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Supporting investments in Nepal

About Invest for Impact Nepal

Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) is a ground-breaking collaboration between British International Investment (BII), the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It is a market-shaping initiative, the first of its kind, which supports foreign direct investment into Nepal. IIN aims to accelerate responsible and impactful investment into Nepal by supporting, catalysing, and collaborating with the financial intermediary sector in Nepal to achieve a step change in growth, environmental and social impact, and investment. 

Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are specialised financial institutions that are backed either by a single national government or by multiple governments and they invest with a focus on the development agendas of emerging and frontier markets through long-term financing. The prime objective of DFIs is to promote the sustainable economic development of countries by providing growth capital to key sectors together with technical assistance (TA) in areas such as environment, social and governance (ESG) standards.  

What we do

IIN was launched as Nepal Invests in February 2021 by BII, FMO and SDC. In its new phase (2022 – 2025), IIN is concentrating on a two-pillar approach focused on financial institutions (FIs) and funds. Activities will shape and build the markets of tomorrow in Nepal whilst maintaining a line of sight to investments. 

This approach will create concrete results for an improved financial intermediary sector that leads ultimately to increased investment to SMEs, increased impact on gender empowerment and climate-resilience, and to increased productivity, incomes and job creation in Nepal.

Our Activities

Our main activities will include:

1. Establishing an ESG support facility and Fund Growth Facility to provide deal-related technical assistance to FIs and funds. 
2. Promoting increased ESG understanding and building the ESG service sector in Nepal. 
3. Producing missing data and information needed for effective investment decisions. 
4. Supporting the emerging PE/VC industry and upskilling investment professionals. 
5. Promoting blended-finance partnerships with existing development partner and Development Finance Institutions activities in Nepal. 
6. Promoting inclusive investment from FIs and Funds. 
7. Engaging with regulators to better inform them about the reform agenda. 
8. Partnering and strengthening key investment market system actors. 
9. Engaging and fostering collaboration among investment ecosystem stakeholders (regulators, development partners, DFIs, FIs, funds and private sector actors) to create a conducive investment environment. 
1. Make regulations governing FDI in Nepal more navigable for DFIs
  • Identifying regulatory and policy obstacles, opportunities, entry points and missed DFI opportunities.
2. Explore alternative SME financing options
  • Mapping of current and potential alternative financing instruments that strengthen DFIs investment in collaboration with Nepalese private sector, DFIs, DPs and Nepalese funds.
3. Increase the capability of investment professionals in Nepal
  • Design and pilot investment professional development programme based on assessment of local talent development needs, benchmarked to other frontier markets.
4. Increase the understanding and demand for growth capital amongst Nepal’s business leaders and officials
  • Development and dissemination of information for increasing demand for growth capital.
5. Drive E&S that is standardized by DFIs and better practiced by companies in Nepal
  • Expand awareness of and commitment to E&S principles by key leaders in banking and Hydropower sectors.

Who We Are

BII, FMO and SDC are the managing partners of the initiative. This group comprising of DFIs and a DP complements existing efforts to attract more investment and advance the development of Nepal. They are channelling efforts to unlock the possibilities of investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation – helping to solve the biggest development challenges in Nepal.