Six Development Institutions Committing Financing to Blended Finance Vehicle Co-Created by Bamboo Capital Partners and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
Over US$60 million has been committed from six member states and development institutions representing Canada, the United States, Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Nordic states through the Nordic Development Fund—to the BUILD Fund, a new blended impact investment vehicle, as well as its associated technical assistance facility, to finance small and medium-sized businesses in the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The announcement of the financing commitments was made yesterday at this year’s Finance for Development Forum (FFD) in New York.
The Bamboo-UNCDF Initiative for the Least Developed (“BUILD”) is an innovative blended impact finance vehicle that will bring finance to small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entities that have the potential for strong development impact in the world’s least developed countries. Managed by Bamboo Capital Partners, the Fund provides growth capital to businesses identified, supported, and nurtured by UNCDF. The BUILDER Technical Assistance (TA) Facility is managed at arm’s length by UNCDF, which will be closely involved in pipeline generation, portfolio building, and business advisory support to businesses.
How are the six development agencies helping:
- Luxembourg: Anchor investor with Euro 2 million in first loss to the BUILD Fund
- Global Affairs Canada (Canada): up to CAD 24.7 million in first loss to the BUILD Fund (in addition to CAD 6.8 million for BUILDER TA Facility / CAD 32 million, including funds for monitoring and evaluation)
- Norad (Norway): US$3 million in first loss to the BUILD Fund (in addition to ~$0.9 million for BUILDER TA Facility)
- Nordic Development Fund (NDF): US$10 million in first loss to the BUILD Fund
- Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency & U.S. Development Finance Corporation (Sida/USDFC): US$10 million (US$5 million each) in loan guarantees
- U.S. Development Finance Corporation (USDFC): US$10 million in senior debt financing to the BUILD Fund
In acquisition news :
Glass House Brands Inc. one of the fastest-growing, vertically-integrated cannabis companies in the U.S., and Plus Products Inc. (“PLUS”) today announced that Glass House has completed the acquisition of the business of PLUS, a leading cannabis edibles company based in California. The Company acquired PLUS for approximately US$25.6 million dollars. Its mission is to create the largest cannabis brand-building platform in California they are thrilled to announce the closing of the PLUS acquisition, which positions Glass House as the only company with a top 5 position in both the Flower and Edibles segments in the California market.
Halo Collective Inc. yesterday announced that it has signed a letter of intent and entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Phytocann Holdings SA, one of Europe’s leading wellness CBD companies. The Planned Acquisition would add substantial revenue, EBITDA, geographic diversification, and an impressive CBD-based product lineup to Halo when closed. Halo is proposing to acquire Phytocann through a wholly-owned subsidiary to be formed by Halo, in Ontario, Canada; Phytocann International Holdings (“PIH”). PIH is the planned vehicle for all of Halo’s remaining non-THC assets anchored by Phytocann. Alexandre-Henri Lacarré, the founder of Phytocann and a successful European entrepreneur, is expected to lead PIH as its CEO upon the closing of the acquisition.
In appointment news:
I-Mab, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel biologics, announced today the appointments of Mr. Richard Yeh as Chief Operating Officer and Dr. John Hayslip as Chief Medical Officer. The two key appointments add greater depth and breadth of industry experience to the Company’s leading management team, further accelerating its goals of becoming a specialty global biopharmaceutical company.
Procore Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of construction management software, yesterday announced Joy Durling as its first-ever chief data officer. Joy will lead Procore’s data-as-a-product strategy, as well as all information technology, data intelligence, and product and information security. She will join Procore’s executive leadership team and report to founder, President and CEO, Tooey Courtemanche.
OpenCorporates, the go-to foundational source of transparent, reliable, and up-to-date company data, has appointed Ralph Vossmeyer as its Chief Revenue Officer. His appointment comes as OpenCorporates was recently named one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies.
In other news, there are several business conferences and events coming up. We have partnered with several events as media partners so watch for special articles, interviews, and coverage of the events. If you really want to be in the know sign up for our newsletter.
