BII vows $75 mn to Symbiotics' 2nd green basket bond for emerging markets

British International Investment, the UK's development finance institution, on Tuesday said it has committed $75 million (about Rs 625 crore) to the second green basket bond arranged by emerging markets access platform and financial lender Symbiotics Investments.

The green lending programme will increase financing to small-scale green projects across Africa, South and South-East Asia through MSME lenders, with 50 per cent of the financing earmarked for India, British International Investment (BII) said in a statement.

It will focus on supporting new MSME lenders not included in the first green basket bond. The first green basket bond supported 11 MSME lenders in India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Tunisia, Botswana, Kenya, Bangladesh and Nepal, it added.

"Partnering with Symbiotics on a second green basket bond signifies a continued commitment to empowering smaller financial institutions and supporting sustainable development in climate-vulnerable regions," BII Managing Director and Head of Financial Services Group, Samir Abhyankar said.

As with the first green basket bond, funding will be provided to green projects that span renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, green buildings, agriculture, forestry and more, the statement said.

"We hope that this second green basket bond will have a catalytic effect on the mobilisation of capital for similar projects that play a key role in successfully tackling climate change and its consequences," Symbiotics Investments CEO Yvan Renaud said.