PIDG named Development Finance Institution of the Year at IJGlobal ESG Awards

London, UK – The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) won Development Finance Institution (DFI) of the Year at the IJGlobal ESG Awards. The announcement was made at a ceremony held at Sheraton Grand, Park Lane in London.

With an international judging committee, these awards are designed to give organisations within the global infrastructure and energy community the opportunity to demonstrate how they have turned the dial on the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) front.

Marco Serena, Chief Sustainable Impact Officer at PIDG, said: “We work with public and private partners to bridge financing gaps, directing capital and expertise into projects that promote climate adaptation and resilience and sustainable growth. Uniquely, we operate throughout the lifecycle of an infrastructure project to reduce financial risk, transform markets, and build local capacity. This award recognises our pioneering approach to ESG and our leadership on sustainable impact delivery as an integral part of the range of solutions we offer – technical assistance, project development, debt and guarantees.”

PIDG as an innovative infrastructure developer and investor was able to demonstrate its ESG leadership with a wide range of projects delivered across Africa and Asia during the 12-month judging period.

These projects included:

• AquaOne – a USD 47 million guarantee as part of a bond issuance to build and operate a greenfield water treatment project (Vietnam)
• CEC Renewables – funding of USD 18.9 million as part of a USD 96.7 million green bond to develop a 136 MW solar plant (Zambia)
• Walo Solar – a USD 12 million debt commitment to build a 16MW solar plant and associated 10MW/20MWh battery storage system (Senegal)
• Dat Bike – a USD 4 million loan for the manufacture of 94,000 electric bikes, contributing to the growth of the domestic e-mobility ecosystem (Vietnam)
• Greenpower Rooftop Solar – a USD 12.08 million investment in a renewable energy platform to deploy rooftop solar on public buildings (Sri Lanka)
• Sonatel – a USD 39.2 million investment to anchor receivables securitisation of USD 125 million to fund this telecoms carrier in enabling 5G across 200 towers and 110,000 new household fixed broadband connections (Senegal)
• IDI Sao Mai – a USD 40 million guarantee for a green bond issuance to a leading sustainable fish export company, restoring fish stocks and providing market access for small-scale fishers (Vietnam)
• Dakar BRT – USD 50 million of debt and USD 10 million viability gap funding to launch Africa’s first fully electric bus network (Senegal)