UK BII and Dutch ILX Sign Half-Billion-Dollar Sustainable Fund
On 16 October 2023, the British International Investment (BII) and Dutch ILX signed an MoU to co-finance sustainable development. BII is the UK Development Finance Institution (DFI), formerly known as CDC Group. while ILX Management is an Amsterdam-based Asset Management Firm focusing on projects having a positive impact on #ClimateChange in emerging markets.
“This partnership has been driven by our shared view of the need to invest to meet the #SDG. It furthers our ambition to create new job opportunities in developing economies and will provide private credit to help bridge the finance gap faced by many businesses. This asset class remains nascent, comprising of just 3% of private credit globally, and is the natural next step for allocators of global private credit.”
BII CEO Nick O’Donohoe
The agreement calls for the establishment of a USD 500 million credit fund in line with Sustainable Development Goals (#SDG) destined for developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The targeted sectors include: renewable energy, infrastructure, financial services, manufacturing and agribusiness. Other than financing, both Parties also agreed to share information on prospective projects, emerging technologies and financial innovation.
“ILX has already received over USD 1 billion in commitments from leading Dutch pension funds and is currently raising a successor fund for a targeted USD 2 billion commitments from European pension funds. Working with BII, together we will increase financial capacity for project finance, financial services debt and private sector debt across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. We have a strong track record of investing alongside the leading Multilateral Development Banks and other Development Finance Institutions in climate, and SDG-targeted projects across emerging economies globally and look forward to the opportunities this partnership will bring.”
ILX CEO Manfred Schepers
As part of its selection criteria, the half-billion-dollar Fund will target impactful, scalable and sustainable business ventures through debt financing.