The Blended Finance Company

We are back with another insightful episode of the Blended Finance Podcast! 🎙 💫 In this episode, we speak to Vikram Gandhi who teaches Sustainable Investing at the Harvard Business School and amongst many other things, is the co-founder of Asha Ventures and Asha Impact. He takes us through his incredible journey into blended finance and impact investing and in a deep conversation with Nirav, he shares his sharp insights about the potential of blended finance, particularly for India, and what will it take to achieve the impact it is capable of. Tune in as Prof. Vikram Gandhi shares his thoughts and rich experiences.💡 Listen to the podcast on Spotify. Here’s the link: https://lnkd.in/g7jQ7BaF 🎧 And let us know what you thought. #blendedfinancepodcast #IndustryInsights #TBFC #blendedfinance  #developmentfinance #HBS #impactinvesting #theblendedfinancecompany #policyforgood #impactatscale Subscribe now and be part of our podcast community. We will continue to bring to you leading blended finance thought-leaders and practitioners from around the world. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn, connect, and grow with us!

🚀 We are back with yet another insightful episode of the Blended Finance Podcast! 🎧 In this episode, we speak with Bram Spann, Regional Lead for Asia at the Rabo Foundation. The Rabo Foundation is an impact funder focused on the #agriculture and #food #systems sector, investing globally. India stands out as its largest market by investment. The Foundation has been providing trade finance, term loans, debt facilities, working capital facilities, credit guarantees, and grants and many of these services are part of broader blended finance structures. Bram shares his extensive experience investing in India and other Asian countries, discussing the Foundation's efforts to support smallholder farmers throughout the agricultural value chain. 🌾 Tune in to gain valuable insights from Bram's journey and learn more about impact investing and blended finance in agriculture and food systems. 🎙️ Here's the episode link: https://lnkd.in/gMPtDUjv Subscribe now and be part of our podcast community. We will continue to bring to you leading blended finance thought-leaders and practitioners from around the world. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn, connect, and grow with us! 💡 #BlendedFinance #ImpactInvesting #Agriculture #FoodSystems #RaboFoundation #Podcast #SmallholderFarmers #Finance #Investment #India #TBFC

We're thrilled to announce our partnership with NABSAMRUDDHI Finance Limited to scale climate-focused #WASH enterprises in India. Supporting the growth of climate-focused WASH MSMEs in India presents a powerful opportunity: expanding WASH infrastructure while ensuring its resilience to climate change. However, a significant barrier exists – these MSMEs often struggle to access affordable capital needed to scale their operations. This is where #blended #finance comes in! #Philanthropic and #public #capital can be used to catalyze commercial capital into new markets where private lenders are hesitant to invest alone. TBFC and Nabsamruddhi are committed to co-developing and implementing blended finance solutions that can unlock commercial capital for these enterprises, helping them overcome the critical funding barrier and achieve long-term financial sustainability. We'd like to especially thank Bonani Roychoudhury for her leadership in making this partnership a reality. We look forward to collaborating with her and the entire Nabsamruddhi team on this initiative.

The past few weeks have been eventful for team The Blended Finance Company! We moderated a session on unlocking blended finance in Asia at AVPN’s global conference, co-hosted a workshop with CLASP to explore the role of blended finance in PURE tech business models, shared insights on leveraging outcomes-based philanthropy using the Social Stock Exchange at a discussion organized by the NSE India, and participated in a discussion on blended finance innovations for climate investments organized by Nishith Desai Associates. Interest in #blended #finance is rapidly growing, the following are our key cross-cutting takeaways from these wide-ranging conversations: 💡 Private finance's importance as a development enabler is now well accepted, with the focus now shifting towards clarifying its role and accelerating participation, supported by catalytic capital and simplified structures. Our recent work in the #climate, #agri, #livelihoods, and #WASH has demonstrated the pivotal role that private capital can play in creating sustainable impact at scale. 💡 Different sectors are taking different pathways towards blended finance adoption. While agri and livelihoods lean towards #beneficiary #financing, climate initiatives also involve large-scale #government and #industrial #interventions. Success in blended finance requires sectoral insights as much as structuring expertise. 💡 Collaboration between #philanthropic and #commercial capital providers is growing in effectiveness, and platforms and convenings will play an increasingly important role in driving more inclusive dialogues. 💡 Philanthropic capital's desire to be #catalytic is stronger than ever, increasingly leaning towards "learning by doing" over “reaching perfection before implementation”. The Blended Finance Company is six months old, and we're grateful for the warm welcome we’ve received. Every conversation, engagement, and project strengthens our belief in the power of blended finance. Reach out if these trends resonate and you’d like to learn more about magnifying impact through innovative blended finance approaches. #BlendedFinance #ImpactInvesting #Collaboration #Sustainability #CatalyticCapital #Philanthropy #CommercialCapital #TBFC

In collaboration with CLASP and Dalberg, The Blended Finance Company recently convened a workshop to explore the transformative potential of innovative finance in advancing the adoption and scale of Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) technologies. PURE technologies, such as solar irrigation pumps and biomass-powered refrigerators, are critical to promoting clean energy use, especially in developing economies where access to reliable electricity is a challenge. The workshop brought together a diverse set of stakeholders, ranging from #project #developers and #philanthropies to PURE technology users, #development #finance #institutions, #commercial #investors, and #legal and #transaction #advisors. This diverse gathering helped surface different perspectives, elevating substantial areas of alignment, areas of divergence and, most importantly, success stories that provide a template for future action. Key Takeaways and Insights: 💡 Successful pilots light the way: PURE technology pilots have demonstrated remarkable success, with philanthropic guarantees and blended finance structures facilitating access to capital. These pilots offer learnings that can support the design of such structures at scale. 💡 Technical support can unlock large-scale finance: Banks face hurdles in underwriting novel business models in the PURE technologies space, highlighting the need for technical assistance and capacity building to enable expanded lending activity in this sector. 💡 Philanthropies are keen to participate, but wary of transaction costs and regulations: Philanthropies recognize the power of PURE technologies in driving forward the de-carbonization agenda. They have a proactive approach and are interested in partnering with domestic capital providers for co-investment opportunities.  💡 Product design, and associated financing solutions, need to reflect the needs and voice of end-users: A nuanced understanding of end-user segments, and their economic drivers, can help drive both product and financial solution design. Often, such design is driven by a more macro understanding of challenges, which leads to suboptimal outcomes. As we reflect on the outcomes of our workshop, it's clear that #collaborative #action via #innovative #finance #mechanisms can drive adoption at scale of PURE technologies, supporting the #global #energy #transition. We’d love to hear your #thoughts on this! You could also watch the recording of the session here: https://lnkd.in/g8HfW9NN. Tushar Thakkar Shivam Jumani Shubham Bansal Aparna Dua  #RenewableEnergy #InnovativeFinance #Collaboration #PURETechnologies #blendedfinance #TBFC #theblendedfinancecompany

The Blended Finance Company is at the AVPN Global Conference 2024. If you're attending, please feel free to connect with Aparna Dua, Tushar Thakkar and Nirav Khambhati. Nirav will also be moderating a session on 24th April on #scaling #blended #finance solutions in #Asia, discussing the pivotal role of concessional public and philanthropic capital in enhancing the profitability of impactful blended finance projects. We'll also delve into identifying the key drivers for success in leveraging blended finance and gain invaluable insights into navigating these approaches within Asia, where private investments are limited. #TBFC #blendedfinance #AVPN2024

We're thrilled to present Episode 3 of the Blended Finance Podcast series! 💫 In this episode, we speak to Dr. John Hoffmire, Research Associate at the University of Oxford, about the evolution of blended finance and impact investing over the years, a field he has been associated with since 1975. We explore early structures such as the world’s first social impact bond in Peterborough, as well as the world's first pay-for-success structure focused on early childhood education. In a deep conversation with Nirav, Dr. Hoffmire highlights concessional finance's role in uplifting individuals out of poverty through employee ownership. Join us as Dr. Hoffmire shares his expertise and insights into the world of development finance.💡 Listen to the podcast on Spotify. Here’s the link: https://lnkd.in/gz73eGci. 🎧 #blendedfinancepodcast #IndustryInsights #TBFC #blendedfinance #employeeownership #developmentfinance #oxford #impactinvesting #theblendedfinancecompany Subscribe now and be part of our podcast community! We will continue to bring to you leading blended finance thought-leaders and practitioners from around the world. 🌟 Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn, connect, and grow with us. 🎙️💬

The Blended Finance Company is proud to be part of The Lab (The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance) team selecting the 2024 cohort! The discussions were insightful, and the chosen solutions offer immense potential for scaling climate action. #ClimateFinance #Lab2024 #TBFC

The Blended Finance Company recently participated in the Responsible RE Summit organized by TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute, WRI India, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Climate Group, Landesa, and Consensus Building Institute, which saw participation from renewable energy experts, policymakers, innovators, and sector pioneers to discuss the standards for accountability of renewable energy and the potential benefits it holds for India in the years to come. Tushar Thakkar moderated a session titled 'Financing, and investor priorities in responsible renewable energy'. #theblendedfinancecompany #TBFC #responsibleRE #renewableenergy

The Blended Finance Company recently participated in a roundtable discussion on 'Leveraging Blended Finance for WASH Financing' organized by the Impact Investors Council (IIC). The event saw participation from leading organizations in the WASH sector as well as funders and investors looking to invest in the space. Given the need for attracting greater private sector participation in WASH, blended finance can play a crucial role in mobilizing capital towards innovative solutions and scaling successful projects. Nirav Khambhati Aparna Dua #blendedfinance #WASH #impactinvestment #TBFC #theblendedfinancecompany