3 mins in Development Finance/ wk 06

My weekly reading list for those interested in development finance and Impact investing focused on developing countries.

IFC and World Bank

• (-.09.20) IFC and Denmark — Partners in Private Sector Development | IFC
• (-.02.21) Tech Start-ups Deliver COVID-19 Relief | IFC
• (08.02.21) What we’ve been reading: How to improve graduate employability |The World Bank
• (08.02.21) Relief for Nigeria’s DISCOs through $500m World Bank support project | ESI Africa
• (08.02.21) World Bank and Asian Development Bank join forces for a resilient recovery in South Asia | The World Bank
• (08.02.21) World Bank Launches Sustainable Development Bond for RockCreek and the Equality Fund While Raising Awareness for Gender Equality | The World Bank
• (09.02.21) African banks may wait until 2024 to return to pre-crisis revenues — Sérgio Pimenta, IFC | The African Report
• (09.02.21） Bangladesh Receives $200 Million from World Bank for Safe Water and Sanitation Services in Rural Areas | The World Bank
• (09.02.21) IFC Initiative to Help Financial Institutions Support Small Businesses Disrupted by Pandemic | IFC
• (10.02.21) MADAGASCAR: World Bank allocates $50 million to fight deforestation | Afrik 21
• (10.02.21) EU helping Better Work to respond to the Covid crisis | just-style
• (10.02.21) Early research on biometrics’ effectiveness for benefits delivery reviewed in World Bank ID4D report | Biometric Update
• (10.02.21) Tech Start-ups Deliver COVID-19 Relief | IFC
• (11.02.21) Landmark Payment System Reforms to Support Economic Activity and Boost Financial Inclusion | IFC
• (11.02.21) IFC Supports India’s Continuum in First Green Bond Offering in Singapore | IFC
• (11.02.21) Upgraded Road Improves Access to Essential Services for Thousands of Afghans | The World Bank
• (11.02.21) IFC and AMMC Join Forces to Increase Availability of Sustainable Finance in Morocco
• (12.02.21) World Bank urges level field for Ethiopia newcomers | Mobile World Live
• (12.02.21) IFC and Morocco’s Club des Femmes Administrateurs Join Hands to Increase Gender Diversity | IFC
• (12.02.21) World Bank signs up for US$56m slice of renewables developer’s first green bond | pv magazine India

ADB

• (30.03.20) How Southeast Asia’s leading flower farm is changing women’s lives in Central Highlands, Viet Nam | Asian Development Bank
• (08.02.21) Kyrgyz Republic’s inflation rate forecasted at 5.0% in 2021: ADB | AKI Press
• (09.02.21) Remittances seen rising with simplified fund-transfer rules — ADB | BusinessWorld
• (09.02.21) ADB Issues Inaugural Education Bond | Asian Development Bank
• (10.02.21) Leveraging Digital Technologies Key to Asia’s COVID-19 Recovery — ADB | Asian Development Bank
• (10.02.21) ADB Issues First Gender Bond in Kazakhstan Tenge | Asian Development Bank
• (11.02.21) ADB, Energy Absolute Sign Green Loan for Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicle Charging Network | Asian Development Bank
• (12.02.21) Thailand’s Energy Absolute inks USD 50m green loan with ADB | Renewables Now
• (12.02.21) Dai-ichi Insurance buys entirety of ADB education bond | Insurance Business Asia

AfDB

• (08.02.21) West African Development Bank issues first sustainability bond | ESI Africa
• (08.02.21) AfDB signs agreement with South Sudan for a US $14m agriculture boost grant | Farmers Review Africa
• (08.02.21) AfDB President ‘optimistic’ about Africa’s post-COVID-19 recovery | CGTN Africa
• (09.02.21) African Development Bank assists West African countries to deliver carbon emission reductions and meet their Paris Agreement commitments | African Development Bank
• (09.02.21) AfDB supports West Africa to meet NDCs targets under Paris climate accord | Devdiscourse
• (09.02.21) African Development Bank assists West African countries to deliver carbon emission reductions and meet their Paris Agreement commitments | African Development Bank
• (10.02.21) AfDB support for climate finance measures in West Africa | ESI Africa
• (10.02.21) African Development Bank President says vaccines and debt relief will be key to Africa’s recovery from COVID-19 | Africanews
• (11.02.21) African Development Bank and Harvard Kennedy School train country economists on “building back better” post-COVID-19 | African Development Bank
• (11.02.21) African Development Bank and Mozambique LNG Area 1 Project win Multilateral Deal of the Year Award for $24 billion global syndicated finance | African Development Bank
• (11.02.21) African women in science are making waves | African Development Bank
• (12.02.21) African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), African Guarantee Fund, partner to unlock $1.3 — $2 billion in loans to women entrepreneurs | Africanews

EIB

• (08.02.21) EIB provides €2.7m to Microfund for Women to support Jordan’s micro-enterprises | Devdiscource
• (14.02.21) UPMRC to start repayment of Lucknow Metro loan in instalments to EIB this year | Times of India

EBRD

• (10.02.21) VIDEO — T.RE.ND talks 26: Anna Chmielewska (EBRD) on COVID-19, Market Drivers & Challenges in Poland | Solar Plaza
• (09.02.21) House of Representatives approves EBRD grant to modernize Cairo Metro’s first line | Egypt Independent
• (10.02.21) EBRD’s first green financing facility to be launched in Jordan | Jordan Times
• (11.02.21) EBRD supports new dry port development in Egypt | The Financial
• (12.02.21) Converse Bank is again the winner of the EBRD’s “Deal of the Year — Green Trade” award | Armenian News Agency

AIIB

• (08.02.21) Tonga joins Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) | Loop Tonga
• (11.02.21) Fund of funds: NDB commits USD 100 million to NIIF Fund of Funds (FoF) | The Economic Times

AFD/PROPARCO

• (12.02.21) PROPARCO and Société Générale Senegal Strengthen their Commitment to Senegalese MSMEs | PROPARCO

CDC

• (2021) Impact Gamechangers ’21 | CDC

KfW/DEG

• (09.02.21) EMGA completes US$140 million working capital rise for BTG Pactual with financing from Proparco and DEG | The Rio Times

DFC

• (10.02.21) DFC and Shell Foundation Launch New Collaboration to Accelerate Access to Renewable Energy and Gender Inclusion in Low-Income Communities in Africa and Asia | DFC
• (10.02.21) PODCAST The DFC: Countering China and Russia in Greece and the Balkans with US investments | ekathimerini.com

FMO

• (11.02.21) FMO joins Nomanini investor base to boost pan-African expansion | Nomanini
• (12.02.21) Evaluating the Impact of our Investment: The Socoprim bridge: from a PPP project | FMO

NorFund

• (09.02.21) KENYA: Norfund invests $15 million in BLK1 for electrification via solar kits | Afrik 21

Misc Content in Development Finance

• (03.02.21) Op-Ed: Investors Have More to Do If They Really Want to Help Address Systemic Racism | Chief Investment Officer
• (07.03.21) ‘Success of digital financial services rests on rural India’s shift from cash to digital payments economy’ | The Financial Express
• (07.02.21) India’s Budget Spurs Optimism. Why Investors Should Proceed With Caution. | Barron’s
• (08..02.21) Steering stability with growth — Newspaper | Dawn.com
• (08.02.21) Predictions for 2021: Impact investing | Pro Bono Australia
• (08.02.21) VIDEO — Next-gen entrepreneur Adiraj Gupta on impact investing in humanity | Campden FB
• (08.02.21) For diversification and returns: private debt and real assets | Investors’ Corner
• (08.02.21) The quiet revolution: What Congress should know about foreign assistance today | Brookings
• (09.02.21) Impact investing can be a post-Covid economic catalyst | Business Maverick
• (09.02.21) Project finance a win-win for government and investors | Business Day
• (10.02.21) Goldman Sachs Becomes Latest Wall Street Bank to Sell ESG Bonds | Financial Post
• (10.02.21) Commentary: Carbon’s elemental role in the future of impact investing | Pensions & Investments
• (11.02.21) Collaborative Digital Lending: The Next Step in Financial Inclusion | The Financial Brand
• (11.02.21) Education, healthcare, agriculture got bulk of $2.6 billion impact investments in 2020 | Business Today
• (12.02.21) Banks and telcos must partner for greater financial inclusion | Business Daily
• (12.02.21) Development finance trends to watch in 2021 | Devex
• (13.02.21) With foreign financing, Crédito Real targets SMEs …. | Latest News, Breaking News, Top News Headlines
• (14.02.21）Bills to boost ICT infrastructure pushed | Philstar.com
• (14.02.21) Why the UK wants to be an ESG leader post-Brexit | Raconteur

Misc Technology

• (07.02.21) FinTech In The Middle East: 2021 Forecast | FinExtra
• (08.02.21) PeopleFund Report Provides Insight on Tackling Financial Inclusion | The Fintech Times
• (08.02.21) The state of FinTech: a recap of 2020 and a glimpse into 2021 | FinExtra
• (08.02.21) Ledn raises $3.4 million CAD to accelerate the growth of its Bitcoin-backed lending platform | BetaKit
• (09.02.21) Localizing FinTech To Tackle SMBs’ Headaches | PYMNTS.com
• (09.02.21） Regional FIs Embrace FinTech Partnership Model | PYMNTS.com
• (11.02.21) Can every company be a FinTech? | FinExtra
• (13.02.21) Top 10 Fintech News Stories for the Week Ending February 13, 2021 | Lend Academy

Misc Gender

• (08.02.21) Dotcom Bubble Survivor Astia Is Back With A New $100 Million Fund For Backing Women Startup Founders | Forbes
• (09.02.21) CEO Gender ‘Primary Determining Factor’ To Get Funded: 48,000 Company Study | Forbes
• (10.02.21) REDD Finds Signal From Noise In Emerging Markets | Traders Magazine
• (10.02.21) How to Bridge the Gender Investing Gap in a ‘testosterone Driven’ World | ArabianBusiness
• (12.02.21) Investors are finally taking Africa’s female founders seriously | Quartz Africa

Misc Sustainability

• (08.02.21) GAM’s great green push starts with EMD fund for McNamara | City Wire Selector
• (08.02.21) What Impact Investors Can Learn from the Organizations They Work with | Harvard Business Review
• (09.02.21) PODCAST — ‘Making Money Moral’: How New Collaborations Are Changing Capitalism | Knowledge@Wharton
• (10.02.21) RLAM launches global sustainable credit fund | Investment Week
• (11.02.21) La Française appoints Head of ESG & Sustainable Investment Research | Institutional Asset Management
• (11.02.21) ESG investment funds more than doubled in 2020 | CNBC
• (12.02.21 ) Sustainable and Impact Investing: What the Fiduciary Needs to Know｜Wealth Management
• (12.02.21) Pandemic accelerates sustainability investing, private equity fund manager says | Business Insider
• (12.02.21) ESG Core Rises in Europe’s First Sustainable SPAC Listing | Financial Post
• (14.02.21) Does Biden’s presidency signal a shift in the green finance landscape? | Raconteur

Subscription Required

• (08.02.21) IFC proposes $50m loan to Indonesian real estate developer Farpoint Realty | Deal Street Asia
• (08.02.21) DFI likely to be set up with IIFCL’s paid-up capital of Rs 10,000 crore | Business Standard News
• (08.02.21) IFC set to pick up minority stake in dairy firm | VCCircle
• (09.02.21) Cabling Africa: the great data race to serve the ‘last billion’ | FT
• (09.02.21） Ada Ventures invests £2.5 million in Tickr to expand retail impact investing in Europe | Impact Alpha
• (09.02.21) The Brief: Climate edge for gender investors, quality meat in India, retail impact investing, electric bikes, small businesses in the deep South | Impact Alpha
• (09.02.21) Mapping the climate edge for gender investors — and vice versa | Impact Alpha
• (11.02.21) EIB, Cades soak up dollar demand ahead of Chinese New Year | GlobalCapital
• (12.02.21) The Week in Impact Investing: Incentives | Impact Alpha
• (13.02.21) South African Banks Provide Funding for Beitbridge Border Revamp ｜ Bloomberg

Upcoming Webinars

• February 18, 2021: Beyond ESG to Science-Based Investing | Run The World
  “A different approach in determining what type of investment is needed to restore the social and environmental balance. Hazel Henderson will disccuss how to go beyond ESG towards a Science-Based Investing.”
• February 25, 2021: Avert the Global Cyber Pandemic: What do MAS guidelines mean for you?
  “Join a panel of cyber risk and regulatory consulting experts from Kroll, Duff & Phelps and OpenSpace Ventures, as we shed light on how private equity managers and VCs should approach MAS’ pronouncements and discuss the implications of recent high-profile cyberattacks for managers and their portfolio investments.”
• February 25, 2021: The First Step to a Future-Fit Society: Bursting the ESG Bubble | Run The World
  “With supposedly 40 Trillion being committed to ESG and Impact, one has to ask why haven’t we seen improvements in society or environments. Perhaps the methodology for determining what is a sustainable company or investment needs to be re-evaluated.”
• February 26, 2021: Financial Inclusion for Southeast Asia’s Underserved — AVPN
  “This webinar will explore investments in financial inclusion as we hear the investor perspective and showcase social entrepreneurs working to connect the last mile with financial services. In addition, GIIN will share the learnings from the recently released report Understanding Impact Performance: Financial Inclusion Investments to provide a foundation to understand the impact results of financial inclusion investments using the IRIS+ system.”https://avpn.asia/event/financial-inclusion-for-southeast-asias-underserved/
• March 4, 2021: How Artha resolves Impact Investing Challenges in our COVID-19 reality? | Run The World
  “Impact Investors struggle to find, do due diligence, invest, report, and support impact opportunities For many it is a new initiative. Audrey Selian, Head of Artha Impact (Hindi for goal, sense, purpose)will discuss how she has been able to address many of these challenges and dramatically increase interest and money flows.”
• March 24, 2021: Implementing the AfCFTA — The Need for Deepening Private Sector Engagement and Commitment | African Development Bank (AfDB), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Trade Centre (ITC)
  “The panelists will reflect on: measures to promote the benefits of the AfCFTA among the private sector; suitable trade policies and regulations to make the AfCFTA work for the African business community; and steps to increase intra-African trade. They will also explore ways to boost the participation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and young entrepreneurs in the new single market to facilitate growth and enhance job creation.”

Call for Essays for Conference

• March 19 deadline: EDFI Impact Conference 2021: call for essay contributions

If you have suggestions for articles that should be featured in future lists, please drop me a note and follow me on LinkedIN.