The Blended Finance Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Join Nirav Khambhati for a masterclass in development finance with Nachiket Mor, one of India's foremost thinkers on institutional design and capital mobilization. Discover how the Gates Foundation's vaccine guarantees worked without ever being called, why the government's role in blended finance goes far beyond providing capital, and what principles drive institutions that achieve both impact and financial viability. With insights spanning from airline guarantees under UDAN to income-contingent lending for medical education, this episode reveals how smart capital deployment can transform entire sectors.

In this episode, Nirav Khambhati speaks with Pompy Sridhar, India Director at MSD for Mothers, who shares how innovative finance, quality accreditation, and public-private collaboration are transforming maternal healthcare. Tune in to hear how MSD for Mothers is tackling preventable maternal mortality and shaping sustainable health systems in India and beyond.

We are pleased to bring to you the eighth episode of The Blended Finance Podcast featuring Dr. Emily Gustafsson-Wright. She is a senior fellow at the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. She specializes in applied microeconomic and policy research within the fields of education, health and early childhood development (ECD) in low- and middle-income country contexts including the constraints around financing, capacity and quality of services, knowledge gaps, and political support. She is widely considered a global expert on innovative financing mechanisms including public-private partnerships and payment by results. She is a leading voice on the topic of social and development impact bonds and has published over a dozen studies on this topic.

Key Time Stamps:
2:41 – Emily discusses her personal journey and the motivations that led her to specialize in impact bonds.
6:14 – Her current work at the Brookings Institution and the projects she is involved with.
9:45 – Distinct characteristics of outcome-based financing compared to other financing methods.
14:40 – Key factors of a successful outcome-based bond
21:23 –Challenges encountered in implementing outcome bonds and strategies to tackle them.
28:28 – Important considerations when seeking institutional involvement in outcome-based projects
30:54 – Her thoughts on the current landscape and potential for outcome-based financing in the Indian market.
32:58 – Secondary and tertiary components of impact bonds
37:50 – Emily offers her perspective on how outcome-based financing will evolve over the next decade.

Resources mentioned:
1. Impact Bonds Snapshot: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/social-and-development-impact-bonds-by-the-numbers/
2. The Child Cost Calculator (C3): https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-childhood-cost-calculator-c3/

We are pleased to bring to you the seventh episode of The Blended Finance Podcast featuring Harry Davies. Harry is a Principal at Ceniarth, where he helps lead on organisation-wide strategy, impact management and pipeline origination. Ceniarth is the impact-first, single-family office of Diane Isenberg and focuses on investments that benefit underserved communities globally. Ceniarth invests in non-profits, for-profits, and hybrid organizations with an emphasis on sectors such as agriculture, affordable housing, financial inclusion, and climate justice. Importantly,

Ceniarth is a leading participant in blended finance transactions globally.
In this podcast, Harry highlights the roles that different types of capital providers can play in blended finance transactions and offers key insights for structuring successful mechanisms. He also shares his perspectives on the investment landscape in India.

Key Time Stamps:

- 2:25 - Harry shares his background

- 5:29 - Lessons from his field visits to Africa

- 8:18 - Ceniarth's journey and investment thesis

- 15:31 - Comparison of blended finance with other investment approaches

- 22:08 - Points to keep in mind when developing a blended finance structure

- 27:31 - Ceniarth's Involvement in India and perspectives on the investment landscape

- 37:34 - Advice to capital providers participating in blended finance

- 42:26 - What is next for Ceniarth?

The British Asian Trust (BAT) is an international development organization delivering high-quality programs in South Asia, particularly using social finance products to drive positive change across the region. Outcome-based finance (OBF) has been a popular blended finance instrument in India, and BAT has led three impact bonds using OBF in the education and skilling sectors. In this episode, we hear from Abha, who spearheaded BAT’s efforts in bringing these projects to life. She shares her valuable insights on coordinating diverse stakeholders, aligning objectives, and ensuring maximum impact where it counts.

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 is its largest market by investment, where it has been providing trade finance, term loans, debt facilities, working capital facilities, credit guarantees, and grants, and many of these services are integrated into broader blended finance structures. Bram shares his extensive experience investing in India and other Asian countries and discusses his efforts to support smallholder farmers throughout the agricultural value chain.

If you are someone in the agricultural sector and doing incredible work, please reach out to Bram Spann on LinkedIn.

Time stamps:

1:55: Bram’s introduction and his career at Rabobank and Rabo Foundation 

6:07: Rabo Foundation’s strategy over the years and their current work in India and globally

9:15: Rabo Foundation’s flagship program and how they’ve partnered with several key stakeholders and network partners to enhance the program’s impact

12:50: How network partners have helped the Foundation to cover more ground and enhance capabilities of the asset classes through technical assistance

14:45: Example of other blended finance transactions focusing on other impact areas alongside agriculture such as gender and climate

17:45: Key ingredients required for a successful blended finance transaction at scale based on Bram’s experience

22:48: Rabo’s criteria for evaluating and onboarding new projects and what makes a project across the agri value chain click amongst the several proposals they receive

29:52: Similarities and differences between India and other markets such as that of SouthEast Asia

32:40: How Rabo foundation plans to scale their operations to support the world’s 25% smallholder farmers in India

35:20: What developments in the broader Indian ecosystem will benefit blended finance transactions and help the Foundation achieve their goals faster

In our fourth episode, we speak to Vikram Gandhi, who wears many hats. After a long and illustrious career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, Vikram co-founded Asha Ventures, an impact VC fund, and Asha Impact, a think tank advocating for structural change for people and the planet through policy, in India, with a focus on giving back to society. He has been a supporter of The Blended Finance Company since its inception, given his belief in the power of blended finance to drive impact at scale. He shares his journey in this space, what he has learned from being on both the commercial and concessional sides of investments, and his wisdom about what's needed further.

Time stamps:

2:39: Vikram’s background and what got him interested in blended finance

9:30: The missing middle and how capital access can be instrumental for this segment. Example quoted by Vikram, Brazil’s Estimulo

11:00: Blended finance’s role beyond microfinance in sectors such as climate and how policy can be catalytic to the sector’s growth

14:12: How different capital pools can be used strategically to create leverage and create impact at scale not possible before

17:30: Vikram’s role in incubating TBFC and the hypothesis behind it: learning from experiences with Social Finance and the traditional challenges associated with structuring blended finance transactions 

25:10: What will it take for blended finance to succeed in India

29:35: Vikram’s course at HBS on Sustainable Investing and insights from the classroom

37:05: Where can blended finance play the biggest role and where it can’t, with impact being built in business models from the start versus areas where there isn't, with a large section in the middle

In this episode, we delve into a deep conversation about the evolution of blended finance over the years. We explore early structures such as the world’s first social impact bond in Peterborough, among others, and discuss concessional finance's role in uplifting individuals out of poverty through employee ownership. Dr. Hoffmire takes us through his rich experiences over the years having been in the impact field, which he has been a part of since 1975.

Time Stamps:

2:30: John’s background and his journey in the development finance sector

7:35: Innovative utilization of concessional finance for promoting employee ownership

14:48: Peterborough’s social impact bond aimed at reducing recidivism amongst prisoners

20:15: The growth of impact bonds around the world and research in the field by organizations such as NORRAG and Brookings Institution

21:40: The inaugural social impact bond for financing early childhood education by Goldman Sachs, United Way of Salt Lake, and the Early Childhood Innovation Accelerator, an initiative of the J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation

23:52: Employee ownership for fostering long-term impact and John’s involvement with CGAP, the World Bank, and K-REP Bank in Kenya in structuring employee ownership into the bank’s model

30:55: Challenging the impact investment and blended finance sector to consider employee ownership to enhance equitable profit-sharing

33:50: John’s perspectives on India from a development finance standpoint and his future endeavors

In our second episode, we hear from Joan Larrea, who has helmed Convergence since its inception and has been instrumental in establishing it as a leading independent authority on blended finance. Convergence is dedicated to blended finance ecosystem development globally and they do this by generating blended finance data, intelligence, and deal flow to increase private sector investment in developing countries.

Here are links to some key resources that Joan talks about in the episode:

• State of Blended Finance 2023
• Convergence Design Funding program

Grant windows mentioned:

• Catalytic Climate Finance Facility
• Asia Climate Solutions Design Grant
• SDG Impact Finance Initiative

Time Stamps:

2:35: Joan’s background and why Convergence was created

7:00: Why focus on blended finance and how it is perceived by different stakeholders

11:10: Typical of blended finance structures and how they work

16:35: Alignment of goals amongst stakeholders participating in blended finance transactions. Example: Samridh blended finance facility

20:20: State of blended finance globally - sectors & asset classes

23:45: Scaling of blended finance structures that have worked and innovating to cater to new themes and issues such as nature-based solutions and climate credit mechanisms among others

27:30: Convergence design grants and the leverage associated with investing in the pre-investment stage

32:55: Thoughts on the Indian market and Convergence’s plans for the market

36:20: How does blended finance grow from billions to trillions?

40:35: What’s next for Convergence?

In our first episode, we speak to Kusi Hornberger who has been an advocate of blended finance for several years. Kusi has been part of the development sector since the inception of his career and has worked at the IFC, Global Partnerships, and now Dalberg. He has seen first-hand how innovative finance can play a role in mobilizing capital in sectors such as agriculture, global health, and financial services. He has also recently authored a book, “Scaling Impact: Finance and Investment for a Better World” in which he talks about how innovative finance can be used to achieve returns beyond mere profit. In this episode, Kusi helps us break down the basics of blended finance and talks about the roles that various stakeholders play in a blended finance transaction.

Timestamps

9:35: Basics and definition of blended finance

16:15: Government capital and its role in blended finance transactions

19:30: Versatility of blended finance: where does blended finance work best?

23:05: Application of blended finance: top to bottom or bottom to top?

24:50: Measures of success of blended finance transactions with illustrations: financial additionality - SDG Loan Fund (Allianz, FMO) and non-financial additionality - Aceli Africa’s blended finance facility

33:15: How can development finance institutions play a more engaged role in supporting catalytic finance?

37:55: Diverting more philanthropic capital towards blended finance

39:15: What’s next for Kusi?