-
Salmon Raises $140 Million to Deepen Philippine Lending Push
It will finance a national launch of fresh products, with motorcycle loans and lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) leading the pipeline, etc.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
Capital Without Context is Not Impact Investing: Why Trust Networks are Essential Infrastructure, and How the Sector Can Leverage Them More Effectively
According to many funders, a common reason why impact capital does not reach enterprises in emerging markets is the lack of investable deal flow. But as Alessa Berg at Top Tier Impact argues, a pipeline of investable businesses exists. What's lacking is the connective tissue between investors and entrepreneurs: networks of trusted, embedded practitioners who can surface credible opportunities, do meaningful due diligence, and bridge the enormous information asymmetry between funders and founders. She explores the importance of these trust networks in impact investing, and argues that the sector needs to mobilize funding to help build them.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing, lending
-
Is the World Bank to Blame for the Cambodian Microfinance Crisis?
For the past five years, Cambodia’s microfinance sector has been experiencing a major over-indebtedness crisis. And as inclusive finance consultant Daniel Rozas explains, despite multiple warnings that the sector was overheating, IFC, the World Bank’s private investment arm, poured fuel on the flames by investing in the largest and fastest-growing of the country's leading microfinance institutions. Making matters worse, after an investigation by IFC’s own ombudsman concluded that clients had been harmed due to its failure to monitor the social risks created by its investments, its board dismissed those findings. He explores how the industry went off the rails in Cambodia, and argues that IFC not only worsened the crisis, it helped undermine the sector’s own efforts to avert it.
-
BII Welcomes First Close of BlueOrchard Climate Action Mobilisation Fund
A key objective of the fund’s design was to meet the regulatory requirements of life insurers, including those of UK insurers seeking Matching Adjustment 1eligible assets under Solvency UK, which sets out regulatory requirements for insurance firms and groups.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Global
-
Missing the Exit: The Growing Need for New Exit Pathways in Agriculture Investing
Exits make the wheel of impact investing go around, enabling companies to sustain and grow their operations, while also allowing investors to recycle returned capital into other impactful solutions. But as Coco Lim at Acumen explains, right now that wheel is not turning — particularly in agriculture, which has the lowest ratio of exits to deals of any sector in Africa. She argues that this situation puts impact investors at a crossroads: They can stay the course and hope that big exits are around the corner, or they can build the necessary exit pathways themselves. She discusses the challenges of achieving exits in smallholder-focused agriculture, highlighting the limitations of current investing models and exploring some exit strategies that offer untapped opportunities for impact investors and businesses.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
-
UK Offers $541 Million Loan to Brazil-led Tropical Forest Fund
"New Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has focused even more tightly on easing domestic cost-of-living concerns since coming to power in July, has since said some of Britain's international climate contributions should be made in the form of loans, not grants."
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
-
World Bank Group and Banco Consorcio Mobilize Financing to Expand Access to Housing and Create Jobs
The two institutions are strengthening their partnership to expand women’s access to mortgage lending, helping reduce Chile’s housing deficit and support the recovery of the construction sector, a key driver of employment and economic growth.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
-
Small Foundation Commits Capital to AgDevCo Ventures for East African Agribusinesses
Managed by a dedicated team in Nairobi, the vehicle invests between $1 million and $3 million in companies operating in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.