The Green Bond Symbiotics structured in July 2021 for Samunnati Financial Intermediation & Services (Samunnati) in India has won the 2022 Environmental Finance Award for innovation in the bond structure (green bond) category.
“We are proud to have won a second consecutive innovation green bond award from Environmental Finance. It comes as a testimony of the uniqueness of our Bond issuance platform and its Sustainable Bond framework, which helps our partner financial institutions to develop green practices and pave the way for a bolder green impact. We are particularly pleased that this award comes from our partnership with Samunnati, who supports smallholder farmers via climate-smart agriculture in 18 Indian states.”, said Symbiotics Head of Investments Daniel Schriber.
The first 100% agri-green bond by Symbiotics
The 3-year bond enables underserved smallholder farmers and agri-enterprises to access finance. Samunnati is committed to expanding its green finance loan portfolio, which comprised 23% of its total loan portfolio in 2021.This portfolio includes financing climate-resilient crops, climate smart farm inputs, and sustainable agriculture practices. Samunnati’s green loans follow Climate Bond Initiative categorization, in accordance with the Green Bond Principles for Climate-Smart Agriculture.
An innovative structure
This award is demonstration to issue Green, Social and Sustainability bonds at scale through our cutting-edge Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) bonds platform based in Luxembourg.
Symbiotics bond issuance is innovative because our solution makes green bonds affordable for medium-sized non-banking financial institutions in emerging and frontier countries with issuance below global averages. While most issuers focus on hard currency bonds in developed countries, Symbiotics innovates by making sustainable (local currency-denominated) bonds available in emerging and frontier markets.
By doing so, we foster green finance inclusion in underdeveloped regions where growth is the highest. Samunnati, like most investees we select, is a leading social and environmental performer, addressing the borrowing and technical needs of low-income entrepreneurs and farmers locally. This triple bottom line achievement is worth celebrating.
Since 2019, Symbiotics has issued 23 sustainable bonds with a total value of USD 300 million.
Our solution centers on a dedicated compartmented pass-through special-purpose vehicle, or SPV, set up in Luxembourg with its own Sustainable Bond Framework, which received a second-party opinion from DNV GL. All bonds are listed on the Luxembourg Green Exchange.
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About Symbiotics
Symbiotics, the leading market access platform for impact investing, finances micro-, small and medium enterprises and low- and middle-income households in emerging and frontier markets. Since 2005, it has structured and originated 6,500 deals for over 500 companies in almost 100 emerging and frontier markets representing USD 6.5 billion. At year-end 2021, the firm had total assets under management of USD 2.9 billion through 25 dedicated investment funds and mandates. symbioticsgroup.com
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For more information, contact:
Samy Derradji, Corporate Communication Manager, Symbiotics
samy.derradji@symbioticsgroup.com
