Blended finance

Investors commit €36m to back businesses providing affordable, safe drinking water to underserved populations mainly in Africa and Asia.

The initiative aims to change the financial sector’s perception of water: not as an isolated sector but as an entry-point for multi-sector, local and regional impact investment opportunities.

The Article 9 fund will invest primarily in Africa and Asia. US International Development Finance Corporation, Swedfund, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and other partners will provide capital and guarantees.

The fund, which has backing from the UK government, will support local capital providers investing in SMEs whose activities help meet UN sustainable development goals.

Green guarantees are a key component of the EU’s drive to support energy transition and climate adaption in developing countries. A large share of the investment programmes will be implemented by DFIs, as FMO’s David Kuijper explains.

Large climate projects in developing countries struggle to attract affordable financing. New initiatives like the Green Guarantee Company and the EU’s Global Gateway aim to encourage investors to move into more challenging markets

A new fund aims to blend $500m of concessional finance with $1.5bn of private investment to back local communities and entrepreneurs restoring land in Africa

The UK government-backed £30m fund aims to bring back Britain’s lost rainforests, which once covered large parts of its western coastline and inspired a classic crime novel.

The Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund has received a $40m investment from the US International Finance Corporation, taking total capital commitments to the fund to $106m

Closing the climate investment gap in emerging and developing markets will take political will, according to a paper by the Net-Zero Asset Owners Alliance urging policymakers to help scale blended finance structures