Investing for Impact

COVID-19 has unleashed a devastating crisis which has tested the resilience of existing global governance structures and exposed massive societal imbalances. Developing countries have borne the brunt of the economic consequences of the crisis, with an estimated 100 million people pushed into extreme poverty. As the slow recovery begins, we need to challenge the role we ascribe to global governance...

Our Understanding Impact podcast series explores some of the biggest challenges facing developing economies and how impact investment can help overcome them.  In this episode, we look at the disproportionate economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on women, and how investors, businesses and financial institutions are responding to it. We hear from four senior leaders working across Africa and...

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...

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 j...

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? Innovat...

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...

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. A...

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 goal...

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...

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 wo...

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

India is among the earliest adopters of artificial intelligence (AI). In fact a study from the Boston Consulting Group puts the country third behind the USA and China in terms of its uptake of AI. People in India seem positive about the technology's potential too. Nearly three quarters of respondents to a survey conducted by PwC said they felt optimistic that AI can deliver social and economic imp...

In this podcast Dr. Veronica Di Bella from CDC E&S team interviews David Lerpiniere, head of waste resources and development at Resource Futures. Together they explore current challenges, opportunities and best practice on plastic waste management from a private sector perspective. This is the 7th edition in a series of podcasts by CDC Environmental and social Responsibility team. E&S podc...

Impact investing is an industry that's grown massively in recent years. So much so, in fact, that the Global Impact Investing Network (The GIIN) estimates that there are now $228 billion in impact assets, while other estimates put the same number in the trillions. With more and more big name investors getting involved in impact investing, has the movement now gone mainstream? And, if so, will the...

The potential of technology in supporting development is huge. We've already seen that, particularly through examples such as mobile money and off-grid solar systems, which have been adopted by millions of people in developing countries and are used every day. So, where else are companies using technology to help development? In this podcast, we look at examples across a range of different sectors...

In this podcast Lara Martin from CDC Group interviewed Cindy Berman (ETI), Shami Nissan (ACTIS), and Larissa Luy (IFC) and discussed modern slavery in the context of private sector investments. What is Modern Slavery? Why it is important? What can you do about it? This is the sixth edition in a series of podcasts by CDC Environmental and Social Responsibility team. E&S podcasts are aimed at ra...

The stats on the advantages of women's economic empowerment need little introduction. McKinsey, for example, say that if women's participation rates were the same as men's it would add $26 trillion to global GDP by 2025. So, how can investors and businesses find these opportunities to support women's empowerment? In this podcast, we look at different examples from across the value chain - from Boa...

This is a co-produced Development Finance and CDC podcast. Two billion people are living in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Fragility and conflict have a huge impact on poverty, so in these countries businesses are particularly important because of the economic and job opportunities they can create. Growing a successful company in such a country is easier said than done, ho...

In our 5th CDC E&S podcast we interview Philip Powell (Director of Eco-Livelihoods) to discuss the challenges around land acquisition and livelihoods restoration in the context of development finance. During this podcast we attempt to answer some difficult questions including how to deal with land legacy issues, when can we say that livelihoods have been restored, or how to budget for a liveli...

This is a co-produced Development Finance and CDC podcast. Over the course of this 10 minute episode, we take a closer look at organisations that many people aren't that familiar with: development finance institutions (DFIs). We hear about what DFIs do and what more they could be doing in future. We hear from Nanno Kleiterp, the Chairman of the European Development Finance Institutions, Mussa Chay...

Here we meet one of the inspiring women working at one of our investee companies in Africa. Monique Gieskes has an impressive CV. She’s the regional director for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at textile company Vlisco, she’s on the Board of Feronia, a large agribusiness, and she’s the president of the UN Global Compact in the country. As a senior Congolese businesswoman, Monique draws...

This is the fourth edition in a series of podcasts from CDC Environmental and Social Responsibility team. This episode focuses on the role of the board on managing environmental, social and business integrity matters. Here we interview Rosalind Kainyah and Imoni Akpofure from Kina Advisory.

More than 1.2 billion people in the world live without access to electricity. It's an issue that's holding back development. The World Bank estimates that, with reliable power, African economies could be growing up to two percentage points faster every year. The emergence of off-grid solar systems used by homes and small businesses is beginning to address the problem. These typically consist of a...

This is the third edition in a series of podcasts from CDC Environmental and Social Responsibility team. This episode focuses on how to build Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMS), where we discuss what good looks like and what is the value for companies of a functional ESMS in place.