August 18th, 2017 — ATEC Biodigesters (ATEC), an Australian-Cambodian Social Enterprise has raised US$700,000 in a Series-A equity round to expand its operations in Cambodia as well as to explore other international opportunities in the household waste-to-energy market. The investment was made by a consortium of investors, led by Small Giants (Australia) and consisting of Fondation Ensemble (France), ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies (France) and one other private Australian investor. The investment round has then been matched with a further €250,000 in results-based-financing by EEP Mekong, a Government of Finland initiative.
SINGAPORE— August 16th, 2017—The Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB)™, structured by Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), has become listed and quoted on the Bonds Market of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as of 9:00am today, making it the first listed bond in the impact investing space with a dual focus on financial returns and social impact. The US$8 million debt security will impact over 385,000 women in Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines through enhanced access to credit, market linkages, and affordable goods and services that will build women’s resilience to socio-economic shocks and stresses.
The United States Agency for International Development is set to allocate $8-million Livelihood Bond for estimated 385,000 women in Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam.
In a statement on Thursday, the US Embassy in Manila said that the bond, which was structured by the Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange is expected to be listed on the Singaporean Exchange this month and will be the first social sustainability bond with a dual focus on social and financial returns, to be listed on a major stock exchange. “USAID is pleased to support the Women’s Livelihood Bond with this loan guarantee,” USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia in Bangkok deputy mission director Todd Sorenson said. “The bond will benefit women living in Association of Southeast Asian Nations states, particularly Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.” Read More.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is set to provide a four-year, $8 million worth of Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB) for around 385,000 women in Southeast Asia.
The bond would give access to credit, market linkages, and affordable goods and services for low-income women particularly in Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines, the USAID said in a statement on Thursday. Read More.
Cambodian women are among over half a million Southeast Asian women who will be able to access credit from the $8 million Women’s Livelihood Bond, guaranteed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), to improve their livelihoods.
According to a USAID press release yesterday, funds from the Women’s Livelihood Bond would be made available to a group of microfinance institutions and social enterprises in Cambodia to help low-income women transition from subsistence livelihoods and “build their resilience to socio-economic stress”. Read More.
WLB is a $8 million bond and is the first in a series of IIX Social Sustainability Bonds. It will provide multi-country and multi-sector financial and social returns and will impact the lives and livelihood of over 385,000 women across Southeast Asia.
The woman behind this innovative financial instrument is Durreen Shahnaz. From the dirt roads of Bangladesh to Wall Street, she has been paving the way for women. Shahnaz was the first Bangladeshi woman to work on Wall Street after graduating from Smith College and subsequently, she was also the first Bangladeshi woman to graduate from the Wharton Business School. She learned finance at Morgan Stanley then applied that knowledge when she worked at Grameen Bank, which works to improve access to finance in developing countries. Read More.
Impact investing refers to investments that are done with the intention of creating social and environmental good. It means that at the core of it, you need to have that social change and environmental change in a positive way, to happen with that investment.
So, just like any other market, you need the supply side of the capital. You need the demand side of the capital. You need platforms for them to come together. And you need structures to come together… Read More.
An $8 million bond set to debut on Singapore’s stock exchange will mobilise private capital to support social enterprises and microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines, providing nearly half a million women in these countries with more access to credit in order to improve their livelihoods.
The Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB), billed as the first-ever social sustainability bond, was developed by Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a Singapore-based organisation that works toward increasing the access to capital for social enterprises in Asia. Read More.
After four hours of bumpy drive into the hilly areas near Visakhapatnam, India, we reached our destination – an isolated village which was inaccessible by road until two years ago, and remains disconnected to grid power. Yet, utility poles with LED street lights, together with a solar system, are prominently placed across the village of 12 families. We were warmly invited by the village chief to visit his house. Surrounded by a group of villagers, he switched on the television and started describing the changes this solar energy system brought to the village.
Inclusion is a topic central to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In order to achieve the ambitious targets, it is essential for all people to become agents of change and contribute towards building a larger included society. Businesses, in particular, are crucial in creating innovative market-driven approaches that catalyze progress towards a future where no one is left behind.
IIX and the impact investing movement believes in creating a more inclusive world where financial systems, economic opportunities, and social good act as catalysts across geographies. To foster progress on this front and continue to be a thought leader, IIX has brought back its community-wide Impact Chat Series and congratulates its second cohort of international students from the IIX Impact Institute who recently completed their Executive Certificate Program.