3 mins in Development Finance/ wk 07

My weekly reading list for those interested in development finance and Impact investing focused on developing countries.

IFC and World Bank

• (14.02.22) Letter: World Bank response to our article, ‘Global finance is failing Africa’ | The Africa Report Business
• (15.02.22) IFC, World Bank to Help Nigeria Pave Way for Domestic Carbon Storage | Leadership
• (15.02.22) VIDEO: Greater Transparency on Hidden and Distressed Debt Can Reduce Global Financial Risks and Support Recovery | The World Bank
• (17.02.22) Xinjiang: IFC, World Bank Group member, accused of lending money to companies allegedly linked to forced labor in China | CNN
• (17.02.22) Mobilizing development lending to create more and better jobs | The World Bank
• (18.02.22) Investors look beyond polls to pump billions into Kenya | The World News
• (19.02.22) SME sector is a reliable reflection of the overall economic conditions in the country says expert | IOL

ADB

• (16.02.22) $150 Million ADB Loan to Support Green Recovery, Catalyze Financing Toward SDGs in Indonesia | Asian Development Bank

AfDB

• (15.02.22) $11.48m boost for African Union’s Agenda 2063 from AfDB Fund | ESI Africa
• (15.02.22) AFRICA: AfDB Launches 2nd Sustainable and Circular Fashion Competition | Afrik 21
• (16.02.22) African Development Fund approves $4.3 million grant to Somalia for statistics development | African Development Bank
• (17.02.22) Senegal’s Macky Sall and France’s Emmanuel Macron commit to stronger Europe-Africa partnership | African Development Bank
• (18.02.22) African Development Bank Group and Africa50, in partnership with the African Union Commission and AUDA NEPAD, to create Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa with global partners | African Development Bank
• (18.02.22) African Development Bank Group approves LEAF program to promote investment in decentralized renewable energy | African Development Bank
• (18.02.22) VIDEO: African Development Bank Group approves $379.6 million Desert to Power financing facility for the G5 Sahel countries | African Development Bank

AfDB / FinDEV / DFC / EDFI

• (16.02.22) Global development finance coalition commits over USD 5.5 billion for MSME financing in Africa | FinDEV

AfDB / CDC / DEG / FMO

• (15.02.22) SOUTH AFRICA: Redstone Solar Thermodynamic Project's first debt drawdown | Afrik 21

EIB

• (16.02.22) VIDEO: In excess of USD 23.8 million EIB and Boost Africa backing for African tech start-up fund Atlantica Ventures | EIB
• (16.02.22) VIDEO: Cameroon: Commercial Bank Cameroun and EIB unveil EUR 12 million COVID resilience business financing initiative | EIB
• (16.02.22) EIB backs African private sector impacted by COVID | EIB
• (16.02.22) VIDEO: Financing innovation, growth and COVID-19 economic resilience in Africa | EIB
• (16.02.22) VIDEO: Malawi: EIB and First Capital Bank partner to provide EUR 12. 5 million investment boost for smallholder farmers and agricultural companies and cooperative backed by EU support | EIB
• (17.02.22) Africa-Europe Foundation and EIB Global join forces to transform dialogue into action | EIB
• (17.02.22) VIDEO: Q&A: EIB Global paves the way for private investment | Devex
• (17.02.22) VIDEO: Improving livelihoods in rural Kenya | EIB
• (18.02.22) EIB Global commits €62m?for six high-impact private sector investment initiatives in Africa | Engineering News

EBRD

• (12.02.22) EBRD approves new country strategy for Egypt | Daily News Egypt
• (16.02.22) EBRD backs digital platform to boost private-sector investment in Tunisia | EBRD
• (16.02.22) EBRD supports competitiveness in Morocco’s automotive sector | EBRD
• (16.02.22) EBRD, GCF and EU boost green investments in Morocco | EBRD
• (16.02.22) EBRD, GCF and EU promote climate mitigation and adaptation in Morocco | EBRD

AIIB

• (15.02.22) As the AIIB reviews its energy strategy, will it finally go fossil free? | China Dialogue

CDC

• (15.02.22) VIDEO: Welcome to the largest solar park in Africa | CDC Group
• (17.02.22) PODCAST: We have a new ESG podcast episode on managing water risks | CDC Group
• (20.02.22) CDC Group to make more climate investments in Southeast Asia | Nikkei Asia

DFC

• (18.02.22) US supports microenterprises in Tunisia with $35m loans | Middle East Monitor

FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank

• (14.02.22) Solarplaza & FMO relaunch their ?Making Solar Bankable? event as the ?Future of Energy? | Renewable Energy Magazine

Finnfund

• (14.02.22) Finnfund opens Nairobi office in search of deals | Business Daily
• (14.02.22) "Among the best-performing organisations”– external review of Finnfund's Human Rights Statement and its implementation is ready | Finnfund

PROPARCO

• (15.02.22) Proparco initiates CREA Fund with EU backing to support the african cultural and creative sector | Proparco
• (16.02.22) French government-backed Digital Africa to fund 200 African startups | Moneyweb
• (17.02.22) AFD Group and the European Commission collaborate to support public and private investments in Africa | Proparco

Misc Content in Development Finance

• (13.02.22) Egypt launches first ever report on development finance | EgyptToday
• (14.02.22) The rise of impact investing | The Edge Markets
• (14.02.22) Financial inclusion will boost Nigeria's digital economy - FSI | Premiun Times
• (15.02.22) FSI banks on financial inclusion to boost digital economy | The Guardian Nigeria News
• (16.02.22) Financial inclusion work gets boost of over $2M | Phnom Penh Post
• (16.02.22) DEAL: CrowdForce secures $3.6 million to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria - Nairametrics
• (20.02.22) Ghana's debt makes development impossible: here are some solutions | The Conversation

Misc Technology

• (14.02.22) Five trends shaping the future of Fintech | Times of India
• (14.02.22) How one founder is using fintech to get more EVs on the road | TechCrunch
• (15.02.22) Top 3 Fintech Startups To Watch Right Now Truly Solving Financial Inclusion | Tech Economy
• (15.02.21) France-Backed Digital Africa to Fund 200 African Tech Startups | Bloomberg Quint
• (16.02.22) African fintech Flutterwave triples valuation to over $3B after $250M Series D | TechCrunch
• (18.02.22) TechCrunch+ roundup: Fintech investor survey, data-driven fundraising, VC scouting jobs | TechCrunch

Misc Gender

• (16.02.22) When private equity funds meet gender and climate | Greenbiz

Misc Sustainability

• (14.02.22) Why Sustainable Investing is Our Best Hope | Triple Pundit
• (14.02.22) VIDEO: Difference between active and passive investing when looking at sustainability? | The Asset
• (15.02.22) This is what you're getting wrong about ESG ratings | MarketWatch
• (15.02.22) India X Cleantech - February 2022 | CleanTechnica
• (16.02.22) The Future Of ESG Investing | Forbes
• (17.02.22) Are ESG investments really what they claim to be? | Financial Post
• (18.02.22) Sustainable Funds Landscape - Highlights and Observations | Morningstar

Subscription Required

• (14.02.22) If crypto is the Wild West of finance, impact investing is the country club | ImpactAlpha
• (15.02.22) FMO proposes $18m investment in Jungle Ventures's fourth fund | Deal Street Asia
• (20.02.22) Green investing: the risk of a new mis-selling scandal | Financial Times

Upcoming Webinars

• February 24, 2022: Promoting long-term finance through local currency bond markets: Evidence from selected African countries | African Development Bank
• 2022: Social enterprise and impact investing events in 2022 | The Social Enterprise Magazine | Pioneers Post
• November 9-11, 2022: FinTech LIVE 2022

Upcoming Conferences

• April 11-2, 2022, Amsterdam: Solar is Bankable: so what does the Future of Energy hold? | FMO

If you have suggestions for articles that should be featured in future lists, please drop me a note and follow me on LinkedIn.