The €400m impact fund backed by the Dutch government is developing its strategy in support of missing-middle SMEs, based on experience of its first decade of operations, and on discussions with stakeholders.
Speaking at the Impact Investor Conference, guiding lights in the sector said a continent-wide push to bring more and larger institutions into the impact investing arena is needed if the sector is to realise its full potential as a force for good.
Growth is being driven by private sector and commercial capital, suggesting that investors are becoming smarter, more efficient, and bolder, a new report concludes.
The company’s software, which improves the accuracy and efficiency of breast cancer detection, is used widely in Germany and is also being trialled in India. Vara is backed by European family offices and other investors.
The facility seeks to improve trade liquidity within Africa, especially for women and youth-run businesses, building on Absa’s extensive network of financial services operations across the continent.
The loans to boost financial inclusion and the hydropower sector represent the first direct investments in the Himalayan country by the two Nordic development finance institutions.
The impact investing market is growing fast indicating mainstream acceptance of the sector. Still, the pace of capital allocation towards the SDGs is far from sufficient to tackle the worst effects of climate change and global inequality, according to the GIIN.
The newly elected government has met leading figures from the country’s impact investment sector in a bid to mobilise funding for housing and other social priorities.
The Transform Health Fund aims to provide a template for blended finance in Africa’s healthcare sector. Following the fund’s close, we talk about progress so far with Martin Edlund of the Health Finance Coalition, one of the fund’s founding organisations.
A programme aimed at cutting emissions from cotton farming is expanding its activities in core countries India and the US, with plans to reach over 90,000 farmers in coming years.
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