ADB’s Private Sector Operations Double Climate Financing as Transactions Hit New High

ON 05/30/2024 AT 10 : 01 AM

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) doubled to $1 billion the amount of climate financing from its private sector operations in 2023, with 75% of its projects including climate-related funding, according to the Development Effectiveness Report of Private Sector Operations 2023. Overall, ADB committed a record 40 private sector transactions worth $1.7 billion through its own capital resources, 54% higher than the previous year.

Long-term cofinancing with the private sector reached $3.4 billion, reflecting ADB’s focus on mobilizing private capital to address development priorities such as climate change. ADB realized $2.7 in long-term cofinancing for every $1 of its own private sector commitments, significantly more than the previous year’s $1.8 cofinancing ratio.

With the Japan International Cooperation Agency, ADB launched the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund 2 (LEAP 2), with capital up to $1.5 billion. This fund follows the success of the initial LEAP fund initiated in 2016, and provides cofinancing for high-quality, climate-resilient, and sustainable infrastructure projects.

ADB committed 25 private sector projects in frontier economies and new and challenging sectors in 2023—making up 63% of all projects for the year—as part of an ongoing effort to diversify its private sector operations. Its Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program facilitated over $4.7 billion through over 21,000 trade and supply transactions.

Projects committed in 2023 are expected to benefit 170,800 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), nearly 98,000 of them led by women. Agribusiness projects will support the livelihoods of nearly 77,000 farmers.

ADB’s active private sector portfolio has created over half a million jobs; benefited 36.9 million MSMEs, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 22.2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.