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Standard Bank Lands $327.1 Million African Development Bank Investment for SMEs in South Africa
According to Standard Bank, the 2024 facility had been fully utilised by December 2025, supporting 5,425 SMEs across sectors including agriculture.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Learning from the Corporate Playbook: Why NGOs Must Claim a Niche to Survive the Aid Recession
Global aid funding has dropped dramatically in recent years, while private sector funding in low-and middle-income countries has risen sharply. According to social innovations advisor Rajat Ray, this is not a temporary shift but a fundamental restructuring of how global development will be financed. He explores what this new reality means for NGOs and other grant-seeking organizations, arguing that unlocking private capital will require them to adopt the corporate principles of strategic positioning and niche specialization, shifting from broad thematic focus areas to high-impact, technical interventions that target specific needs.
- Categories
- Investing
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D.light Takes PAYGo Solar From Impact Funds to the London Stock Exchange
The listing brings d.light’s cumulative PAYGo receivables purchasing capacity to $1 billion — a milestone that few in the off-grid energy sector thought achievable when the company pioneered the first-ever PAYGo securitisation back in 2020.
- Categories
- Energy, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Keys to Successful Blue Bonds: How Peru’s Strong Local Lending Systems Are Expanding Water and Sanitation Access
For millions of Peruvian families, one barrier stands between them and safe water and sanitation at home: access to affordable financing. Yet as Rocio Cavazos at Water.org explains, the financial institutions serving these communities face their own barrier: limited access to lower-cost capital. She discusses Water.org's efforts to support Peru’s two successful blue bond issuances, exploring how these bonds can allow lenders to offer more affordable loans for water and sanitation solutions — and sharing lessons from Peru's experience that can be applied by blue bonds in other markets.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing, WASH
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Joint Press Release: EU and Partners Sign the Global Green Bond Initiative Fund to Mobilise up to €20 Billion in Investments for Sustainable Infrastructure
At least 20% of investments will target the world's least developed countries, with support for bonds in both local currency and euro.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
- Region
- Global
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South Africa Develops $122 Million Bond to Restore Water Catchments
The outcome based bond will link investor returns to measurable environmental improvements such as invasive plant removal and catchment rehabilitation.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: SMFG and IFC Partner to Launch the World’s First Digital Inclusion Bond, Supporting Growth and Job Creation through MSMEs in Emerging Markets
This landmark transaction marks IFC’s first investment in a thematic bond focused on digital inclusion as well as its first investment in Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity (TLAC)-eligible instruments in the Asia Pacific region.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Press Release: IFC Partners with KASIKORNBANK to Expand Sustainable Finance and Drive Job Creation in Thailand
The bond is expected to reduce pollution and improve environmental standards, while creating jobs and supporting innovation across priority sectors.
- Categories
- Investing
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