We are excited to join in sharing the good news that the SDG Impact Finance Initiative’s Executive Board (SIFI), with support from Convergence Blended Finance, has awarded The Ground_Up team funding to conduct a feasibility study of the Ghana SDG-SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Fund of Funds, created within the Pipeline Builder a project, in its first-ever call for funding proposals.
The Pipeline Builder project has successfully identified US $39 million of possible SME investments in Ghana. Through a multi-stakeholder process leveraged by the SDG Lab, the team has worked on creating an aggregating Blended Finance vehicle in the form of the Ghana SDG-SME Fund of Funds to ensure flow of capital to local funds and projects.
Alongside six other winners, The Ground_Up’s impact finance design idea was selected from more than 70 applications targeting the following SDGs: SDG 1 (Poverty Eradication), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
The Pipeline Builder was conceptualized as a Geneva-based collaboration between a diverse group of finance and development actors, convened by the SDG Lab and managed by Ground_Up Project team. The Lab has incubated the Pipeline Builder through its pilot phase in Ghana with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
We are excited for this step in the Pipeline Builder project, and we remain committed to helping spur SDG-aligned investments in developing economies.
Learn more: bit.ly/3CHDWDE
Additional Resources: