Across ACP countries, access to finance remains a major barrier for women-owned SMEs – often due to limited access to traditional forms of collateral. This study explores how Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are increasingly using alternative forms of collateral, such as movable assets, receivables, and warehouse receipts. While these tools have not yet been deployed with […]
We are excited to introduce our new series, DFI Insights, a collection of concise, actionable briefs designed to equip professionals and organizations with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions in the field of development finance. The DFI Insights series distills complex topics into accessible formats, allowing you to quickly grasp the essentials and […]
Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) have a key role to play in promoting gender responsive finance and women’s economic empowerment (WEE). While the initiatives of multilateral banks are well-documented and communicated via events and publications, visibility of the efforts of national and sub-regional DFIs on this topic is low. Gender finance is not commonly highlighted on their websites […]
Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) have a key role to play in promoting gender responsive finance and women’s economic empowerment (WEE). While the initiatives of multilateral banks are well-documented and communicated via events and publications, such as 2021’s “Public Development Banks Driving Gender Equality: an Overview of Practices and Measurement Frameworks” by UNWOMEN and the Agence […]
Executive Summary Access to finance is amongst the main challenges faced by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in creating and growing their business in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Meanwhile, crowdfunding is disrupting the financial services industry by democratising access to capital for individuals and businesses and revolutionising the way they interact with […]
Many ACP countries are highly vulnerable to climate change and yet face shortfalls in funding for adaptation. Engaging the private sector and mobilising its investment is therefore vital to deliver climate adaptation in these countries. ACP countries typically have weak investment climates, however, hindering the private sector from playing a role in climate adaptation and […]
Executive Summary National development finance institutions (NDFIs) can play a vital role in promoting climate financing and thus achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) due to their knowledge of local markets, their close connections to domestic public and private stakeholders and their ability for local currency financing. However, currently NDFIs are not involved as intensively in […]
The momentum to embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into the DNA of financial institutions has never been stronger. And nowhere is this more critical than in the world of development finance, where mission-driven institutions play a pivotal role in shaping sustainable futures. Recognizing the urgency—and the opportunity—the Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility, rolled […]
There are many reasons why a development finance institution (DFI) would want to conduct a gender assessment. For the Federated States of Micronesia Development Bank (FSMDB), the objectives included better serving women entrepreneurs and thereby growing its client base, formalising gender equality in policies and operations, and meeting the gender requirements of international funders such […]
The ICR Facility is supporting its partners to increase women’s economic empowerment (WEE) by facilitating their access to finance. Our new ICReport How to make the Business Environment work for Women’s Economic Empowerment builds on an earlier publication Trends in Gender Finance in African Caribbean and Pacific Development Finance Institutions and demonstrates how the recommendations made […]
On financing and capital markets, women are worse-off than men. Women have less access to finance, assets and collateral. Additionally, the world is faced with an unprecedented climate crisis, with disasters increasing in their severity, frequency and unpredictability. To achieve a gender-equal and ecological transformation of economies, Public Development Banks (PDBs) come into play. PDBs […]
The Tanzanian agriculture sector depends heavily on the contributions of women and young people. Many of them would like to invest in new machinery, in more land or to use better farming methods. But often they fail because they do not qualify for bank loans. The Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank has set out to change this.
