Investing for Impact

Until now impact investing has seen steady market growth driven by international coalitions and the interests of a handful of global financial giants. That is no longer enough. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, which has only worsened global economic and social challenges, impact investing must play a critical role in the recovery if it is to be successful and sustainable. This is especially true for developing countries that are at risk of seeing their progress over the past few decades wiped away. The failure to meet the challenge will be devastating. Join us for a discussion with Sir Ronald Cohen, Chair of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, and Dolika Banda, Non Executive Director at CDC and CEO of African Risk Capacity Insurance.  The panel is chaired by Colin Buckley, General Counsel and Head of External Relations at CDC, and Nick O'Donohoe, CEO of CDC Group.

As the urgency of the climate crisis intensifies, the most vulnerable populations in developing economies are the most exposed. This includes women, who are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. How can we tackle the biggest challenge in our lifetimes without addressing these inequalities? Join us for a conversation with renowned climate expert, Dr Tara Shine. Dr Shine is joined in this discussion by Holger Rothenbusch, CDC's Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure, and Colin Buckley, General Counsel and Head of External Relations at CDC. This podcast episode is taken from a recent CDC Insight event. You can watch a recording here.

Prosperity and sustainable, inclusive growth are the ultimate goals for developing economies. However, despite the global community spending billions each year on economic development programmes, poverty and a lack of opportunity within these countries persists. But what if there is a way in which we can support these economies to evolve from poverty to prosperity in less than two decades? Innovation expert Efosa Ojomo believes focused and impact driven market innovations could do just that. Join us for this conversation with Efosa, co-author of The Prosperity Paradox and Senior Fellow at the Christensen Institute on Disruptive Innovation. Efosa is joined on the panel by Nikunj Jinsi, a hugely experienced venture capital investor in developing countries.  The discussion is chaired by CDC's General Counsel and Head of External Relations, Colin Buckley. 

Over the next two years an estimated 500 million low to middle-income people in India are expected to come online for the first time via smart phones. This provides an opportunity to transform these lives through the provision of vital services – including financial services, education, mobility, and healthcare. Join us as CDC's Colin Buckley speaks to Roopa Kudva, Partner and Managing Director of Omidyar Network India, and Srini Nagajaran, Head of Asia at CDC.  We discuss the drivers behind large scale social change, the role of innovation and entrepreneurship, and the opportunities for future growth in India and across Asia.

In this CDC Insight Podcast we hear environmentalist, author, and serial entrepreneur John Elkington in conversation with CDC’s CEO Nick O’Donohoe. They are joined by CDC’s Climate Change Director Amal-Lee Amin to discuss how we move forward in a way that creates a more balanced and sustainable global economy?

In this CDC Insight podcast, we share a conversation with Amit Bouri, CEO and Co-Founder of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), in which he joins CDC’s Head of External Affairs, Colin Buckley, and Yasemin Saltuk Lamy, Deputy CIO for Catalyst Strategies, to discuss the growth of the $715 billion impact investing market. They also look at how has the pandemic has affected impact investing. Ask what this means for the SDG agenda and what role the sector plays a role in ensuring a balanced and sustainable recovery.

The start of 2020 marks ten years until the deadline to fulfil the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the growth of the impact investment market, the annual funding gap for reaching the goals is estimated to be $2-4 trillion. In our final podcast of 2019 we speak to leaders from across the impact investment community to ask what can be done to mobilise more capital towards the goals within emerging markets.

In this podcast Pelayo Menendez from CDC’s E&S team interviews PRAN-RFL Group’s Corporate Finance Director, Uzma Chowdhury. The PRAN-RFL Group is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh. In 2017, CDC made a US$15 million debt investment in RFL Electronics Limited (RFL), a sister firm to the PRAN-RFL Group and a producer of consumer electronics and large domestic appliances for the local market with ambitions to expand into international markets. It was our first corporate debt investment in Bangladesh. In this podcast, Pelayo and Uzma explore how PRAN-RFL implemented key environmental and social changes, the challenges the company faced and the value these sustainability efforts are bringing to their business. You can find more information on CDC’s engagement in helping PRAN-RFL Group move towards international E&S standards here - https://www.cdcgroup.com/en/labour-standards/rfl-electronics/

The London Stock Exchange Group has just published its second Companies to Inspire Africa report. The publication, produced in partnership with CDC, the African Development Bank and PwC, highlights some of the most exciting privately owned businesses on the continent. Representing seven major sectors, these businesses range from less than five people to more than a 1000. Over a fifth are led by women and, as a partner on the report, we are proud to showcase their performance and potential. In this episode, we meet some of the companies involved, find out what it means to be featured and what's happened to previous businesses listed. We speak to: - Ibukun Adebayo, Co-Head of Emerging Markets Strategy, London Stock Exchange Group - Toyin Adulate, Founder and CEO, Olori Cosmetics - Tom Greenwood, Chief Financial Officer, Helios Towers - Emma Wade-Smith, Trade Commissioner for Africa, UK Government

CDC E&S podcast 8: Energy efficiency and current trends in emerging markets by CDC