Proparco has made its first investment in Kazakhstan. Pictured: a sustainable agriculture area near the Kazakhstani village of Korgalzhyn
- The French development finance institution Proparco has lent US$10 million to microfinance institution KMF with the goal of expanding its current client base. Originally a non-government organisation (NGO), KMF aims to improve living and working conditions for agricultural entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan. Most of its 200 000 clients are living in rural areas.
- US-based impact fund manager Equator Capital Partners has raised US$62 million for its ShoreCap III fund from a syndicate of development finance institutions including the African Development Bank, CDC, the European Investment Bank, Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), and Austria’s Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB). With the first close already signed, Equator plans to raise a total of US$150 million for ShoreCap III to invest over 10 years in around 15 new companies. The investee companies all geared towards delivering financial inclusion in Africa.
- Ayana Renewable Power (Ayana), a new independent solar and wind generation firm, was recently launched with exclusive funding and technical support from CDC. Shivanand Nimbargi has been named its managing director and CEO. Ayana will develop hundreds of megawatts of of energy to power homes in Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
- AgDevCo has increased its funding to Katito, a Zambian farming venture, by US$2 million. The funds, which now total around US$7 million, will assist in maintaining Katito’s crop diversity and to build a new plant for local agricultural production and processing in northern Zambia. Katito also connects smallholder farmers to regional export markets. AgDevCo has so far invested US$110 million in 56 agribusinesses in Africa.
- Mirova, a green investment specialist, is preparing over the coming weeks to acquire a majority stake in sustainable land-use and biodiversity project financier Althelia Ecosphere, which adds to its broader ambitions of creating a European platform for natural capital investments. Althelia was established in 2012 with the goal of raising sufficient funds to invest in preserving forestry and projects generating carbon credits in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Mirova is a subsidiary of Natixis Global Asset Management and has €6.9bn of assets managed according to environmental and social governance standards.
- Dutch development bank FMO has lent US$35 million to Ecom Agroindustrial Corp (ECOM), a coffee, cocoa and cotton global supply chain manager. The loan supports ECOM’s cocoa processing business in Nigeria.
- Loan provider Lendingkart Finance Limited has meanwhile raised 30 Indian crore rupees in non-convertible debentures with FMO’s help. This new influx of debt funds are its first foreign debt transactions and will be used to grow Lendingkart’s loan book as well as offer its services to a wider number of small business industries in India. Lendingkart has so far disbursed more than 20,000 loans to 13,000 small firms.
- Singapore-based Solar equipment manufacturer Orb Energy Pte has raised US$15 million, which is structured as equity and debt, to strengthen its flagship finance platform aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises in India to purchase rooftop solar systems. FMO is an existing investor and has provided equity funding of US$4 million to the project, while the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has provided long-term debt financing of US$10 million.
- Women’s platform SHEROES has bought Dheli-based startup Babygogo to grow its community of working women in India. There are currently 20,000 users of the platform, which offers women opportunities in corporate jobs, jobs for returning professionals, partner programmes, work-from-home opportunities, part-time and freelance jobs, entrepreneur programmes and internships . Its founder Sairee Chahal launched SHEROES in 2014 to provide job and work-life balance support to professional Indian women.
- The African Development Bank has approved a US$30 million investment in a facility for energy inclusion, known as Off-Grid Energy Access Fund. Additional investments include US $10 million from Calvert Impact Capital, US$8.5 million from the Global Environment Facility and €6 million from the Nordic Development Fund.