In this section, we will update you with announcements from the ecosystem of inclusive business, pre-selected according to their relevance for inclusive business ventures.
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Impact investment manager ADB Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is planning to hold the first close of its $100 million debt fund this year, top executives told DealStreetAsia.
Japan’s impact investing market has more than doubled in 2021, reaching more than JPY1.3tn (USD10.17bn) – a 250% increase from JPY512.6bn the previous year, reveals a new report. The actual size of the Japanese impact investing market as a whole is likely to be bigger than the numbers in the report, which only include investments confirmed by the organisations surveyed.
The SDG Impact Standards provide sustainable guidelines and best practices for four categories: private equity funds, enterprises, bond issuers, and the financing of sustainable development. According to the UNDP, the goal is to, “Guide businesses and investors to integrate sustainability and the SDGs into the core of management systems and decision-making and direct capital to where it can make the most difference to people and planet.”
KADIPA Executive Secretary Khalil Nur Khalil states that "going forward, as a world class Investment Promotion Agency that we are building here, we want our PPP transactions to also conform to climate change issues and impact investment and so on. Again, we are the only state that is doing this."
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has combined efforts with the International Trade Centre (ITC) SheTrades Initiative to support women in overcoming gender-based obstacles in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The programme will promote women’s readiness to engage in negotiations around the AfCFTA, as well as their access to capacity building and higher-productivity activities
Kenya and Netherlands are working together towards adopting increasingly circular, regenerative, and inclusive farming practices. The Netherlands Ambassador to Kenya Maarten Brouwer said the move aims to optimize Kenya’s agriculture sector by offering smart technology and organizational support, which has already proven successful.
Aavishkaar Capital has raised Rs 1,000 crore ($130 million) towards the first close of its eighth impact fund. The final close, topping $200 million (or Rs 1,500 crore), is expected by the end of the current calendar year, a senior executive told ET. Across its eight funds, the group now has total assets under management of Rs 4,000 crore.
In the Think7 group, leading think tanks from the G7 countries work together with civil society and business to develop proposals for forward-looking agreements between the G7 member states. A new policy brief on sustainable and resilient agricultural value chains mentions Inclusive Business.
To address the perennial problem of lack of funding for women entrepreneurs, Manila Angel Investors Network (MAIN) has encouraged angel investors to put their resources in enterprises run by female entrepreneurs.
The Egyptian investment firm Catalyst Partners has launched what it claims is the first private closed-end fund for impact investment in the Middle East, with capital of 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($54 million). The Catalyst Capital Egypt fund’s first close recorded about EGP 450 million.