James Gavin

Articles written by James Gavin

• Ikea Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation’s billion-dollar offering to de-risk renewable energy funding

  Posted in category:

  • Development finance,
  • Investment

  

  Ikea Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation’s billion-dollar offering to de-risk renewable energy funding

  Posted in category:

  • Development finance,
  • Investment

  06 Jul 2021

  A $1bn initiative from two powerful philanthropic foundations aims to catalyse investment in distributed renewable energy (DRE) to inject greater momentum in slow market development. We spoke to both foundations to explain their bold move.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin

• Schroders and BlueOrchard launch climate bond fund

  Posted in category:

  • Climate & environment,
  • Investment

  

  Schroders and BlueOrchard launch climate bond fund

  Posted in category:

  • Climate & environment,
  • Investment

  22 Jun 2021

  A new climate fund launched by Schroders and BlueOrchard is tapping into the growing appetite for emerging market debt and investors’ demand for stricter ESG norms.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin

• Interview: FMO’s Nasira programme seeks to reach underserved entrepreneurs

  Posted in category:

  • Development finance

  

  Interview: FMO’s Nasira programme seeks to reach underserved entrepreneurs

  Posted in category:

  • Development finance

  08 Jun 2021

  More than two years after its launch the Nasira risk-sharing facility of FMO, the Dutch development bank, expanded its remit to take in entrepreneurs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin

• Guaranteed satisfaction for off-grid solar investors?

  Posted in category:

  • Energy access,
  • Energy transition

  

  Guaranteed satisfaction for off-grid solar investors?

  Posted in category:

  • Energy access,
  • Energy transition

  01 Jun 2021

  The emergence of a new range of guarantees for off-grid solar projects is boosting investor confidence while helping build local capacity to fund much-needed renewable energy projects.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin

• ‘Measuring impact is now more important than ever’

  Posted in category:

  • Impact measurement

  

  ‘Measuring impact is now more important than ever’

  Posted in category:

  • Impact measurement

  27 Apr 2021

  Measuring impact is now more important than ever, acknowledges AFEX’s CEO Ayodeji Balogun. Over the last five years, AFEX has built a network of over 160,000 farmers and cumulatively facilitated over 200,000MT in trades, matching orders from producers and brokers with buyers on its trading platform at fair prices.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin

• African commodities exchange empowering smallholder farmers is scaling up

  Posted in category:

  • Agri-food

  

  African commodities exchange empowering smallholder farmers is scaling up

  Posted in category:

  • Agri-food

  27 Apr 2021

  AFEX Commodities Exchange’s mission to hand African smallholder farmers greater bargaining power took a leap forward in February 2021 when it launched the first Warehouse Receipt Backed Commercial Paper in Africa.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin

• Urgent need to unlock local financing for African off-grid sector through guarantee and first-loss provisions

  Posted in category:

  • Development finance,
  • Energy access

  

  Urgent need to unlock local financing for African off-grid sector through guarantee and first-loss provisions

  Posted in category:

  • Development finance,
  • Energy access

  05 Apr 2021

  With around 600 million Africans without access to the electricity grid, the market for off-grid home solar systems is expected to grow very fast. Yet, local financial institutions are still reluctant to finance the suppliers of these and other solar products. The Green 4 Access First Loss Facility, a new blended finance scheme, is trying to change this.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin

• Investor appetite for off-grid solar investments in Africa remains robust

  Posted in category:

  • Energy access

  

  Investor appetite for off-grid solar investments in Africa remains robust

  Posted in category:

  • Energy access

  26 Mar 2021

  Fresh investments in Africa’s pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) energy market confirms investor interest in the sector is holding up – in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, and despite a couple of high-profile bankruptcies highlighting the challenging economics facing PAYGo companies.

  

  Written by:

  • James Gavin