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Chocolate City Launches $1 Million Fund to Back Early-Stage Creative Startups in Nigeria
By offering equity investment and mentorship, the initiative aims to help young entrepreneurs scale sustainable businesses rather than rely on short-term funding.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- creative economy, scale, startups, youth
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Swedfund Invests $15 Million in Excelsior Capital Vietnam Fund II to Boost SME Growth
The fund said in a statement that Excelsior II provides growth capital to mid-sized companies and will contribute to job creation in sectors like retail, manufacturing, healthcare, education and tech.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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GIIN Report: Impact Investing Surges Despite Global Headwinds
Despite strong growth, investors highlighted several persistent challenges. The leading concern, selected by 62% of surveyed investors, was “impact washing.” Unsurprisingly, the current ESG backlash was also cited as a key issue.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- ESG, greenwashing, impact investing
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Nedbank Invests $28 Million in New GX Capital’s Fund for Clean Energy and Infrastructure in Africa
The fund is purpose-built to channel capital into clean technologies and sustainable infrastructure—including energy, water, gas, and associated services—across Africa.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The African Development Bank Injects $117.3 Million to Transform Cocoa Sector in Côte d’Ivoire Amid Sustainability Push
For farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, particularly youth and women in rural areas, the facility represents more than financial relief.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Uganda Development Bank Secures $30 Million Islamic Finance Facility for SMEs
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) provided Uganda Development Bank (UDB) with $30 million, marking its first financing deal in Uganda and East Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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World’s Biggest Pension Fund Puts Impact Investing on the Agenda
GPIF President Kazuto Uchida has made clear he thinks that an investment approach targeting environmental and social goals "ultimately leads to” economic and capital markets growth.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Global
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How India’s Non-Bank Financial Companies are Closing the MSME Credit Gap — And What Other Emerging Markets Can Learn from Their Success
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up around 90% of businesses and employ over half of the workforce globally, while generating up to 40% of GDP and creating 70% of formal jobs in emerging markets. Yet according to Sameer Nanda at Ugro Capital Limited, these businesses face an ongoing credit gap that, in India alone, amounts to an estimated ₹80 trillion. He explains how non-bank financial companies are addressing this gap by offering dynamic and flexible lending services designed for MSMEs — and shares useful lessons from their approach that can be applied in other emerging economies with similar credit challenges.
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