Uxolo Development Finance Pathfinder Awards 2024: Raise up
Uxolo's awards recognise innovation and effort in putting development capital to work, but also the strides that DFIs, MDBs and impact investors have made in raising that capital.
There's an acute understanding within the development finance community that scaling up the resources available is as important as how DFIs, MDBs and impact investors put those resources to work. There has been solid and painstaking work over the last few years on hybrid capital structures that might free up MDB and DFI balance sheets. But raising financings either for specific purposes, or through funds specific purposes, enjoyed a real moment of popularity in 2024.
In Uxolo's Development Finance Pathfinder Awards 2024, hybrid capital, an outcome bond, and two funds are represented among the winners, as are two ground-breaking ways that DFIs can mobilise capital for climate- and social-friendly purposes. For more on our winners, please follow the links to our coverage of these projects and transactions. And stay tuned to hear more from our winners at Uxolo Global 2025: Development & Impact Finance, in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 10-12 June 2025.
Fundraising of the Year
African Development Bank Hybrid Capital Issue
This was the first ever hybrid capital issue by a multilateral development bank and offers up a new way of making MDB capital go further. This $750 million perpetual 10.5-year non-call issue attracted $6 billion in orders - and instant respect from other MDBs.
Outcome bond of the Year
World Bank Amazon Reforestation-Linked Bond
The World Bank's largest outcome-based bond to date gave investors exposure to the success of reforestation efforts led by Brazil's Mombak. This rewards investors based on carbon removed from the atmosphere - not just avoided emissions.
Mobilisation of the Year
This second securitisation of tariff stabilisation receivables covered virtually the entire Chilean generating market, and was one of the largest mobilisations of private capital in the IDB's history. The deal set rating and pricing benchmarks, despite reducing its dependence on guarantees from the Chilean sovereign.
Transition Financing of the Year
GIP's Atlas Renewable Energy proved the value of corporate PPAs in mobilising capital for renewables investments in Colombia. And IDB Invest proved the value of long-dated MDB financing.
Debt Fund of the Year
Acre Impact Capital Export Finance Fund 1
Acre broke ground in closing the first ever impact fund devoted to export finance debt, targeting uncovered loans to African borrowers. The EIB, IDC, FSD Africa, UK Aid Direct, Ceniarth and Trimtab came into the $100 million fund, on top of Acre's founding backers PIDG and the Rockefeller Foundation. It immediately put that funding to work - participating in a financing for a 400-bed hospital programme in Angola.
Impact Fund of the Year
Helios reached a $200 million first close on the CLEAR fund after a two-year fundraising process. The fund is designed to be the largest Africa-focused climate finance vehicle, and attracted commitments from six DFIs and DFI-managed funds. The fund features commitments from British International Investment, the EIB, the Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund, FMO, and the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets.
Climate Fund of the Year
ADB Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific
The ADB's IF-CAP is designed to turn $2.5 billion in guarantees into $11 billion in financing using a first of its kind leveraging mechanism. The structure is designed to be scaled and replicated, and minimise demands on MDBs' capital resources.
