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Nov 2019
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Archives:
Can Aid Spur Development? The Case of Microfinance
November, 29 2019
Global - Preventive means are usually much more effective than reactive means of aid to less economically developed countries. This is true in epidemiology, which is why people are encouraged to get vaccines before flu season, and it is also true regarding natural disasters and instability. But is it true also in economic development ...
Why More Smartphones and Bank Accounts Haven’t Brought Financial Digital Inclusion in India
November, 29 2019
India - India's financial sector has been a gung-ho adopter of technology. But design of technology and finance have hardly reflected users’ lived realities ...
Rice Bonds and Global Climate Finance Are Untapped Opportunities
November, 28 2019
Global - Leveraging climate finance to scale climate-smart rice production is the cornerstone of global food security and urgently needed to avert civil unrest, a new report by Earth Security Group (ESG) has found ...
India: CreditAccess Grameen to Buy Madura Microfinance
November, 28 2019
India - Microfinance firm CreditAccess Grameen Ltd., said on Wednesday that it has acquired Madura Microfinance Ltd, and will eventually merge it into its own business ...
What Will It Take to Get Institutional Investors on Board?
November, 27 2019
Global - Institutional investors are seen as a critical part of the growth of the impact investing industry, but getting them on board isn’t easy and may require pressure from those whose money they are investing, several experts told Devex ...
A. Beschloss and M. Mashayekhi, RockCreek: A Greener Future for Finance
November, 26 2019
Global - Green bonds' central, foundational role provides lessons and warnings for the global community as it expands sustainable finance with ever-greater urgency into diverse areas such as complex collateralized loan obligations, loan and local currency guarantees, and subordinated debt ...
Jordan: Study Finds Correlation between Microfinancing Practices, Economic Growth
November, 26 2019
Jordan - The study, supported by the European Union, explores several aspects of the sector, such as the market gap between supply and demand, informal lending practices, social performances of the microfinance sector and an evaluation of its business environment ...
IFC, GAFSP Lending 9 Mln Euro to Support Small Agribusinesses in Kosovo
November, 25 2019
Kosovo - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) are lending 9 million euro ($9.9 million) to three microfinance institutions (MFIs) to increase access to finance for small agribusinesses and farmers in Kosovo ...
Leading Pakistani MFI Kashf Foundation Secures New USD 10m Cross-Border Funding from the Development Bank of Austria
November, 25 2019
Pakistan - Kashf Foundation, a leading women-oriented microfinance institution, contracted Emerging Markets Global Advisory Limited (EMGA) to structure and negotiate new financing. A few days ago, Kashf received a total of USD 10m from OeEB, the Development Bank of Austria ...
How Conservation Investment Could Be a Lifeline for Endangered Species
November, 24 2019
Global - Experts in conservation and finance say wildlife conservation finance, for decades largely the preserve of wealthy donors and governments, has massive potential to attract institutional investors, helped by growing public awareness of the delicate state of the planet ...
Colombian Startup Finaktiva Snags US$9 Million for Credit Solution
November, 23 2019
Colombia - Colombian online loaner Finaktiva recently wrapped up a Series A round for US$9 million through debt and equity. Investment leaders were Triodos and Alphamundi. ...
Zimbabwe: President Signs New Laws
November, 23 2019
Zimbabwe - The three laws are the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA) (Chapter 11:23), the Companies and Other Business Act (Chapter 24:31) and the Microfinance Act (Chapter 11:24) ...
E. Berglöf, Director at LSE and Former Chief Economist at the EBRD: Europe Needs Its Own Development Bank
November, 22 2019
Europe - The European Union needs a development bank so that it can strengthen its capacity to respond to global and regional challenges – above all, to risks and opportunities in Africa ...
AfDB, GCF Sign Deal to Repower Hydro-Reliant Zambia with Small-Scale Solar
November, 21 2019
Zambia - On Thursday, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) said they have now formalised their support to a plan to deploy 100MW of green energy in the African state, struck by severe drought for the better part of 2019 ...
Development Impact Bond Targets Sanitation in Cambodia
November, 19 2019
Cambodia - The government of Cambodia has made a commitment to becoming open defecation free by 2025 and a new development impact bond — the first in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector — aims to help the country get there ...
Vietnam: Central Bank Lowers Ceiling on Short-Term Interest Rates
November, 19 2019
Vietnam - Microfinance institutions are allowed maximum deposit and lending rates of 6.5 percent and 7 percent per annum respectively for terms lower than 6 months, although these have both been slashed 0.5 percentage points in the same move ...
Nigeria: The Latest Marker of Chinese Interest in African Fintech Is a $120 Million Funding Round for OPay
November, 18 2019
Nigeria - OPay, the payments service operating in Nigeria, has raised $120 million in a Series B round led mainly by Chinese investors. The new funding will be deployed to launch operations in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa ...
Investors Back Green-Labelled Bonds That May Not Be so Green
November, 18 2019
Global - More than two in ten investors would not rule out investing in a green-labelled bond even if the proceeds were not clearly allocated to “green” projects at the outset, according to new research ...
U.Sekar, Director of Impact and Fund Manager Advancement at Capria: Managing Mission Drift and Driving Impact in Emerging Markets - A Roadmap
November, 18 2019
Global - Impact drift challenges nearly all impact funds. When a fund stops delivering impact, or drifts from its intended impact, investors grow wary. It’s especially daunting for first-time fund managers in emerging markets where impact drift is less a matter of “if” but “when.” ...
EIB to End Fossil Fuel Lending by 2022
November, 15 2019
Global - The European Investment Bank will not take on any new fossil fuel investments from 2022, after European Union member states voted through a new energy policy that climate campaigners hope will put pressure on other development banks ...
IFC to Finance Six Wind Power Projects in Pakistan
November, 15 2019
Pakistan - The IFC's total investment in the project is $450 million, which will help deliver cleaner, cheaper power to meet the country's critical demand for energy and reduce reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels ...
Daiwa to Offer Microloans to Low-Income Earners in Myanmar
November, 14 2019
Myanmar - Daiwa Securities Group will launch microfinance services in Myanmar through a joint venture, diversifying its portfolio there to tap the growing economy ...
World Vision Raises $20 Million Bond for Families Living in Poverty
November, 14 2019
Global - The bond is being arranged by FIIG Securities Limited (FIIG), Australia’s largest fixed-income specialist. It represents FIIG’s first foray into impact investment ...
P. Carter, Director of Research at CDC Group: Measuring Impact May Never Be as Straightforward as Measuring Financial Returns
November, 13 2019
Global - Private impact investors are not the only ones who would like an easily digestible return-on-investment number for impact — public DFIs and their shareholders would find it useful, too. Desirable though they may be, numbers like that are not found elsewhere in the world of development ...
More Than Half of Sub-Saharan Africans Lack Access to Electricity
November, 13 2019
Sub-saharan Africa - To achieve the UN’s sustainable-development goal of access to "affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all" by 2030, Africa will have to expand the provision of electricity faster than China and India did ...
China Development Bank Issues Green Finance Bond
November, 12 2019
China - The raised funds (about 1.43 billion U.S. dollars) will go to green projects that support the protection of the Yangtze River and green development, such as Chongqing Municipality's forestry ecological construction project and the national reserve forest project ...
M. Amin, Omidyar Network, and L. de Koker, CGAP: A Vision for Collaborative Customer ID Verification in Africa
November, 12 2019
Africa - Banks and policy makers need to work together to overcome the logistical and cost barriers to ID verification. Only then will Africa’s digital revolution reach its full potential and accelerate financial inclusion for the millions currently left behind ...
Latin America and Caribbean on the Brink of Massive Solar Power Growth
November, 12 2019
Latin America and the Caribbean - Latin America and the Caribbean could grow their installed solar capacity by a factor of 40 by 2050, a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows ...
US$2b Investment Boost for Singapore's Green Finance Push
November, 12 2019
Singapore - Known as the Green Investments Programme (GIP), the new initiative by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will channel funds to asset managers who are committed to deepening green finance activities and capabilities in Singapore ...
Bangla Bond Launched: Acid Test for Bangladesh Growth Story
November, 12 2019
Bangladesh - Issued by the IFC, the Bangla Bond will give global investors the chance to make a profit from Bangladesh’s growth process, from which they have been shut out thus far for the rudimentary state of the local bond market, cumbersome registration processes, foreign exchange administrative procedures and capital controls ...
Dutch Pension Funds Set to Pivot from Passive to Active Management
November, 11 2019
The Netherlands - Indefi, which interviewed 15 Dutch pension funds managing €923bn in assets, predicts that a “wave” of pension funds will reduce their exposure to passive assets and build more active, concentrated portfolios centred around impact investing. ...
EBRD Boosts Support to Egypt's Microfinance Sector
November, 11 2019
Egypt - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on Tuesday a new $5m loan in local currency to Tanmeyah Micro Enterprise Services (TMES) to increase access to finance for women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) under the bank's Women in Business (WiB) programme ...
India: Nordic Microfinance Initiative Raises its Investment in Svasti Microfinance
November, 08 2019
India - Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) has raised its investment in Mumbai-based Svasti Microfinance while Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Bamboo Capital Partners have exited in a $10 million share sale which includes both primary and secondary deals ...
India: RBI Raises Limit for Borrowing from Microfinance Institutions
November, 08 2019
India - The limit has been increased after taking into consideration the important role played by MFIs in delivering credit to those in the bottom of the economic pyramid and to enable them play their assigned role in a growing economy ...
Investor Wake-Up Call: Global Climate Financing Fell 11% Last Year
November, 07 2019
Global - At a time the world needs to be radically ramping up financing for the low-carbon transition, investment is dropping instead, according to the Climate Policy Initiative’s annual tally of climate-related primary investment ...
World Bank Group to Help Azerbaijan’s Lenders Improve Financial Inclusion
November, 07 2019
Azerbaijan - The World Bank Group, in a project led by IFC, signed an agreement today to help spur the development of digital financial services in Azerbaijan, part of an effort to fight poverty and drive economic growth in the country ...
Lack of Insurance in Africa Leaves Millions Vulnerable to Climate Change and Natural Disasters
November, 07 2019
Africa - “Insurance can build resilience to crises and disasters, and boost productivity, food security and well-being. But our study shows that only a tiny percentage of insurance business in Africa caters for low-income people and the emerging middle class,” highlights the Executive Director of the Microinsurance Network ...
Shell Invests in African Microgrid Developer PowerGen Renewable Energy
November, 05 2019
Sub-saharan Africa - The company said the funds will strengthen PowerGen’s position in its core African markets — Kenya, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Nigeria — and help it expand into new ones, as the demand for reliable, clean and affordable electricity in Africa continues to grow ...
India: Tata Power and Rockefeller Foundation Partner on 10,000 Mini-Grids Initiative
November, 05 2019
India - Tata Power and the Rockefeller Foundation are forming a new venture to called TP Renewable Microgrid to accelerate distributed energy access in rural India ...
New York’s Modus Capital Launches $75m MENA Fund Targeting Startups, SMEs
November, 04 2019
MENA - The fund will invest in entities carrying a strong social impact, women-oriented firms and those focused on health, education and financial inclusion, the statement said ...
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations: Progress toward Sustainable Development Is Seriously Off-Track
November, 04 2019
Global - It is both good ethics and good business to invest in sustainable, equitable development. Corporate leadership can make all the difference to creating a future of peace, stability and prosperity on a healthy planet ...
LeapFrog Co-Founder Sets Up New Business to Take Stakes in Impact Investors
November, 04 2019
Global - Zamo Capital is Europe’s first specialist investor in impact investment firms. It will focus on providing scale to impact funds by acquiring equity stakes in the fund managers, providing capital and its expertise, as well as intensive support and an established network of investors ...
IFC, Partners Provide More Than $450 Million to Support Major Hydro-Electric Plant in Nepal
November, 01 2019
Nepal - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and a consortium of other lenders today finalized a $453 million debt financing package that will support the construction of a landmark hydroelectric plant in central Nepal. ...
Dutch Bank to Lend India's Ess Kay $40m to Spread Natural-Gas Cars
November, 01 2019
India - The proceeds of the loan will be used by Ess Kay to buy and convert gasoline or diesel cars into compressed natural gas vehicles, FMO said in its investment proposal ...

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