The electrical grid in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, faces many challenges. Due to rapid, unplanned urban growth, widespread poverty and the system of overhead cables, people regularly steal power from the grid and electrocutions are common.

That’s why K-Electric has reinvented the way it deals with electrical safety. Through an inclusive and revolutionary programme, the 100-year-old energy company has trained the country’s first-ever female electricians – and the results have been astonishing.

In this episode, discover the true extent of the challenges facing Karachi’s electrical grid, from power theft to gang violence and fatalities. And learn how K-Electric’s Roshni Bajis have been providing help in ways that were impossible before they came along – saving the lives of women and children on a daily basis. 

Hear from:

-Rizwan Ahmed, Corporate Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Head, K-Electric

-Sadia Dada, Chief Distribution and Marcomms Officer, K-Electric

Also hear about the part GuarantCo has played in bringing K-Electric’s vision to life, with Lois Davidson, Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Social.

Your host is Alison Hicks.

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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The infrastructure funding gap in emerging markets is huge, estimated annually to be up to $107.5 billion in Africa and $136 billion in Asia (excluding India). To meet that demand, banks and institutional investors are fundamental - that’s why they are the primary beneficiaries of GuarantCo’s credit solutions. 

In this episode, learn how GuarantCo creates fruitful partnerships with financiers, to create lasting impact in emerging markets. How we’re able to use our solutions to help our partners turn unfeasible projects into achievable, actionable opportunities. Hear specific examples, from Madagascar to Togo, where GuarantCo has worked to de-risk projects and create better outcomes for people and planet. And learn about the benefits of our internationally credit-rated guarantees and how they allow more funding to flow into essential infrastructure projects.

Your hosts are Alison Hicks and Lucinda O’Gorman, and their guests are:

• Surabhi Mathur Visser, Chief Investment Officer at GuarantCo
• Nishant Kumar, Managing Director, Asia Investments
• Tola Odukomaiya, Investment Director – North, West and Francophone Africa Lead 

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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Green bonds are one of the most attractive investment vehicles when it comes to sustainability, accounting for 54 percent of total sustainable issuances. So what makes them so effective, and why are they so suited for mobilising capital for environmental projects at scale?

In this episode we learn how green bonds diversify the investor base and contribute to a broader shift towards ESG goals. We learn about a number of GuarantCo’s green bond transactions that have made significant contributions to markets in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia. And we find out how PIDG Technical Assistance plays a critical role in supporting early-stage green transactions.

Your hosts are Marjolein van Kampen and Md. Shahinur Rahman and on the podcast are:

• Dinh Ngoc Bao, Deputy Head of Treasury at EVNFinance
• Subir Kumar Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer at Runner Automobiles
• Simon Perkins, Chief Executive Officer at Cellcard
• Emilio Cattaneo, Head of PIDG Technical Assistance
• Surabhi Mathur Visser, Chief Investment Officer at GuarantCo

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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Secondary markets are a vital part of bridging the infrastructure funding gap in emerging and frontier markets. Bond instruments often lock investors in for many years, but secondary markets add a layer of flexibility. By making it easier for market participants to buy and sell loans or bonds, we can ensure that money flows better to where it’s most needed.

In this episode we find out how secondary opportunities within capital markets deepen the pool of market participants, and how they have been implemented in a variety of projects. We learn about securitisations, an additional market mechanism used to enhance secondary market liquidity. And we find out why you can’t say you’ve fully developed a capital market until you’ve generated secondary liquidity.

Your hosts are Marjolein van Kampen and Hector Santos, and on the podcast are:

• Layth Al-Falaki, CEO GuarantCo
• Jonathan Neo, Associate Director GuarantCo
• Bryan Woon, Head of Structuring and Distribution, Bayfront Infrastructure
• Ala Ahmad, CEO MetLife Bangladesh

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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New and innovative infrastructure projects take a long time to get off the ground, often 2 years or more. But with the pace of development required to improve the lives of people across Africa and Asia, those timescales aren’t feasible. So how do we provide this much-needed, sustainable infrastructure faster?

Replicability is the key. In this episode we explore how replicating an infrastructure deal can save time and increase trust and buy-in for future transactions. We learn about the many different ways a project can be replicated. And we hear the successes of companies that have partnered with and replicated deals alongside GuarantCo.

Your hosts are Marjolein van Kampen and Mo Massoud, and on the podcast are:

• Layth Al-Falaki, CEO GuarantCo
• Pierre Marouby, CEO GreenYellow Indian Ocean

Edward Kirathe, Founder and CEO Acorn Holdings

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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Institutional investors are essential to closing the infrastructure funding gap. But right now they contribute a tiny fraction of financing to infrastructure projects in low- and middle-income countries. So how do we change that? In this episode we explore how blended finance structures and guarantees can unlock this financing gap.

Your hosts are Marjolein van Kampen and Lucinda O’Gorman, and on the podcast are:

• Nishant Kumar, Managing Director Asia, GuarantCo
• Anh Nguyen, Client Relationship Manager, GuarantCo
• Sophie Gaze, Senior Analyst, GuarantCo

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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Using innovative credit solutions has been in GuarantCo’s DNA since closing its first transaction in 2005. As we continue to pioneer, we are helping to boost capital market capabilities and accelerate much needed development impact for the people who need it most. This episode focuses on the range of innovative and well-established credit solutions GuarantCo provides and hear from the companies that are utilising them to create impact locally.

Your hosts are Marjolein van Kampen and James Miller and on the podcast are:

• Hugo Duhil de Benaze, Director Structured Finance Group Sub-Saharan Africa at Société Générale
• Surabhi Mathur Visser, Chief Investment Officer at GuarantCo
• Kwame Asare, Client Relationship Manager at GuarantCo
• Raphael de Muizon, Client Relationship Manager at GuarantCo

Find out more at guarantco.com and https://societegenerale.africa/en/societe-generale-africa/grow-with-africa/

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Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen impressive and rapid growth in Vietnam’s local currency corporate bond market, with much more potential still to be unlocked. Thanks to a number of catalytic and first-of-its-kind transactions, GuarantCo’s contribution to the growth of the bond market is helping to accelerate infrastructure development in the country. And in this episode, we learn about a number of those impactful transactions.

Your hosts are Marjolein van Kampen and Anh Nguyen, and on the podcast are:

• Ngoc Tran, Group Chief Executive Officer, Nam Long Investment Corporation
• Canh Anh Nguyen, Head of Treasury, EVNFinance
• Nishant Kumar, Managing Director Asia, GuarantCo

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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Local currency bonds are fast becoming a crucial way of supporting infrastructure project development in lower income countries across Africa and Asia. In this episode, we discuss the rapid growth of the bond market, why it’s become such an attractive option, and how bonds address the funding deficit in lower income countries. We also hear from PRAN Agro and Acorn Holdings, two companies that have benefited from bonds issued by GuarantCo.

Contributing to the podcast are:

• Uzma Chowdhury, Corporate Finance Director at PRAN Agro
• Raghav Gandhi, Managing Director at Acorn Holdings
• Layth Al-Falaki, Chief Executive Officer at GuarantCo
• Phil Skinner, Managing Director, Global Execution Team at GuarantCo
• Angella Olobo, Associate Director, Global Execution Team at GuarantCo

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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Given the scale of the infrastructure funding gap throughout Africa and Asia, it will take a variety of synergistic solutions to sustainably address this funding shortfall. One such solution, that could hasten the closing of this gap quicker than any other, is the increased use of guarantees to support infrastructure project financing. Due to the flexibility of guarantee products, the range of solutions they provide and the long-term benefits that stem from guarantee use, guarantee providers could be in a unique position to unlock much-needed infrastructure project financing.

Contributing to the podcast are:

• Layth Al-Falaki, CEO GuarantCo
• Emily Bushby, COO/CFO GuarantCo
• Jules Samain, MD Africa GuarantCo
• Nishant Kumar, MD Asia GuarantCo

Find out more at guarantco.com/blended-knowledge/

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