The Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) has launched its latest Women’s Livelihood Bond, the seventh of the series. Proceeds from the bond, WLB7, will be used to fund companies from India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka across a range of sectors that empower women to build economic resilience and advance environmental sustainability.
WLB7 is expected to be listed on the Singapore Exchange and is opined by Sustainable Fitch as complying with the Orange Bond Principles, as well as the International Capital Market Association’s Green and Social Bond Principles and its Sustainability Bond Guidelines.
The ‘orange’ bond – so called because it aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number five, which focuses on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls – has received support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Canadian government.
It has also been backed by the International Finance Corporation and investors such as the Ford Foundation, Paul Ramsay Foundation, APG, iGravity, lmpax and Nuveen.
The bond, which will mature in 2029, has received catalytic first-loss capital of $2.6 million from Australia’s Minderoo Foundation. The WLB series was launched in 2017 and the previous six issuances have raised $228 million.