3 mins in development finance/wk30

by F K

Introduction

Over the summer, I will share links to content I’ve recently digested that I think are relevant for those interested in Development Finance and Impact investing in general. Not all articles featured here are about the DFIs, but in my opinion, they address the markets we invest in and/or speak about subjects/ideas that we should be aware of.

You will note that I am partial to news affecting certain markets in Asia in particular.

Key takeaways

IFC committed $5.6 Billion for Private Sector Development in Africa and the Middle East in fiscal 2020.

EBRD H1 2020 financing reaches $5 billion, compared to $3.7 billion the previous year.

United Nations Development Programme and EIB identify effective digital response to COVID-19 in Africa.

Proparco and FMO extend a $50 million loan to BCI Mozambique.

ADB’s Private Sector Operations Commitments Reach $3 Billion for Record Number of Projects in 2019.

BIS paper looks on what some governments have done to promote Fintech to support financial inclusion during COVID.

Development Finance

IFC

• (22/07/20) IFC Launches New Program to Help Boost Women’s Employment in Egypt
• (22/07/20) IFC Announces $50 Million Loan to Equity Bank to Support Kenyan SMEs During COVID-19
• *(21/07/20) IFC Invests $5.6 Billion for Private Sector Development in Africa and the Middle East More for fiscal 2020
• (20/07/20) IFC Supports Access Bank with $50 Million Loan to Strengthen Local Businesses in Nigeria in the Wake of COVID-19
• (19/07/20) IFC finances The City Bank to help Bangladeshi companies and small and medium enterprises impacted by COVID-19

ERDB

• *(22/07/20) EBRD responds to coronavirus with record high H1 investments
• (22/07/20) VIDEO- How to risk assess your business during coronavirus
• (21/07/20) EBRD backs Egypt’s largest local currency bond issuance

EIB

• (23/07/20) Senegal: COVID-19 — Team Europe supports private sector
• *(22/07/20)United Nations Development Programme and EIB identify effective digital response to COVID-19 in Africa

CDC

• (23/07/20) CDC statement in response to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) follow-up review of 2018–19 reports
• (20/07/20) VIDEO: Watch the recording of CDCs event with Devex on women’s economic empowerment post-COVID-19
• (16/07/20) Reinforcing the ‘S’ in ESG during Covid-19: reflections from our investees

Proparco

• (20/07/20) Proparco and FMO extend a $50 million loan to BCI in Mozambique

Asia Development Bank

• (23/07/20) Responsible Investing: Catalysing Asia’s impact investing ecosystem — ADB’s Ventures
• (22/07/2020) ADB, GCF Commit to Partnership to Boost Green Recovery from COVID-19
• (21/07/2020)ADB Provides Additional Assistance to Bhutan to Combat COVID-19
• *(20/07/2020) ADB’s Private Sector Operations Commitments Reach $3 Billion for Record Number of Projects in 2019
• (20/07/2020) ADB Provides Additional Assistance to Maldives to Combat COVID-19

AfDB

• (24/07/20) Djibouti: African Development Fund commits $41.16 million in grants to shore up COVID-19 response
• (24/07/20) Somalia: African Development Bank grants of $25 million will bolster budget for COVID-19 responses
• (24/07/20) Rwanda: African Development Bank commits $98 million for multisector COVID-19 response
• (24/07/20) Uganda: African Development Fund approves $31.6 million loan for COVID-19 response
• (24/07/20) African Development Bank Group supports Ghana’s COVID-19 response plan with $69 million grant
• (24/07/20) African Development Bank approves $53 million multi-country grant for COVID-19 response in Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone
• (23/07/20)Malawi to receive $45 million for national COVID-19 emergency response from the African Development Bank
• (22/07/20) South Africa: African Development Bank approves first ever crisis response budget support of R5 billion to fight COVID-19
• (20/07/20)Africa Investment Forum: Founding Partners unveil Unified COVID-19 Response to support Africa’s private sector

FMO

• (24/07/20) Race and Inclusion at FMO
• (21/07/20) New owner and debt restructuring avert bankruptcy for Plantations et Huileries du Congo
• (20/07/20) DEG and FMO support Covid-19 affected SMEs in Bangladesh

DFC

• (20/07/20) INTERVIEW: DFC has new method for measuring success of its lending practices

Misc content in development finance

• (27/07/20) Impact-Investing Boom Gives Funding Jolt to $1 Trillion Asset Manage (Nuveen)
• *(24/07/20) Covid-19: Boon and bane for digital payments and financial inclusion
• (21/07/20) Gender Lens Venture Investing Suffers Setbacks But Will Emerge Stronger From Covid-19
• (21/07/20) The COVID-19 Gender Gap
• (21/07/20) Have your say: Take part in strengthening UNDP’s SDG Impact Standards
• (20/07/20) Two ways to make the COVID-19 recovery more inclusive for women
• (20/07/20) What are the differences between SRI, ESG and impact investing?
• (16/06/20) UNDP launches standards for bond issuers and private equity funds seeking SDG impact

Country views

India

• (27/06/20) Should India’s Next Fiscal Push Come Only After a COVID-19 Vaccine Becomes Available?
• (25/07/20) Fixing India’s broken growth barometer key to revival
• (24/07/20) Indian fintech’s blue sky opportunity

Philippines

• (27/07/20) GOCC subsidies pick up in June — Treasury
• (26/07/20) Expanding financial inclusion to fight poverty, pandemic
• (24/07/20) Suncity, PH Holdings move forward with Philippines casino development

Indonesia

• (23/07/20) Indonesia records FDI decrease in second consecutive quarter
• (22/07/20) Minister Luhut : Moody’s discuss Indonesia’s pandemic response amid budget concerns
• (22/07/20) Indonesia investment chief questions ASEAN pact as FDI falls

Vietnam

• (25/07/20) Vietnam seriously implements climate change-related commitments: Deputy PM
• (24/07/20) Viva Vietnam
• (22/07/20) CIP partners on 3.5GW Vietnamese offshore plan
• (21/07/20) 15 Japanese firms will be paid for moving to Vietnam from China

Myanmar

• (24/07/20) Myanmar joins band of Asian nations launching satellites
• (23/07/20) Japan to cancel Financial Grant to Myanmar Police
• (23/07/20) Myanmar is an emerging market for the IT industry, says Huawei

Cambodia

• (22/07/20) Foreign money leaves trail of ghost towns
• (20/07/20) Footwear investments still doing well
• (21/07/20) What China’s Belt And Road Initiative Means For Cambodia
• (20/07/20) Vietnamese enterprises invest approximately $2.7 billion in Cambodia
• (07/07/20) Cambodia’s construction attracts investment projects worth US$3.84 billion in H1

Not obviously linked to Impact, but interesting on the periphery

Subscription required

The Economist

• (25/07/20) The covid-19 pandemic is forcing a rethink in macroeconomics
• (23/07/20) Even as India urbanises, caste discrimination remains rife
• (23/07/20) Tanzania’s statistics smell wrong
• (23/07/20) The Philippine peso is the champion of emerging-market currencies

Financial Times

• (23/07/20) Venture capital firm Ribbit plans $600m Spac

Could these structures be of interest for Impact Investments?

• (25/06/20) Tackling Dutch agriculture’s emissions headache

Food for thought on making agriculture “greener”

(22/07/20) Flooding displaces millions in south Asia

Nikkei Asian Review

• (23/07/20) Startup investments in Southeast Asia nearly double despite COVID

Enjoy.

If you have suggestions for articles that should be featured in future lists, please drop me a note. See me on * LinkedIN* for more posts.