IFC announces $10m fund for small enterprises to boost climate resilience

The International Finance Corporation or IFC has announced a $10 million fund to boost climate resilience for Bangladesh's small and medium-sized enterprises.

The equity investment fund will help strengthen the SMEs' capacity to tackle difficulties arising from climate change, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The fund is part of the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund Bangladesh Ventures Fund or SEAF BV with support from the Climate Investment Funds-Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, which helps developing countries to scale up for climate resilience.

SEAF BV, launched by IFC and the Small Enterprise Assistance Funds in 2010, is mandated to invest in SMEs.

“IFC’s extended support over the years has been invaluable in the successful initiatives of the fund,” said Hubertus Jan (Bert) van der Vaart, CEO and co-founder of SEAF.

"Its engagement will also help the fund begin investing in climate resilience activities for small businesses, helping SMEs to cope better with the adverse impacts of climate change."

The IFC said it previously invested $12 million of equity into the fund to catalyse investment in high-growth SMEs.