Impact-Investor.com

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority has appointed Amber Infrastructure Limited as fund manager of its Green Growth West Fund. The fund management firm will be working with place-based investor BBRC. https://lnkd.in/e5i9dkEp

As the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development #FfD4 approaches, Umberto M. looks at the role of blended finance in mobilising private capital for sustainable development, highlighting the need for more effective deployment at scale. https://lnkd.in/eR3b_gxx

Planetary Impact Ventures is one of several investors in UK agritech startup Elaniti, which measures the biological activity within soil to help farmers address issues with soil health and crop outcomes. https://lnkd.in/ehfMua_4

Just Climate, a specialist investment firm, has secured $175m (€160m) in funding for its natural climate solutions strategy, which is aimed at restoring degraded landscapes and changing the way agricultural commodities are produced. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) joined the strategy as its institutional anchor while Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund has become its corporate anchor. https://lnkd.in/ed-YgFBZ

APG and TIAA are backing a new private debt impact strategy from Arcmont Asset Management, via separate mandates totalling €475m.  Under the strategy, debt financing will be made available to companies providing services and products tackling environmental and social challenges in the areas of climate, health, education and sustainable economic growth. https://lnkd.in/e7F3z4xe

Fondo de Impacto Social (FIS), the €400m social impact fund managed by COFIDES, the Spanish state-owned commercial company which also operates as a development finance institution, has invested €15m into the Global Social Impact Fund II. https://lnkd.in/e-7Hp29j

Social impact investor Better Society Capital has launched a joint venture with Thrive Renewables to mobilise £40m (€48m) for community-owned wind and solar projects across the UK. The partnership will make investments of between £500,000 and £30m in onshore and offshore wind, photovoltaic and hydro-electric late-stage development projects. https://lnkd.in/eSngDzCj

Equator, a venture capital firm that focuses on climate tech investments in sub-Saharan Africa, has reached its target of a $55m (€50m) final close for its first fund, adding commitments from the International IFC - International Finance Corporation and France’s Proparco in recent months. https://lnkd.in/erEURriB

British International Investment is providing a $75m (€69m) finance facility to HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank, to help provide farmers and agribusinesses with greater access to finance that will allow them to adopt sustainable practices, enhance climate resilience, and improve yields and incomes. https://lnkd.in/eTwMja9z

Incofin Investment Management has announced a three-year, $10m (€9.2m) debt facility in Nicaragua-based lender Banco Ficohsa Nicaragua . The Belgian impact-driven fund manager did so in its capacity as portfolio manager of the Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF). https://lnkd.in/eAt6X7is