CDC’s latest investment aims to support companies that reach rural areas of India where people have generally limited access to affordable goods and services
- CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, is committing US$25 million to the Aavishkaar Bharat Fund to extend lines of credit to SMEs at the bottom of the pyramid in India.
- The Rockefeller Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and the Ford Foundation have together pledged US$5 million towards efforts to help disaster-affected communities in Puerto Rico and ensure greater resilience limits the damage caused by future extreme weather events.
- Capria, a global investment firm focused on emerging markets, has agreed to invest in two new fund managers operating in Latin America and Africa in its fund network. One of the funds, Lateral Capital, invests in sub-Saharan financial services, healthcare, education, renewable energy and housing through its US$50 million Lateral Africa Opportunities Fund. The second fund will mobilise US$21 million to help finance early-stage tech firms in Chile.
- Germany’s development finance institution DEG is co-funding a sustainable water management pilot project in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands via the develoPPP.de programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). German water management firm ATB Umwelttechnologien GmbH, from Porta Westfalica, is a private partner in the project. The project aims to preserve the island’s national park status.
- The European Bank Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing UniCredit Leasing Croatia, an automotive equipment and real estate leasing services firm, with a €20 million loan for the expansion of leasing finance especially to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
- South Africa-based SME financier GroFin has unveiled a new fund to address the different market barriers faced by African entrepreneurs in South Africa. The fund aims to give business owners access to loans ranging from US$100,000 to US$1.5 million for a period between two and six years.
- The World Bank has launched a 10-year global benchmark bond, raising US$2 billion for sustainable development. The instrument doubled from an offering of US$1 billion due to strong demand from a range of global investor, with a maturity profile extending to 2027.
- International Finance Corporation is providing Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank with a US$185 million syndicated loan to tackle the financing gap for micro and SMEs, and to address the country’s lack of affordable housing.
- BlueOrchard, an impact investment management firm, has unveiled the sub-National Climate Fund, a vehicle set up in partnership with the World Climate Summit to unlock deal flow for low-carbon and climate resilient infrastructure projects at the sub-national level in emerging markets.