How can the blended finance approach benefit impact investors? Learn about innovative finance tools and practices in the latest episode of Just for a change podcast Blended Finance: when to use what instrument when?, featuring managing director of Cordaid Investment Management. Together with the host Barry Panulo, Mandy Jayakody of Green Outcomes Fund, and Taeun Kwon of Centre for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth, Hann discusses the future of investing in fragile markets - being creative in designing new finance instruments and diversifying partnerships.
Despite the desperate need for long-term finance to help grow and sustain small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in West Africa, the perception of country and market risks often scare away prospective investors. That is why The West Africa Bright Future Fund offers a comprehensive risk mitigation framework to preserve capital through blended finance to attract private capital to where it is most needed. We catalyze investment capital through Trade Hub investable first loss grant & DFC partial credit guarantee, with every investment having first and second loss coverage. "We want to be the first international lender to most of our investees, and once they have matured, we bring in external investors to enable them to grow further and create even more jobs and more profound impact," says Hann.
How to create an effective blended finance instrument for a specific market, geography, sector, or investee? The answer to this question is in the Initiative for Blended Finance (University of Zurich) research project, conducted by the Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth (CSP), Roots Impact, and the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Blended Finance: When to use which instrument? is a white paper giving practitioners an insight into selecting the best innovative finance tools to solve a specific problem or to achieve a particular impact.
Hann has participated in the research, showcasing Cordaid Investment Management's catalytic role in the impact investing market. "In West Africa, there are hardly any international lenders, simply because the risk is too high. With the structure of the first loss and the credit guarantee, we can invest and scale our operations over there. Maybe we're simply doers, setting things in motion. And what I like about the research project is the scientific approach we can all learn from. I think that bringing these worlds together can have an immense effect on the industry," concludes Hann.