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Financing for Inclusive Business

Innovations to meet the SDG investment gap and other financing considerations for entrepreneurs

GRAPHIC SUMMARY

A visual summary of the key challenges entrepreneurs need to consider when it comes to financing for inclusive business. Learn more about these aspects by reading this sixth edition of the newly developed online magazine on inclusive business! The illustration was developed by Christopher Malapitan, a visual practitioner and trainer based in Brussels. Through the use of visual storytelling methods he empowers individuals and organizations to “see” what they mean.

editorial

SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS EASY: IT IS HIGH TIDE FOR SDG FINANCING AT THE MOMENT, BUT WE MUST WORK TO ENSURE IT STAYS THAT WAY

As Braganza explains, finance is fickle. He offers four simple recommendations for how the inclusive business world can keep finance flowing its way—giving SMEs their time in the sun—in a volatility-uncertainty-complexity-ambiguity (VUCA) world.

Royston Braganza

Table of contents

graphic summary

GRAPHIC SUMMARY

A visual summary of the key challenges entrepreneurs need to consider when it comes to financing for inclusive business. Learn more about these aspects by reading this sixth edition of the newly developed online magazine on inclusive…

editorial

SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS EASY: IT IS HIGH TIDE FOR SDG FINANCING AT THE MOMENT, BUT WE MUST WORK TO ENSURE IT STAYS THAT WAY

As Braganza explains, finance is fickle. He offers four simple recommendations for how the inclusive business world can keep finance flowing its way—giving SMEs their time in the sun—in a volatility-uncertainty-complexity-ambiguity (VUCA) world.

Royston Braganza

feature story

Financing the SDGs: from the big picture funding gap to the little details that entrepreneurs want to know

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will require the mobilisation of a lot more resources than the sector currently has invested today. Learn what financial innovators and entrepreneurs are doing to bridge the investment gap and help inclusive business entrepreneurs survive and thrive.

Dana Gulley

What is blended finance and why should inclusive business entrepreneurs care?

Bartz-Zuccala gives us the download on blended finance and shares examples of how this innovative funding mechanism has unlocked private capital towards achieving the SDGs. Continued private and public sector collaboration is needed to scale blended finance, she says.

Opening the financing spigot on SDG3 — health and well-being

Hornberger and Imtiazuddin share details about the estimated gap in financing our SDG3 global health targets—$134 billion annualy and rising to $371 billion annually by 2030—as well as reasons for the gap and a suggested path forward.

Taking a critical look at the role of blended finance in agriculture — an emerging learning agenda

Prato shares the work that SAFIN has embarked on, in partnership with OECD, to understand what role blended finance can play in mobilising private finance for agri-SME investments.

Decentralised energy unlocks opportunity, the right financing unlocks decentralised energy

For SELCO, success means more people at the base of the pyramid have access to decentralised energy—an intervention that can move them several rungs up the social ladder. This requires hard-earned trust from the customer and partnerships with banks to unlock the right financing.

Finding the sweet spot in the combination of public and commercial capital

Berbers discusses AlphaMundi’s approach to impact investing and shares trends she has observed as the sector has evolved—from the growth in gender-lens investing to the gap in debt financing options for companies that are too big for microfinance but too small for banking loans.

Smart power solutions company benefits from aligned impact, donor and investor interests

Zola Electric is delivering smart power solutions to both commercial and residential customers across Africa. With business goals that are aligned to their impact goals, managing donor and investor interests is made easier.

Finance opportunity knocking: more inclusive investors and more impact-driven inclusive businesses means growth for the sector

Yogendran and Prakash share how impact investors have expanded their practices to better support inclusive businesses, while awareness is growing for businesses to better demonstrate their impact—leading to synergy and opportunity for growth in the sector.

Growing the SME ecosystem in Africa through training, seed funding, and strategic partnerships

Ugochukwu explains why grant funding is essential for start-up entrepreneurs—creating opportunity for them to turn their ideas into reality before their businesses are complex enough for equity investments and without burdening them with debt.

Getting investment-ready: considerations for early-stage entrepreneurs

Lobo reminds inclusive business entrepreneurs that they must work towards becoming sustainable—and to do so, he shares advice on getting investment-ready, considering the capital structure of the business, and navigating relationships with donors and investors.

Saving the lives of the rich and the urban poor through cross-subsidisation

Giwa-Tubosun shares her views on the importance of running a capital-efficient business that can stand on its own. She believes that through a mix of cross-subsidisation and donor money for specific purposes, like expanding services, one can build a sustainable business.

Nigerian social enterprise weighs in on benefits and drawbacks of grants and venture capital

Adebiyi has built his company without the help of loans because, in his words, his company doesn’t have the balance sheets needed to interact with banks. Instead, donor money, which serves as “patient capital,” has allowed the company to develop at the right pace.

In Your Words

Entrepreneurs and people representing the inclusive business ecosystem offer a snapshot into their personal thoughts on impact finance and other things that relate to inclusive business.