Magazine

In the field of investments, size matters. This is particularly true when a fund targets new terrain such as driving climate financing in emerging economies. The responsAbility-managed climate fund has recently crossed the USD 500 m threshold when it comes to committed capital to investees. We talked to Antoine Prédour, who heads the Energy Debt Financing team at responsAbility Investments and asked him about the recipe behind this success.

responsAbility has been a pioneer in development investments for 15 years, with an investment approach that has always been grounded in SDG ideals even before there were SDGs.

With equity investments in financial institutions in emerging markets, such as Fawry in Egypt, responsAbility helps create access to finance for millions of people, which directly improves their quality of life.

In line with local regulatory requirements, most financial institutions in Bangladesh are strengthening their environmental and social management system frameworks to manage key risks. Using its Technical Assistance facility, the responsAbility-managed climate fund has teamed up with prominent partners to provide targeted training to 250 banking officials to build local knowledge and capacity in the field.

At a conference held by Swiss Sustainable Finance in Zurich on 16 January, 240 participants from 12 countries exchanged their views about innovative partnerships for development investments. One of the panelists was Claudia Arce, Director of South Asia at German development bank KfW who talked about her experiences with public-private partnerships.

The recently launched responsAbility-managed private equity fund focusing on agriculture and food has just taken a stake in Samunnati Financial Intermediation and Services Pvt Ltd. Fund manager Rik Vyverman explains what the company is about and how it fits into the fund’s portfolio.

Luke Franson, a passionate proponent of green lending, discusses the fundamental change that is happening in understanding about green lending, and how this is facilitating growth and the ability to form new partnerships in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

responsAbility Oslo’s Per Haagensen explains why Utkarsh Small Finance Bank ideally fits into responsAbility’s portfolio: strong growth and structures – and a clear focus on financial inclusion.

This responsAbility publication analyses the opportunity, risks and entry barriers for financial institutions in developing countries to develop a loan product for energy efficiency and renewable energy.