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<ul><li>IFC, which is a part of the <keyword id="93417" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-bank-group" source="Orion">World Bank Group</keyword>, is looking for interns in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> for its Global Internship Program.</li><li>The window for online application will close on Monday, March 7.</li><li>The internship programme will be of four months duration.</li></ul>The <keyword id="166412" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-Finance-Corporation" source="Orion">International Finance Corporation</keyword> (IFC), which is a part of the World Bank Group, is inviting applications for their internship programme named ‘Global Internship Program (GIP)’ for the New Delhi office. However, candidates can work remotely as well. The online application has already begun and the last date to apply for the opportunity is Monday, March 7. The duration of the internship programme is at least four months, which is expected to start in May this year.<table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Eligibility criteria for the roles — <ol><li>Candidates must be currently enrolled in a masters’ degree level programme with expected graduation date after December 1, 2022 in order to be eligible.</li><li>For Research Climate Finance: Candidates must be from these disciplines — Economics, Climate, Sustainable Finance, or other relevant discipline.</li><li>For India Climate Intern: Candidates must be from these disciplines — Business Administration (MBA), Engineering, or other relevant discipline.</li><li>For India Country Strategy: Candidates must be from these disciplines — Business Administration (MBA), Finance, or Economics, preferably.</li><li>Candidates must have at least 3 years of relevant work experience. </li><li>Candidates must have Indian citizenship or Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card.</li></ol>Duties and responsibilities — <ol><li>For Research Climate Finance: Support the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) Advisory team in undertaking market research (secondary) and preparing capacity building/training modules (in the form of structured powerpoint presentations) aimed at middle level and frontline staff of Indian financial institutions to build their knowledge and awareness about various aspects of climate finance. Join the discussions and support the FIG Advisory Team in its other climate/green projects in India.</li><li>For India Climate Intern: Interns will get an opportunity to work on joint initiatives like Country Climate Development Report and conceptualise one transformational project which could unlock climate business opportunity for IFC in the region. Assist team members on strategy, finalising presentation. Identify transformational projects in consultation with team members and presenting the outcome at the end of Internship.</li><li>For India Country Strategy: Support proposals for new investment projects and financial products with corporate conglomerates.</li></ol>Interested candidates are expected to submit their resume and cover letter stating their motivation/reason to apply and how their skills and expertise relate to the internship requirements. Selected candidates will be contacted directly by departments for interviews between Monday, March 21 to Friday, April 29. Selected interns will be offered a competitive salary and a limited medical insurance coverage for the duration of the internship. Interested candidates can seek more information and apply <a href="https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/careers_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/ifc+careers/recruitment+programs/global+internship+program">here</a>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/apple-google-and-microsoft-are-hiring-freshers-checkout-eligibility-and-other-details/articleshow/89720898.cms">Apple, Google and Microsoft are hiring freshers — Checkout eligibility and other details</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/indian-freelancers-are-earning-more-than-their-counterparts-in-other-countries/slidelist/89728039.cms">Indian freelancers are earning more than their counterparts in other countries</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/looking-to-freelance-here-are-the-highest-paying-fields-globally/slidelist/89727484.cms">Looking to freelance? Here are the highest paying fields globally</a>

World Bank Group is hiring 60 plus interns including in India — Checkout eligibility, last date and other details

CurrencycloudMike Laven CEO at Currencycloud<ul class="summary-list"><li>London-based fintech startup Currencycloud raised $80 million from investors including Visa, the IFC, and BNP Paribas. </li><li>Founded in 2012 the company has raised $140 million to-date and was among the first financial services startups to work in the money transfer space in Europe. </li><li>"This funding round will help us grow the business on a global basis, particularly in North America and Asia," Currencycloud CEO Mike Laven told Business Insider in an interview. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>London-based fintech startup Currencycloud has raised $80 million from investors including Visa, the IFC, and BNP Paribas. The company provides B2B remittance APIs to allow companies to integrate money transfer functionality into their business. It has raised $140 million in total.Currencycloud's CEO Mike Laven told Business Insider that the $80 million funding from strategic investors closed in December but was a lengthy and complex process. "For strategic investors the question is whether we are important in their world which means they have a broader set of criteria and objectives for investing," he told Business Insider in an interview. "This funding round will help us grow the business on a global basis, particularly in North America - which is generations behind in fintech - and Asia, particularly Japan, South East Asia, and China."Investors in the latest round include Visa, the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation, French bank BNP Paribas, the SBI Group (the Japanese giant that was once a part, but now independent, of SoftBank) and Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank.Existing investors Sapphire Ventures, Notion Capital, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Accomplice and Anthemis were involved in the round. Currencycloud claims to have processed over $50 billion in cross-border payments since 2012 and counts a number of high-profile fintech startups as clients, including neo-banks Monzo, Starling, and Revolut. Part of Currencycloud's latest funding will go towards expanding the company's international staff presence, which, despite Brexit, will include hiring at the startup's UK headquarters. Check out the company's (redacted) investor pitch deck below:

Check out the pitch deck payment startup Currencycloud used to raise $80 million from Visa and World Bank Group

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=The+government+&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">The government </a>has been focusing on<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=+ease+of+doing+business+&amp;sortorder=effectivedate"> ease of doing business </a>and a lot of it was reflected in Budget 2017. Last year, in disappointing result, India moved up only one rank on the <keyword id="6354424" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Bank">World Bank</keyword>'s <keyword id="6354423" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ease-of-Doing-Business">ease of doing business</keyword> ranking to 130th spot regardless of the fact that<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=+Narendra+Modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate"> Narendra Modi</a> government made several initiatives and has set itself a target to break into the top 50. 
 
At present, India is ranked 130 out of 190 countries in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=World+Bank+Group&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">World Bank Group</a>'s annual report 'Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All'. 
 
In the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Union+Budget&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Union Budget</a>, announced by <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword>, these 5 steps were proposed to make Ease of Doing Business better and easier:

5 ways how Arun Jaitley made Ease of Doing Business better in India

<keyword id="410443" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Suhas-Gopinath">Suhas Gopinath</keyword> is a name to reckon with in the startup world today, except it's ironical that he started his own company at a time when the Indian startup industry hadn't even taken off. In no time, Gopinath-led <a href="http://www.globalsinc.com/">Globals Inc - an IT services company</a>, was minting profits worth over $1 million annually and had 11 offices worldwide. For a 14-year-old college student to grow a bootstrapped firm from a small home office to a globally recognized multinational company based on the simple formula - a company's outflow cannot be higher than its inflow - was no mean feat. 
 
But astounding success that would inspire Gopinath's entrepreneurial journey he is on today, really came when he was announced as the Youngest Global Leader in the World Economic Forum, Davos in 2008. From here started this Bengaluru lad's journey as the "World's Youngest CEO". There's no better way to learn about his inspiring journey than to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyfMPsIe2uU">hear him talk about the challenges he faced</a>. 
 It's really no surprise that at the age of 22, a shy-natured Gopinath was sitting among the members of <keyword id="4028297" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ict-advisory-board-of-the-world-bank-group">ICT Advisory Board of the World Bank Group</keyword> headed by the <keyword id="6354424" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Bank">World Bank</keyword> President, discussing ways to increase internet penetration in Africa and use ICT for skill development in India. 
 
As Gopinath enters a new phase in his entrepreneurial journey, Business Insider spoke to him about his second venture, how he plans on revolutionizing the retail space, what are his future plans and much more. ​Below is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation: 
 
Tell us about your new online-to-offline startup Shopsup. 
<a href="http://shopsup.com/">ShopsUp</a> is a location based shopping app which acts as your personal shopping companion. It will recommend what, when and where to shop, and help you find the right products and stores in your neighbourhood. Whenever you want something specific, you can discover exciting boutique stores close to your location as well as stores at popular malls and shopping streets including brands such as Van Heusen, AND, <keyword id="6377547" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adidas">Adidas</keyword>, Pepe Jeans, Raymond, Allen Solly among others. 
 
Who is your target audience? 
India is second largest smartphone market in world in terms of users and increasingly consumers are turning to mobile to discover and research fashion trends and discover exciting consumer items. We are trying to reach young Indian millennial consumers with smartphone and influence their behavior while shopping and discovering local stores. 
 
Why do you feel young Indian shoppers spoilt for choices online would prefer going to the local stores to make a purchase using Shopsup? 
We are focusing on offline brick and mortar stores because statistics show that 98 per cent Indians still shop offline. Consumers still desire a physical interaction with a product and the preference for a physical store as an element of both researching and purchasing, especially for categories such as Fashion, Furniture, Jewelry, etc. The idea is to empower shoppers with tools and technologies so that we can make local stores discoverable, induce shoppers to walk into these stores and influence them to make a purchase. 
 
How exactly are you planning to do that? 
For every walk-in, we incentivise the ShopsUp user. In fact, we are the first app in India to incentivise a user for a behaviour, like window shopping. Let's say you want to buy a linen shirt. If you search for it on ShopsUp App, it will locate the stores around you which have linen shirts. As soon as you walk into one of them, you will get SHOTS irrespective of whether you make a purchase or not. SHOTS are points which you can accumulate to redeem later for movie tickets, cab rides, spa, gift vouchers, food court meals etc. 
 
Would the user be required to install the ShopsUp App before walking into these stores? 
No. There's a low-energy Bluetooth beacon in every store. If your phone's Bluetooth is switched on, you will get a message saying you have received X number of shots. For you to be able to redeem it, you will have to install the app. 
 
...And why would stores partner with you? Apart from increasing their footfall, do they get any more benefits by partnering with ShopsUp? 
Within six months, one of the achievements we have made is to build a natural monopoly by acquiring every brand. 80 per cent of India's brands are with us. We have partnered with 60 brands and 400 boutique stores in Bengaluru so far. So, a ShopsUp user is as spoilt for choices as much as an online shopper and is better rewarded than them. 
 
To answer your question, brands want to be with us because they have a platform to re-target their customers. Also, stores do not have crucial data that can help them in taking the right business decisions. For instance, they do not know how many people walked into their store and how many out of them actually purchased an item. With Shops Up, they will be equipped with data that can help them identify which section is popular in their store, the frequency of their customers, how long does a shopper spend inside the store, what they purchase mostly etc. This data will help make the shopping experience more personalized. For example, ShopsUp will be able to predict that when person X purchases a Polo Shirt, it's very likely he also buys a denim. So, if he purchased a shirt a few days back, he will get a ShopsUp notification with a few denim options later. 
 Also, brands are excited because we offline re-target the customers for them. So, if you visit a Peter England store and then head to <keyword id="6392652" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="arrow">Arrow</keyword> without making a purchase, you will get a push notification reminding you to come back to Peter England and pick up the item you liked. 
 
We believe that the right offers delivered in the right context and right place can drive business for both organized as well as local retail establishments, and we are investing in analytics to offer best of the breed solutions to our partners. 
 
What compelled you to kick-start ShopsUp? Usually, if you want to buy something and you <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> it, it will give you e-commerce website options. You cant wait for a product to be delivered when there's an urgency like a friend's wedding or mother's birthday. There are two reasons why one would want to buy anything online - either because it's inexpensive or you do not know where to buy it. 
 
Personally, I am a very impatient person when it comes to shopping. I need things quickly. So, I thought to myself - Is there any way one can have an omni-channel experience where I can do the same thing I do online, except I will have the option of going to the store and picking it up. Also, because fashion and lifestyle is a segment where you need touch and feel, this model made a lot of sense to me. Since we didn't have any such platform in India, this is where the idea of ShopsUp came from. 
 
How are you making money from this model? 
Starting from behaviour to action, we are incentivising our user at every step. But, we don't make any money with that engagement. We charge brands a very nominal percentage for shopping via ShopsUp, but most of our money comes from brands. They buy inventory from us. 
 
What are your plans for the near future? 
We really want to focus on the product and user experience because for the brands there is excellent value proposition. We also plan to build a shopping bot. 
 
So, if you haven't already started using ShopsUp yet, Suhas is offering you a new way to experience shopping. Get on to it, who knows you may get high on shopping like never before!

EXCLUSIVE: In conversation with Suhas Gopinath, World's Youngest CEO, on his new online-to-offline startup 'ShopsUp'

Indian <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword>, in perspective of the <keyword id="6354424" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Bank">World Bank</keyword> being capital-compelled, accentuated on the requirement for re-capitalizing the Bank so as to empower it to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and twin objectives of taking out outrageous poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. 
 "Unfavorable global scenario has made the achievement of twin goals of the <keyword id="93417" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Bank-Group">World Bank Group</keyword> and the ambitious SDGs even more challenging. Achievement of these goals requires trillions of dollars of development financing. This makes the role of the World Bank group even more critical - both as a provider of finance and knowledge," Jaitley said. He was representing the Constituency of Bangladesh, <keyword id="6356598" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhutan">Bhutan</keyword>, India and <keyword id="6355572" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sri-Lanka">Sri Lanka</keyword>, at the 94th Meeting of the Development Committee (DC), the Ministerial-Level forum of the World Bank Group and <keyword id="6355408" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IMF">IMF</keyword> for inter-governmental consensus building on development issues. 
 
The meeting concentrated on the 'Forward Look' exercise done by the World Bank and discussed the Dynamic Formula of Shareholding of member nations in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a part organization of the Bank. 
 "In view of the Bank being capital constrained today, there is a need to expand the role of not only IDA, but also IBRD and <keyword id="85860" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IFC">IFC</keyword> to enlarge the lending programme of the Bank Group," he said. 
 
The 'Forward Look Paper' has proposed yearly loaning of USD 40 billion for each annum by IBRD. It likewise proposes increasing of IFC's yearly speculation limit to double. This is fundamental in perspective of the expanding part which IFC needs to play in inclining up private division's abilities in developing nations. 
 
"Increased financing measures need to be coupled with renewed efforts to find innovative solutions, active pursuance of knowledge sharing, coordinated responses with the private sector, other development partners and international organizations," Jaitley said. 
 
On growth, the finance minister said: "Our constituency countries have displayed resilience and growth in this challenging environment where India is likely to grow at more than its last year's 7.6 per cent, Bangladesh at 6.3 per cent, Sri Lanka at about 5.3 per cent and Bhutan at 6.8 per cent." 
 
He shared the appraisal that the Bank shouldn’t be only greater but be more coordinated, effective and less costly to work with. 
(image: Indiatimes)

Arun Jaitley makes strong pitch for re-capitalizing World Bank

Here is some Good news for <keyword id="2771940" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="low-income-families">low income families</keyword> who are planning to buy houses in the country. The IFC has signed an agreement with <keyword id="1976174" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Tata-Value-Homes">Tata Value Homes</keyword> to invest $25 million or Rs 160 crore to provide affordable houses to people across India. The investment by IFC, a member of the <keyword id="93417" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="World-Bank-Group">World Bank Group</keyword>, would help develop about 16,800 homes over the next ten years, the company said in a release. "Tata Value Homes will help lower and middle-income households and young professionals in urban and semi-urban areas access quality, <keyword id="136927" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="affordable-housing">affordable housing</keyword>," said Vipul Prakash, IFC's Director, Global Corporate Coverage. 

	He said the investment would be the first step towards a longer-term partnership to facilitate the development of affordable housing in India, where there is high demand for housing. 
 The demand is high due to <keyword id="68159" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Urbanization">urbanization</keyword>, rising trends of having <keyword id="168112" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nuclear-families">nuclear families</keyword>, and rising incomes. There is an estimated shortage of over 19 million housing units, as per an Economic Times report. 

	"Our partnership with IFC will help increase availability of affordable, value housing in India," said Brotin Banerjee, CEO and MD, Tata Housing.
 

	"Over the past few years, we have delivered over 5,000 apartments in the price range of $8,000 to $50,000 (Rs 500,000 to Rs 30 lakh) across various townships. This partnership with IFC will help us become India's largest home provider in the value and affordable housing segment by 2018-19," he said.
 

	Tata Value Homes has introduced two pan-India brands - Shubh Griha for value homes and New Haven for affordable homes.
 
(Image: Reuters)

IFC enters agreement with Tata on affordable housing projects

<ul class="summary-list"><li>High inflation will stay for longer as commodity prices rallied again after falling for two years, World Bank Group says.</li><li>The bank expects global inflation to jump by a solid percentage point by 2024 due to the flip-flop oil prices driven by geopolitical risks.</li></ul>High inflation could be with us for a while as a key deflationary force wanes, the World Bank Group said, The World Bank <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/04/25/commodity-markets-outlook-april-2024-press-release#:~:text=Between%20mid%2D2022%20and%20mid,prices%20has%20remained%20essentially%20unchanged" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a report</a> on Thursday that the two-year decline in global commodity prices has come to a halt, and an escalation of conflict in the Middle East has reversed the downward trend in inflation. The report said commodity prices had dropped by roughly 40% between mid-2022 and mid-2023, bringing the global inflation rate down around by two percentage points over the past two years. However, the sector is moving in the opposite direction since the latter half of 2023. "Global inflation remains undefeated," Indermit Gill, the senior president and chief economist of World Bank, said in the note, adding that the energy price shock would bring the world economy to a "vulnerable moment."The economist foresees interest rates remaining higher than anticipated this year and next, with a projected 3% drop in commodity prices for 2024 and 4% for 2025.But this sluggish decline will buoy commodity prices around 38% higher than pre-COVID averages, offering little relief for inflation-weary economies. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-planned-bigger-attack-iran-scaled-back-under-us-pressure-2024-4">The conflict between Israel and Iran</a> raised fresh concerns this month, and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-trouble-zelenskyy-admit-defeat-russia-war-us-aid-2024-4">Ukraine-Russia war</a> has no end in sight. Both conflicts threaten global energy supplies and risk stoking more inflation. The World Bank warned that a significant disruption could propel oil prices beyond $100 per barrel, hiking global inflation by almost a full percentage point in 2024."A striking divergence is emerging between global growth and commodity prices: despite relatively weaker global growth, commodity prices will most likely remain higher in 2024-25 than in the half-decade before the COVID-19 pandemic," the World Bank's deputy chief economist, Ayhan Kose, said. That fear of lower growth and high inflation was on display in the US on Thursday, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gdp-gross-domestic-product-first-quarter-economy-growth-2024-4?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;_gl=1*g4dvmb*_ga*Mzg2NTEyNjQzLjE3MDU0OTc0MjU.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcxNDA2NDYzMS40MTUuMS4xNzE0MDY2NjI2LjU4LjAuMA..">first-quarter GDP came in much lower than expected</a> even as consumer prices remained high in the quarter.

High inflation could be here to stay as commodity prices spike again after a 2-year decline, World Bank says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The market for bonds financing water conservation projects is approaching a "tipping point."</li><li>The market is small, just about $5 billion, but it's seeing more enthusiasm than the early green bond market. </li></ul>Blue is the next green for sustainable finance. Blue bonds — debt that allows investors to finance water conservation efforts — are gaining traction."I would liken the blue bond market today to where the green bond market was 10 to 15 years ago," Matt Lawton, a portfolio manager from T Rowe Price, told Business Insider. Today, the green bond market is valued at around $2 trillion. Compared to that, the blue bond market is much smaller, just about $5 billion, but it's on the cusp of a big change, Lawton explained. He's seeing even more enthusiasm around the asset than he observed for green bonds when they were at the stage blue bonds are today.Lawton is part of the effort to launch the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/t-rowe-ifc-seek-investors-for-blue-emerging-market-bond-fund">first blue bond strategy</a>, and is seeking commitments from investors for a fund that will make investments in the space. "It's a very nascent market today," he explained. "So one is not able to go out and invest several billion into blue bonds because the market doesn't exist. So what we're endeavoring to do is actually build out the market ourselves."The firm has partnered with the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. They've each committed to putting up to $75 million into the strategy and will be looking to raise another $350 million t0 $450 million from investors. The fund would target a return 3% to 6% over the US Treasuries yield curve."Blue is kind of at that tipping point where there's a lot more enthusiasm and engagement amongst capital market participants, investors, underwriters, issuers," Lawton said. "I think we're at this tipping point, whether it tips in '24 or '25 or '26, I have a high degree of confidence it's going to happen. I couldn't pinpoint the exact date, but it does feel like we're on the precipice," he added. <h3>The economic argument</h3>Blue bonds can finance anything from biodiversity and marine conservation to projects aimed at preventing overfishing to plastic pollution cleanup. But for all its climate and sustainability goals, there's a compelling economic reason investors would put their money into the bonds, Lawton explained."Take, for instance, water sanitation, a utility, right? Long-term contracts, high recurring cash flows, there's a pretty strong economic argument to be made for investing in those types of bonds."That's worth noting given the current backdrop for sustainable financing conversations. ESG investing has come under fire in the past year, driven by a wave of anti-woke sentiment. Climate-focused mutual funds <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/funds/climate-change-esg-investing-mutual-funds-interest-rates-anti-woke-2024-1">sales dropped by 75% in 2023.</a>But blue bonds seem to have sidestepped the vitriol, in part because it's a heavily under-invested theme (less than <a href="https://www.man.com/maninstitute/blue-bonds-sustainable-debt#:~:text=From%202018%20to%202022%2C%20there,of%20the%20sustainable%20debt%20market.">0.5% of the total sustainable debt market</a>), but also because of that financial appeal."For all the politicization of ESG, this is one of those few topics that we can all agree on," Lawton said.<h3>The origin of blue bonds</h3>One of the first blue bond programs was launched with the help of a non-profit organization called The Nature Conservancy to finance conservation efforts in Seychelles. The program used what's called a "debt-for-nature" swap, where a portion of a country's debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in conservation measures."I give The Nature Conservancy a lot of credit because they created a blue bond program a few years ago that I think really kicked up a lot of interest in the space," Preeti Bhattacharji, JPMorgan's head of sustainable investing, said.The organization is now one of the <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/an-audacious-plan-to-save-the-worlds-oceans/">best-known issuers</a> of blue bonds, Bhattacharji said.Lawton from T Rowe Price added that banks like the Asia Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea have <a href="https://www.kedglobal.com/banking-finance/newsView/ked202301060002">also issued blue bonds.</a> The funding method is actually gaining a lot of traction in the Asia-Pacific region given the region's dependence on marine resources, with issuance doubling to $1 billion since its debut in 2020, the South China Morning post <a href="https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3234882/blue-bonds-set-make-waves-new-financing-tool-ocean-friendly-projects-asia-pacific-region" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in September last year.And more institutions are jumping in. Last August, wind energy company Ørsted became <a href="https://orsted.com/en/media/news/2023/06/20230608684811" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the first energy company to issue a blue bond</a>, worth 100 million euros and maturing in 2028. Mitsui O.S.K Lines, a Japanese shipping company, also announced in December <a href="https://www.ajot.com/news/mol-to-become-worlds-1st-shipping-company-to-issue-blue-bonds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 10 billion yen ($66 million) blue bond issuance.</a>While the buy-side enthusiasm is still limited to a relatively small pool of investors, Bhattacharji from JPMorgan said the market has a lot of potential to grow as sustainability becomes a priority for future generations."As younger people come into their wealth, come into their power, enter the space, start asking these questions, the pattern that I've seen — not specific to blue bonds, but across sustainability — is there's just growing, swelling interests across these subjects," she said. "And I don't see any reason blue bonds should be an exception to that."

Blue is the next green: Bonds financing water conservation projects are approaching a 'tipping point'

<keyword id="9301251" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-development-institution" source="Orion">Global development institution</keyword> IFC will invest Rs 600 crore in a new last-mile mobility (LMM) company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of <keyword id="6357096" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahindra-Mahindra" source="Orion">Mahindra &amp; Mahindra</keyword> that will be newly incorporated (NewCo), it announced on Wednesday. IFC's first investment in an EV manufacturer in the country, and the first in electric three-wheelers globally, will be in the form of compulsory convertible instruments at a valuation of up to Rs 6,020 crore. The Rs 600 crore investment will result in an ownership of between 9.97 per cent to 13.64 per cent for IFC in NewCo. NewCo will house the last mile mobility division, including three wheelers (Alfa, Treo, Zor) and four-wheeler SCV (Jeeto). "With the electrification of the last mile mobility business at scale, we will move a step further in our commitment to be aPlanet Positive' by 2040. This also presents a tremendous opportunity for growth for micro and women entrepreneurs," said Anish Shah, MD and CEO, Mahindra &amp; Mahindra. India has committed to reducing its emissions profile by 45 per cent by 2030, and simultaneously aims to achieve 80 per cent EV penetration for two-and three-wheelers, 70 per cent for commercial vehicles and 30 per cent for private cars in the same time-frame. "India is the largest three-wheeler market globally, and this investment marks a significant step towards scaled domestic production of electric vehicles catering to this segment, as well as small commercial vehicles," said Hector Gomez Ang, IFC's Regional Director for South Asia. According to Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO (auto and farm sector), Mahindra &amp; Mahindra, being the market leaders in this segment: "We have an opportunity to drive higher EV penetration in this segment and provide a more sustainable as well as profitable option to microentrepreneurs". IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, works in more than 100 countries. In fiscal year 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/back-to-square-one-nifty-circles-back-to-levels-last-seen-in-september-2021-markets-likely-to-end-2023-in-the-red/articleshow/98898424.cms">Back to Square One: Nifty circles back to levels last seen in September 2021, markets likely to end 2023 in the red</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/brent-crude-oil-prices-remain-under-pressure-on-tensions-that-risks-in-global-banking-sector-may-spark-a-recession-worldwide/articleshow/98862335.cms">Brent crude oil prices remain under pressure on tensions that risks in global banking sector may spark a recession worldwide</a>

IFC to invest Rs 600 cr in Mahindra & Mahindra's new last-mile EV firm

The World Bank announced that it has approved a $723 million financial package for Ukraine as the country is fighting the ongoing Russian invasion. In a statement posted on its website, the global lender said that World Bank Board of Executive Directors on Monday approved a supplemental budget support package for Ukraine, called Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in Ukraine – or FREE Ukraine – for $489 million. "The package approved by the Board consists of a supplemental loan for $350 million and guarantees in the amount of $139 million and is also mobilising grant financing of $134 million and parallel financing of $100 million, resulting in total mobilised support of $723 million," it said. The statement went on to say that the "fast-disbursing support will help the government provide critical services to Ukrainian people, including wages for hospital workers, pensions for the elderly, and social programs for the vulnerable". The initial World Bank support was increased with guarantees from the Netherlands for 80 million euros ($89 million) and Sweden for $50 million, it said. The World Bank further said that it has also set up a multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) to facilitate channeling grant resources from donors to Ukraine, with contributions from the UK, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Iceland in the amount of $134 million thus far. In addition, Japan is linking $100 million in parallel financing to the support package. "The World Bank Group is taking quick action to support Ukraine and its people in the face of the violence and extreme disruption caused by the Russian invasion," the global lender's President David Malpass was quoted as saying in the statement. "The World Bank Group stands with the people of Ukraine and the region. This is the first of many steps we are taking to help address the far-reaching human and economic impacts of this crisis." The statement also revealed that the World Bank Group is preparing a $3 billion package of support for Ukraine in the coming months and additional support to neighbouring countries receiving Ukrainian refugees. According to the UN Refugee Agency, since the onset of the invasion, 1.7 million Ukrainians – primarily women, children, and elderly – have fled to neighbouring countries. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/lt-tcs-metro-brands-ongc-and-other-hot-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-march-8/slidelist/90066381.cms">L&amp;T, TCS, Metro Brands, ONGC and other hot stocks to watch out for on March 8</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/from-byjus-to-mobikwik-here-is-the-list-of-women-led-startups-valued-over-a-billion-dollars/slidelist/90059277.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Here are the women who lead India’s billion dollar startups</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/better-com-is-reportedly-set-to-lay-off-4000-more-workers-this-week/articleshow/90065524.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Better.com is reportedly set to lay off 4,000 more workers this week</a>

World Bank approves $723 million for Ukraine amid Russian invasion

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The West is considering allowing Russian oligarchs "to buy their way out of sanctions," <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-roman-abramovich-sports-4d6634fa97a03ae023c385f06301b137">AP reports</a>. </li><li>The plan entails oligarchs voluntarily donating funds to <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>, officials told the outlet. </li></ul>Western allies are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-roman-abramovich-sports-4d6634fa97a03ae023c385f06301b137">considering a proposal</a> that would allow Russian oligarchs "to buy their way out of sanctions," the Associated Press reports.The discussions include lifting sanctions on oligarchs who voluntarily give up their foreign assets or funds to be donated to Ukraine, according to the AP. <keyword id="6356687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada" source="Orion">Canada</keyword>'s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, offered up the idea at a <keyword id="11922736" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="g7" source="Orion">G7</keyword> conference in Germany last week, government officials familiar with the matter told the outlet.The <a href="https://deputypm.canada.ca/en/news/statements/2022/05/20/g7-finance-ministers-and-central-bank-governors-communique-may-20-2022">meeting</a> was attended by the the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors, the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Financial Stability Board (FSB). The Ukrainian prime minister and the Ukrainian finance minister attended virtually. A spokesperson for Freeland's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.The Canadian deputy prime minister started out her career as a Ukraine-based freelance journalist for the Financial Times and later wrote the award-winning book "Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else." As a foreign correspondent, she was able to meet some of the now-sanctioned Russian billionaires — one of whom she spoke with before pitching the proposal, an anonymous official told the AP. This isn't the first discussion of how Western governments could use the frozen funds and assets of sanctioned oligarchs to fund Ukraine's defense against <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>.The Biden Administration <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-plan-sell-russian-oligarch-houses-yachts-help-ukraine-2022-4">unveiled a plan</a> in late April that would create a new system for selling the seized assets to fund Ukraine's defense. As of now, there are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-seize-yachts-sanctions-putin-russian-oligarchs-legal-practical-problems-2022-3">complex legal barriers</a> that make it extremely difficult for the government to seize and sell an individual's private property, as Insider has previously reported.

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