LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Latin America & the Caribbean
and sub-Saharan Africa
Finance in Motion GmbH
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) invested EUR 16 million in notes in the eco.business Fund, supporting the fund’s mission to promote business and consumption practices in the agriculture, fishery, forestry and tourism sectors that contribute to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation in Latin America.
Both RBI and the fund are strongly committed to contributing to Sustainable Development Goals key to their activities and missions, such as taking urgent action to combat climate change and its effects; advancing sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; building resilient infrastructure; promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization; and fostering innovation.
“RBI’s investment in the eco.business Fund’s senior notes is significant in showing the bank’s confidence in our activities to address climate change mitigation and adaptation and support biodiversity in Latin America through sustainable business practices,” said Dr. Jens Mackensen, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the eco.business Fund. “We are very pleased to welcome them as the fund’s latest investor in its senior notes.”
“For more than 130 years, Raiffeisen has combined financial success with socially responsible action. Based on these values, sustainability at Raiffeisen Bank International AG has been considered a guiding principle of entrepreneurial action and an essential prerequisite for future viability. This investment perfectly fits into RBI’s present sustainability strategy – which includes an economic, ecological and social dimension – and we appreciate having the opportunity to do it,” said Lukasz Januszewski, Member of the Board, Markets & Investment Banking.
About the eco.business Fund
The eco.business Fund is spearheading the promotion of business practices that contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of natural resources, and climate change mitigation and adaptation through private enterprises. By providing financing for business practices that conserve nature and foster biodiversity, the fund seeks investments with both financial and environmental returns. The fund mainly provides loans to qualified local financial institutions that lend the money to eligible borrowers, which include holders of recognized certifications or those making improvements in line with conservation and biodiversity goals. The fund supports sustainable operations in the sectors of agriculture, fishery, forestry and eco-tourism.
The eco.business Fund leverages contributions from donors, multilateral organizations, and development finance institutions with funding from private investors to maximize outreach and impact. Seed capital was provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, with German Development Bank KfW acting as main sponsor. Finance in Motion, a leading impact investing company, is also an investor.
Operating hand-in-hand with the eco.business Fund, the eco.business Development Facility provides high-impact technical assistance at the sector level to local lending institutions and final borrowers.
For more information, please visit www.ecobusiness.fund
Follow us on Twitter @ecobusinessfund
About Raffeisen Bank International AG
RBI regards Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. 14 markets of the region are covered by subsidiary banks. Additionally, the RBI Group comprises numerous other financial service providers, for instance in leasing, asset management or M&A.
In total, around 50,000 employees service 16.6 million customers through more than 2,400 business outlets, the majority thereof in CEE. RBI's shares are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The Austrian Regional Raiffeisen Banks own around 58.8 per cent of the shares, the remainder is in free float. Within the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, RBI is the central institute of the Regional Raiffeisen Banks and other affiliated credit institutions and renders important services in this function.
For more information, please visit www.rbinternational.com