3 mins in Development Finance/ wk 32
6 min readAug 17, 2021
My weekly reading list for those interested in development finance and Impact investing focused on developing countries.
IFC and World Bank
- (05.08.21) IGAD Signs USD 3 Million Grant with World Bank for the Formation of an Inter-Regional Platform on the Management of Desert Locusts — ICPAC
- (09.08.21) Nigerian Renewable Energy Provider Has Closed a $20m Funding From IFC | Tech In Africa
- (09.08.21) upGrad raises funding from IFC and IIFL, turns unicorn | VCCircle
- (10.08.21) IFC Becomes a Shareholder in PVI Holdings, Promoting Vietnam’s Insurance Sector and Protecting People and Businesses | IFC
- (10.08.21) BPI microfinance arm taps IFC for digitalization financial inclusion | Philstar
- (11.08.21) IFC Partners with Letshego Africa to Increase Access to Affordable Housing in Namibia | IFC
- (11.08.21) World Bank lists Nigeria, nine others high-debt risk nations | Punch Nigeria
- (11.08.21) IFC, Moove Join Forces to Boost Urban Mobility, Drive Growth in Nigeria’s Megacity, Lagos | IFC
- (12.08.21) IFC, Mastercard, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia and N-Frnds Team Up to Provide Working Capital Support to Indonesian Micro-Retailers | IFC
- (12.08.21) Indonesian Architects Embracing Green Building Practices to Counter Impact of Rapid Urbanization | IFC
- (11.08.21) PODCAST: People and Climate: Navigating a Two-Way Street | The World Bank
- (12.08.21) Project Signing: World Bank Signs $105 Million Project to Improve Urban Services in Two Cities of Punjab | The World Bank
IFC / FMO
ADB
- (10.08.21) VIDEO: Power and Empower: Improving Lombok Women’s Lives by Investing in Clean Energy | Asian Development Bank
- (10.08.21) WEBINAR RECORDING: Asian Impact Webinar: Promoting Social Bonds for Impact Investments in Asia | Asian Development Bank
- (11.08.21) ADB, IIFL Home Finance To Promote Green, Affordable Housing in India | Asian Development Bank
- (12.08.21) Bridging financing gaps for women starts with better data and technology | Asian Development Bank
- (13.08.21) VIDEO: Women’s Finance Exchange | Asia Development Bank
- (13.08.21) Philippines and Vietnam coal-fired plants to retire in ADB-led plan | Nikkei Asia
- (13.08.21) PODCAST: India shows how boosting clean water delivery can improve women’s economic participation | Asian Development Bank Institute
ADB / AIIB
AfDB
- (09.08.21) AfDB to support tech-based MSMEs with $500m -Osinbajo | The Guardian Nigeria News
- (09.08.21) AfDB highlights success of Moroccan Green Plan | The North Africa Post
- (09.09.21) Women In Agriculture To Benefit From AfDB’s $150m Fund | Economic Confidential
- (10.08.21) SADC and COMESA receive AfDB grant to advance electricity regulations | ESI Africa
- (11.08.21) AfDB leads in climate adaptation financing as UN report calls for more investments | The Cable
- (12.08.21) VIDEO: International Youth Day: How winners of the Bank’s AgriPitch competition are helping to transform Africa’s food system | African Development Bank
- (12.08.21) African Development Bank Coding for Employment program marks milestone: 130,000 users across Africa | Africanews
- (12.08.21) AfDB extends $4.25m loan to Lesotho | Cape Business News
- (13.08.21) SEC secures AfDB grant to boost investor protection, regulation | The Guardian Nigeria
- (14.08.21) African Development Bank COVID-19 Off-Grid Recovery Platform reaches financial close for $20 million SEFA investment | African Development Bank
- (14.08.21) Infrastructure deficit affecting industrialisation progress in Africa — AfDB | Nairametrics
EIB
- (09.80.21) REPORT: New EIB study: How do EU and US firms perceive and invest in climate change? | EIB
- (10.08.21) EIB joins debt market’s digital dots with blockchain bond | IFR
AIIB
- (09.08.21) AIIB Supports Climate Adaptation, Disaster Resilience in Kerala, India | AIIB
- (10.08.21) AIIB disburses 310 mln USD loan for Indonesia’s power project | Vietnam+
CDC
- (10.08.21) CDC Group commits $50 million to Commercial Bank of Ceylon to bolster SME lending and Climate projects | CDC Group
- (11.08.21) CDC Explains: What size of investment should a development finance institution focus on? | CDC Group
- (12.08.21) We’re launching the ESG Performance Award for Private Capital Funds with GPCA | CDC Group
FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank
- (09.08.21) ARAF closes at $58m | Africa Global Funds
- (14.08.21) Backed By FMO, Fintech Startup Dopay Joins Telda, Obtains Egypt’s Latest Banking Agent License | Afrikan Heroes
Finnfund
- (13.08.21) Finnfund provides USD12m loan to BCS | Private Equity Wire
- (13.08.21) Finnfund’s investment in digital connectivity increases access to internet in East, Central and Southern Africa | Finnfund
PROPARCO
UN
Misc Content in Development Finance
- WEBSITE: Ignite: The Philippine Impact Investment Fund
- (-.08.21) Innovation in financial services | Financier Worldwide
- (-.08.21) VIDEO: See why Valerie Rockefeller says her family’s impact investing is broad and why that’s not a problem | CFA Society New York
- (08.08.21) Egypt, Germany seal 12 development finance deals — Minister | EgyptToday
- (10.08.21) T Rowe Price incoming chief vows to prioritise impact investing move | Financial Times
- (08.08.21) Inflation: How inflation will impact investing in different asset classes | The Economic Times
- (10.08.21) UpMetrics Extends Social Sector Analytics Platform and Expertise into the Impact Investing Space | Business Wire
- (11.08.21) It’s time for a rethink on financial inclusion — new principles show how | World Economic Forum
- (12.08.21) Hybrid Cloud: The Catalyst For Increased Financial Inclusion In Africa | Africa.com
- (13.08.21) Africa: Why Investing in Emerging Markets is a Win for Investors and African Companies | allAfrica
- (14.08.21) ‘Financial inclusion vital during pandemic’ | The Southern Times
- (14.08.21) Egypt channels $2.4bn finance into 36 projects for education, research development | Daily News Egypt
- (14.08.21) Impact-Driven Startups Are a Gold-Mine for Investors | Entrepreneur
- (15.08.21) Partners Group acquires controlling stake in Atria Convergence Technologies | The Hindu BusinessLine
Misc Technology
- (08.08.21) Championing Women in Fintech — Why and how? | FinTech
- (09.08.21) The Fallacy Of Fintech Ethics: Could Fintechs Be Less Ethical Than Banks? | Forbes
- (10.08.21) Fintech Sees Record-Breaking Levels of Investments | Finews
- (10.08.21) Ecobank Group Launches 2021 edition of its Fintech Challenge | Africanews
- (12.08.21) Global Digital Business Identity Initiative Launches to Improve Financial Inclusion for African SMEs | The Fintech Times
- (12.08.21) Embedded finance won’t make every firm into a fintech company | TechCrunch
- (14.08.21) Fintech firm Chime valued at $25 billion after $750 million funding | The Economic Times
Misc Gender
- (11.08.21) To achieve inclusive growth globally, we must invest in our women | Thomson Reuters Foundation
- (13.08.21) Investing Is On The Rise, But Women Are Being Left Behind | Forbes
Misc Sustainability
- (09.08.21) Project Finance Brief: Masdar JV Secures Finance for a 145 MW Floating Solar Project | Mercom India
- (09.08.21) Have sovereign wealth funds fully embraced sustainability? | Wealth Professional
- (10.08.21) Whittaker returns to Robeco to lead sustainable investment research | Investment Week
- (10.08.21) Opinion: ESG trend is bypassing most of the global capital market, and that’s bad news for sustainability | The Globe and Mail
- (10.08.21) Strong growth prospects for alternatives despite pandemic | Funds Europe
- (11.08.21) Sustainable Investing And ESG Advocates Hope Dire Climate Report Serves As Wake Up Call For Financial Services | Forbes
- (11.08.21) ESG Principles: How Sustainable Investing Is Changing the World | Nasdaq
- (11.08.21) The good, the bad and the urgent with climate finance in 2020 | Greenbiz
- (11.08.21) Kolkata’s Atha Group to exit clean energy biz; in talks to sell 365 MW assets | The Economic Times
- (11.08.21) How do businesses invest in climate change? | Energy Live News
- (12.08.21) Record amount of money in sustainable investments, but where is it actually ending up? | The Fifth Estate
- (12.08.21) Can $100 billion in green finance be raised annually to help emerging economies fight climate change? | pv magazine International
- (13.08.21) Ways To Invest To Slow Climate Change | Forbes
- (13.08.21) ESG Investing: Does It Distort the Market? | Nasdaq
- (13.08.21) Will $100bn green finance annually for emerging economies happen? | ESI Africa
Subscription Required
- (09.08.21) Climate Change: Net Zero Is Pipe Dream Unless We Help Emerging Markets Go Green | Bloomberg
- (12.08.21) Green Fintech Startup Aspiration Said in Interprivate SPAC Talks | Bloomberg
- (12.08.21) Governments must help manage the risks of fintech | Financial Times
- (14.08.21) Financial Inclusion through Urban Cooperative Banks : Insights from Telangana | Economic and Political Weekly | Economic & Financial Weekly
Upcoming Webinar
If you have suggestions for articles that should be featured in future lists, please drop me a note and follow me on LinkedIn.
