) term loan facility to SDB bank in a bid to promote financial inclusion, resulting in more support to SMEs, particularly female-owned Small and Medium Enterprises. ...
Indonesia: Pasarpolis Raises US$5m from World Bank's International Finance Corporation to Democratise Insurance
February, 04 2021
Indonesia - The investment in PasarPolis is the first IFC has made in the insurtech sector in Indonesia, where insurance penetration rate remains low ...
Engie Chile Gets IDB Invest Loan for Wind Project, Early Decarbonisation
February, 04 2021
Chile - Chilean utility Engie Energia Chile SA has secured USD 125 million (EUR 104.2m) in funds to build the Calama wind project and decarbonise its operations as it moves towards closing its coal-fired power plants in Chile ...
India: Japan’s Gojo Doubles down on Satya MicroCapital
February, 03 2021
India - The latest funding is among the largest equity infusions received by a microlender during the pandemic which has roiled the sector ...
ABC World Asia Leads US$24m Series B Round in Vietnam's Kim Dental
February, 03 2021
Vietnam - Temasek-backed ABC World Asia, a Singapore-based private equity fund focused on impact investing in Asia, has led a US$24 million Series B round in Kim Dental, a dental system operator in Vietnam ...
Luxembourg and Cote d’Ivoire to Invest in African Tech Impact Fund
February, 02 2021
Africa - The Governments of Luxembourg and Cote d’Ivoire will invest a total of EUR10 million into Bamboo Capital Partners’s BLOC Smart Africa, a technology impact fund with a target of EUR100 million ...
A. Apampa, Convergence: How Can Blended Finance Mobilize Institutional Investors at Scale?
February, 02 2021
Global - With institutional investors likelier to focus on their home markets due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Convergence believes blended finance will serve as an important tool in showcasing investable opportunities and providing the protections that can draw institutional investors into EMs at scale ...
Banco Davivienda El Salvador Gets IDB Invest Loan for Green Projects, SMEs
February, 02 2021
El Salvador - IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, said it is providing a one half of the total amount, while another USD-50-million was mobilised through co-financiers ...
GGF, KEP Trust Boost Green Financing for Farmers in Kosovo
February, 01 2021
Kosovo - The Green for Growth Fund (GGF) has invested EUR 3 million into microfinance organization KEP Trust for on-lending to private individuals and small farmers in Kosovo ...

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