PIDG Pulse

This is an International Women’s Day special of PIDG Pulse.

At the current pace of change, the World Economic Forum says global gender equity will not be achieved until 2158 - 133 years from now. That’s why this year’s IWD theme is #AccelerateAction.

At PIDG, we make it a priority to empower and include women throughout our work - and have made great strides in achieving this through our Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action (GEDI) Plan.

In this episode, we highlight three PIDG projects, demonstrating our deliberate approach to gender inclusion and the significant impact it makes on the lives of local people. These projects include:

• Cambodia Water Portfolio
• The East Africa Marine Transport project
• Vivriti Capital’s expansion of the e-mobility industry in India

Learn about the major barriers and biases impacting women in low and middle income countries and in the infrastructure sector - and how PIDG is working to overcome them.

Tune in for a conversation with:

Cristina Traini, Development Impact Manager, InfraCo

Rodney Seema, Regional Asset Management Lead, InfraCo

Betsy Ambler, Grants and Impact Advisor, GuarantCo

Your host is Celia Carbajosa, Senior Impact Advisor, PIDG.

Watch the video edition of this episode on Vimeo.

Learn more about the PIDG GEDI plan on our website, pidg.org.

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From Pakistan to Nepal to Vietnam, electricity generation in Asia is a huge challenge. Wildly inconsistent energy supply causes regular power outages, impacting everyone. But now reliable power is finally coming to the region.

With PIDG’s support through project development and debt financing, Simple Energy in Nepal, Prism Energy in Pakistan and CME Solar in Vietnam are all expanding their rooftop solar operations to improve the energy landscape, transforming households and industry.

In this episode, we explore the biggest challenges facing the energy sector in these regions and why current methods aren’t keeping up with demand. We discover why solar generation is such an impactful solution, from its ease of deployment to its massive climate benefits. And we learn how the long-term sustainability of solar panels will be assured.

Tune in for a conversation with:

Juan Gin Foo, Business Development Manager at InfraCo.

Teresa Tam, PIDG Regional Technical Assistance Manager, Asia.

Your host is Marcel Klebba, Communications Manager at PIDG.

Learn more about PIDG on our website, pidg.org.

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Welcome to the third episode of Increasing Risk Tolerance to Drive Impact – a podcast series from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group company – exploring ways to develop transformative infrastructure in underserved geographies across Africa.

This podcast, titled " Implementing PPPs in Frontier Economies and Africa", explores the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in fostering economic development and growth in emerging markets in Africa. Our guests discuss innovative strategies to increase risk tolerance, ensuring long-term impact and sustainable development through PPPs. 

Given Africa’s vast infrastructure needs—ranging from improved roads and railways to increasing access to energy and reliable water supply—PPPs offer a mechanism for mobilising private capital, building expertise, and efficiency while aligning with development priorities. 

In this episode, we discuss the role of progressive partnerships in driving innovation, improving service delivery and connectivity in the African context. Our guests share key lessons and learnings from a range of successful PPPs across the continent. 

This episode is essential listening for policymakers, investors, and development practitioners to unlock potential in some of the world's fastest-growing, yet underserved, markets.

Our guests are:

Puleng Pitso, Investment Specialist, Ninety One

Zena Njuki, Technical Assistance Associate, Private Infrastructure Development Group 

Your host is Lindsay Williams, business broadcaster.

To find out more about how EAIF is driving transformative infrastructure development, visit our website.

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As the climate crisis continues to accelerate, sustainable development and poverty reduction hinge on our ability to adapt to the changing climate, protect and restore the natural environment, and rapidly reduce global emissions. At PIDG, we’ve made it our mission to address these challenges head-on while ensuring our infrastructure projects meet the needs of those who depend on them most.

In this episode, host Marcel Klebba highlights the key takeaways from our very first Sustainability and Impact report, how our work aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and what our new 2030 strategy means for the future of infrastructure development. We also delve into standout projects from the past year, including efforts to improve water services in Vietnam and enhance connectivity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Our guests are:

Marco Serena, Chief Sustainable Impact Officer

Cheryl Ng, Biodiversity & Nature Manager

Stuart Cannon, Climate Change Group Manager

Read PIDG’s Sustainability and Impact report here.

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The M.V. Mpungu is a first-of-its-kind freight vessel set to revolutionise the maritime industry in East Africa. Owned by East Africa Marine Transport (EAMT), it will operate across Lake Victoria, between Uganda and Tanzania, cutting journey times, reducing emissions and creating jobs.

Supported by PIDG’s development arm, InfraCo Africa, the vessel will improve standards of transport infrastructure, save the economy millions of dollars and boost trade in the region.

In this episode, we discover how M.V. Mpungu will operate, benefit businesses and open up career opportunities for both men and women in the area. We also explore the project's impact on sustainability. And we learn about some of the challenges that were faced, both in the development phase of the project, and in getting the vessel on the water.

And to mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work on the 28th April, we learn about PIDG’s health safety environment and social (HSES) framework and how these guidelines have been implemented during the development of the EAMT project.

Tune in for a conversation with:

Claire Jarratt, Chief Investment and Risk Officer, InfraCo Africa.

Rodney Seema is Regional Asset Management Lead, InfraCo Africa.

Jacob Kazungu is HSES Advisor, InfraCo Africa.

Your host is Marcel Klebba, Communications Manager at PIDG.

Find out more about the EAMT project here. And learn more about PIDG on our website, pidg.org.

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Whether it’s providing electric vehicles to women who otherwise have to walk massive distances to provide for their families, or increasing access to safe and adequate drinking water for rural communities, PIDG has a number of investments that directly impact and improve the lives of women.

Across Africa and Asia, PIDG doesn’t just consider how women are impacted by its projects, it also strives to empower them.

In this International Women’s Day special edition of the podcast, hear about a number of projects that are impacting women on the ground, including Mobility for Africa, the KUDURA mini grid project in Kenya, and the Cambodia water portfolio. Hear from two of the women riding Mobility for Africa’s electric tricycles, or Hambas, as they explain how their lives have been benefited by the vehicles. And learn more about what it truly means to involve women in projects and investment decisions.

Tune in for a conversation with:

Sally Gichia, Asset Manager, East and Southern Africa at InfraCo Africa

Cristina Traini, Impact Manager at InfraCo Asia

Adefi Mtambo, Pepukai Group, Hamba rider

Regina Marekesa, Money Maker Group, Hamba rider

Your host is Marcel Klebba, Communications Manager at PIDG.

Find out more about PIDG’s approach to gender equality on our website, pidg.org.

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Combining concessional capital with blended finance is an innovative solution, bridging a major funding gap. Where a project is struggling to reach scale, concessional capital can be used to boost its commerciality and affordability.

PIDG is blending concessional capital into transactions through PIDG Technical Assistance’s capital grant, viability gap funding and concessional equity and debt products. 

In this episode we learn what concessional capital is and how it can be used to attract private sector investment into emerging economies. We find out how PIDG assesses when to deploy concessional capital and what it seeks to achieve with these products. And we hear about Dakar’s first fully electric public bus network, which has benefited greatly from the PIDG TA concessional capital offering.

Tune in for a conversation with:

Luke Foley, deputy head of Technical Assistance at PIDG

Puleng Pitso, investment specialist at the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF)

Your host is Marcel Klebba, communications manager at PIDG.

To find out more about PIDG’s approach to concessional capital on our website, pidg.org.

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Welcome to the second episode of Increasing Risk Tolerance to Drive Impact – a podcast series from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group company – exploring ways to develop game-changing infrastructure in underserved geographies.

Most infrastructure has been designed, implemented or run by men, often without considering female participation in decision-making, development or operation of projects. A common, albeit mistaken, assumption is that women automatically benefit from infrastructure projects in the same way as men. 

In this episode, Mariana Graça, Investment Specialist – Sustainability & Impact at Ninety One, Fund manager of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), draws on EAIF's approach to boosting resilience in the fight against climate change and delivering more inclusive infrastructure for women and the physically impaired.

A key takeaway from this episode is that diversity of thought can disproportionately improve the transformative impact of infrastructure investments - creating outsized benefits to marginalised members of society. The more we understand the implications, the more inclusive societies we can build.

Our guest is:

Mariana Graça, Investment Specialist – Sustainability & Impact, at Ninety One, Fund manager of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF).

Your host is Lindsay Williams, business broadcaster.

To find out more about how EAIF delivers game-changing projects that help close Africa’s infrastructure gap with greater urgency and pace, visit our website.

This podcast was edited by OG Podcasts. 

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The future of development finance is bright, as a number of exciting announcements were made at the COP28 climate conference last year. From a £391 million investment in PIDG, to the announcement of a new credit enhancement facility in Kenya, 2024 will be a year of positive change.

PIDG’s strategy for the coming decade is ambitious, but despite a challenging 2023 it has been successful in placing climate and gender front and centre of its investment decisions.

In this episode we explore how the COP28 announcements will help PIDG scale up its solutions and deliver on its commitments throughout 2024. We learn more about the UK Government’s investment in PIDG and how it will advance its goals in sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience initiatives. And we discuss the topics of collaboration, domestic capital mobilisation, and the global megatrends that are shaping the investment landscape.

Tune in for a conversation with Philippe Valahu, CEO of PIDG

Your host is Marcel Klebba, communications manager at PIDG.

To find out more about PIDG’s approach to climate and gender investment on our website, pidg.org.

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The popularity of gender lens investing is rising rapidly. The landscape is constantly evolving, with regular new developments transforming the investment landscape. And at PIDG we’re actively shaping this evolution through innovative approaches and collaborations.

Much has changed since our last episode on International Women’s Day, when we announced the PIDG Gender, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Action. Here we expand on that discussion and find out how the GEDI has been received.

In this episode we discover why gender lens investing is both a moral imperative and strategic necessity in a world striving for a more sustainable future. We learn why issues of gender and climate are so closely linked, and how organisations should be approaching both. And we discuss the impact of PIDG's collaboration with 2X Global and how this partnership has enhanced its gender lens investing strategies.

Tune in for actionable advice from:

• Celia Carbajosa, PIDG’s senior advisor on Sustainable Development Impact (SDI)
• Betsy Ambler, Grant and Impact Advisor, GuarantCo
• Thomas Foreman, senior SDI advisor, GuarantCo

Your host is Marcel Klebba, communications manager at PIDG.

To find out more about PIDG’s approach to gender lens investing, visit our website.

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