Lending facility by a development or commercial bank or a microfinance institution that positively screens or actively encourages environmentally beneficial loans. The facility or fund may have specific requirements for loan approval or allocation in the form of environmental criteria and assessments. Criteria can include an identified sub-sector (e.g. climate change adaptation) or reference to certain best practices (e.g. via certification of sustainable agricultural/forest management practices).
Microsfere is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the livelihoods of rural people living around areas that are protected for their ecological value in developing countries, and notably in West Africa. Their first two projects are in Ghana, in the Kakum National Park and the Amansuri Wetland. One of the principle measures implemented by Microsfere is Social Microfinance.
Read more about Microsfere here.
Link to Guide entry:
Return-Based Investments —> Debt: Leasing, Bank Loans, Notes and Trade Finance