3 mins in Development Finance/ wk 40
6 min readOct 12, 2021
My weekly reading list for those interested in development finance and Impact investing focused on developing countries.
IFC and World Bank
- (04.10.21) Climate Explainer: Green Loans | The World Bank
- (06.10.21) Services-led Growth Key to Nepal’s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development | The World Bank
- (06.10.21) Joint statement on World Bank’s IDA20 replenishment | Bretton Woods Project
- (06.10.21) IFC’s Diop calls for more climate financing for emerging markets | Reuters
- (06.10.21) Sub-Saharan Africa Exits Recession in 2021 but Recovery Still Vulnerable | The World Bank
- (08.10.21) Burkina Faso Could Boost Renewable Energy Mix with Battery Storage: IFC-supported Roadmap | IFC
- (08.10.21) IFC stake in Federal Bank Ltd results in no new coal commitment | Down to Earth
- (08.10.21) The role of the World Bank in combatting economic gender inequality in conflict-affected countries | Bretton Woods Project
World Bank / IMF
ADB
- (05.10.21) COP26-aligned fiscal policy instruments for boosting Asian green growth, sustainable recovery | Asian Development Bank Institute
- (06.10.21) Asian Development Bank to fund closures of coal power plants | Nikkei Asia
- (06.10.21) VIDEO: Why ADB is Asia and the Pacific’s Climate Bank | Asian Development Bank
- (07.10.21) Nirmala Sitharaman lays foundation of ADB-aided projects in Assam | Times of India
- (07.10.21) Investing in gender equality will build resilience to future shocks | Asian Development Bank
AfDB
- (04.10.21) AFRICA: Berlin pledges €100 million for renewable energy through the AfDB | Afrik 21
- (05.10.21) Agenda 2063: the African Development Bank contributes to validation of the African Union’s second Biennial Continental Report | Africanews
- (07.10.21) Africa’s Free-Trade Area to Get $7 Billion in Support From AfDB | BNN Bloomberg
- (09.10.21) Let us change the narrative on Africa in the United States -AfDB President | Modern Diplomacy
- (08.10.21) African Development Bank Group begins consultations for the new Country Strategy for Egypt | Africanews
- (09.10.21) AfDB’s ‘Desert to Power’ project receives $150m from Green Climate Fund | TheCable
EIB
- (04.10.21) Cambodia: Team Europe continues to invest in development of rural Cambodia with €15 million EU grant | EIB
- (05.10.21) Zambia: Thousands of smallholders to benefit from EUR 30 million (635m ZK) agriculture investment initiative launched by Zanaco and Team Europe | EIB
- (05.10.21) VIDEO: Hundreds of African financial professionals benefit from EIB banking and microfinance academy | EIB
EBRD
- (04.10.21) EBRD’s First Circular-economy Programme | Energy Industry Review
- (04.10.21) VIDEO: The EBRD leads the way in the solar energy sector | EBRD
- (08.10.21) PODCAST: COP26: what’s at stake for the EBRD regions | EBRD
AIIB
AIIB / FMO / Norfund / Swedfund
CDC
- (06.10.21) CDC commits $100 million to African Development Partners III (‘ADP III’) | CDC Group
- (07.10.21) REPORT: CDC Emerging Economies Climate Report 2021 | CDC Group
- (07.10.21) CDC provides USD 60 financing bridge | African Law and Business
DFC
- (07.10.21) Startup lender UC Inclusive Credit receives first ECB from US DFC | The Economic Times
- (06.10.21) Agri-Fintech Startup Raises $20 Mn In Debt Funding With DFC Guarantee | Inc 42
- (07.10.21) Diplomacy is Good, But the D in DFC is for Development | Center For Global Development
FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank
- (04.10.21) NEoT Offgrid Africa and Winch Energy deploy new solar solutions in Uganda and Sierra Leone | The Sierra Leone Telegraph
- (05.10.21) UGANDA-SIERRA LEONE: FMO and REPP fund WIPP for electrification via green mini-grids | Afrik 21
Finnfund
Norfund
PROPARCO
- (04.10.21) VIDEOS: Private Sector & Development Magazine — Special Edition New Africa-France Summit | Proparco
- (08.10.21) The tie-up between Proparco and Digital Africa will strengthen the Choose Africa initiative in supporting early-stage African startups | Proparco
Misc Content in Development Finance
- (04.10.21) REPORT: Industry Voice: Financial inclusion — an economic opportunity for all | Investment Week
- (04.10.21) MFS contributing to financial inclusion in Bangladesh | The Financial Express
- (04.10.21) French start-ups operating in Africa share their experiences | How we Made it in Africa
- (04.10.21) Emerging Markets, Concentration, and Co-Investments Powered Washington University’s Record-Breaking Year | Institutional Investor
- (04.10.21) Impact Investing Donors Nearly Doubled in 3 Years | The NonProfit Times
- (05.10.21) Financial Inclusion in Africa Should Be Explored | PYMNTS
- (05.10.21) What You Need to Know About Impact Investing | The Motley Fool
- (07.10.21) How Development Finance Can Damage Nature: New Study Shows Potential $800 Billion Cost to Society | EIN Presswire
- (07.10.21) What Household Finance Tells Us About Financial Inclusion In India | Money Control
- (08.10.21) Mastercard and Citi expand partnership for financial inclusion | The Paypers
- (07.10.21) Developing resilient private sector in conflict-affected areas | Africa Global Funds
- (08.10.21) VIDEO INTERVIEW: The benefits of responsible investing | Wealth Professional
- (09.10.21) NBS Bank expands agency footprint in financial inclusion drive | Malawi Nyasa Times
- (08.10.21) Climate change is already impacting African businesses | Devex
- (08.10.21) VC the most outstanding asset class for India in 2021: IVCA-Preqin | Business Standard News
- (10.10.21) More making a pact to invest for impact, Invest News & Top Stories — The Straits Times
Misc Technology
- (06.10.21) Chari, a Moroccan startup digitizing mom and pop stores, raises $5M at $70M valuation | TechCrunch
- (06.10.21) Financial Inclusion Focused Challenger Bank Be Mobile, Announced That It Has Joined Visa’s Fintech Fast Track Program | Business Wire
- (06.10.21) Top 5 Fintech Trends for Enabling Smart and Secure Finance | Modern Diplomacy
- (07.10.21) China’s Central Bank Governor Vows to Continue Fintech Crackdown | BNN Bloomberg
- (07.10.21) The Unstoppable Rise of Fintech-as-a-Service | International Banker
- (08.10.21) French Govt commits €130m to 500 tech startups across Africa | Punch Newspapers
- (08.10.21) The Fintech Industry Can Lead the Way When It Comes to Diversity | The Fintech Times
- (08.10.21) EMTECH and Hedera Hashgraph join forces for highly performant, trusted and energy efficient Central Bank Blockchain infrastructure | IBS Intelligence
- (09.10.21) VIDEO: Blend Labs’ CEO on the Future of Fintech | The Motley Fool
- (10.10.21) China’s central bank promises emphasis on fintech industry oversight | CGTN
Misc Gender
- (04.10.21) Inclusion & integration of gender lens investing | Private Equity Wire
- (04.10.21) Why We Should All Be Investing In Women-Owned Businesses | Forbes
- (05.10.21) South Africa needs to up its game when it comes to financial inclusion for women | The Conversation
- (07.10.21) Investing in women | The News
- (07.10.21) ‘Impact dollars must prioritise gender’ — former Australian PM | The Social Enterprise Magazine | Pioneers Post
- (10.10.21) South Africa needs to up its game when it comes to financial inclusion for women | Moneyweb
Misc Sustainability
- (04.10.21) IMF urged to create new trust to bolster work on climate resilience | Reuters
- (04.10.21) Sustainable Investing and Trusts | Wealth Management
- (04.10.21) Egypt holds 1st Meeting of Steering Committee for Preparation of SDGs Financing Strategy | EgyptToday
- (06.10.21) ESG Investing: It’s time to set a global ESG reporting standard | Fortune
- (07.10.21) Sustainable Investing Now A Standard Practice, Survey Says | Financial Advisor
- (08.10.21) Dispute grips Green Climate Fund over net zero condition for accessing finance | Climate Home News
Subscription Required
- (03.10.21) Africa-dedicated private equity firm raises $900m | Financial Times
- (04.10.21) UK’s CDC Group joins Fatima Gobi Ventures’s Techxila as anchor investor | Deal Street Asia
- (06.10.21) Apax Co-Founder Sir Ronald Cohen Urges More Transparency in Impact Investing Deals | The Wall Street Journal
- (07.10.21) Realizing financial inclusion for the world’s poorest | The Jakarta Post
- (07.10.21) The World Bank is More Upbeat on Mideast’s Post-Covid Recovery | Bloomberg
- (08.10.21) Fintech founders can learn a lesson about frugality from these industry leaders | TechCrunch
Upcoming Webinars
- October 11: Launch of CDC’s ESG Toolkit for Financial Institutions | CDC Group
- October 12–14: The Ultimate FinTech & InsurTech LIVE Event | FinTech, InsurTech
- November 1–5: Hybrid Hong Kong Fintech Week 2021 | SmartStream
- December 1–3: Hybrid Event- Africa Investment Forum 2021: Accelerating transformative investments in Africa | African Development Bank
If you have suggestions for articles that should be featured in future lists, please drop me a note and follow me on LinkedIn.
