Development finance

In a world of political and policy headwinds, development finance institutions are aiming to mobilise private capital and innovate to build impact, said speakers at the Impact Investor conference.

Afrigeen Debt Impact Fund has invested €15m through a senior secured financing facility for SolarX, a solar solutions developer and operator for commercial and industrial customers in West Africa.

The fund aims to help close the estimated annual $280bn climate adaptation gap and benefit 19million people living in emerging and developing countries, including least developed countries and small island developing states.

The Amethis Europe Expansion Fund aims to support European small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to expand into Africa, as well as Europe and the Middle East. The fund has been backed by the EIB, Bpifrance and COFIDES.

The investment will allow Coris, a significant provider of SME financing, to bolster its efforts to reach the region’s underbanked communities.

The Education Outcomes Fund has launched the first of three programmes targeting early childhood education Africa, in partnership with the government of Rwanda and the LEGO Foundation as outcomes funders.

The inaugural World Bank-hosted funding from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program is set to unlock $200m in lending for smallholder farmers across five African countries to help bolster food security and resilience to climate change.

The fund aims to address the credit gap facing mid-sized African firms and demonstrate the commercial potential of private credit in Africa.

The report, prepared by global research consultancy Itad, identifies four actions that DFIs can take to mobilise private capital at scale to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and deliver meaningful climate action.

Moniepoint, which focuses on driving financial inclusion for MSMEs and individuals, received an additional $90m backing, after initially raising $110m in October 2024, including from several impact investors.