In this episode, Karel Nierop explores the intriguing landscape of blended finance with David Kuijper, CEO of The Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) and Judith Santbergen, Fund Manager of the Hivos-Triodos Fonds, a blended finance instrument avant-la-lettre.

Kuijper explains what blended finance entails and how it is needed to get important transitions going, especially in emerging markets. Santbergen elaborates on Hivos-Triodos Fonds' ability to do smaller transactions, focusing on SMEs in high impact sectors in emerging markets. Tailored to meet investors’ requirements - be it fiduciary or regulatory - blended finance can open new markets and offer diversification.

Despite the difficulties in scaling up, both guests see strong opportunities for blended finance. Given the demographic developments with Europe ageing and declining in population while the global south is young and growing, combined with Europe’s enormous amount of pension savings, there is an urgent need to transition European private capital to emerging markets. Blended finance facilities can help change the direction of private capital flows, for example in sectors where blended finance has proven to work like renewable energy and resilient infrastructure.

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In this episode Karel Nierop sits down with Kayoko Lyons, Director of Investments at the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and Tim Crijns, Portfolio Manager Financial Inclusion at Triodos Investment Management to explore the world of financial inclusion.

Tim explains how microfinance works, why the actual risks are often lower than perceived, and how local economies show strong resilience. Kayoko shares her investment journey, highlighting the crucial role of financial services in economic development and encouraging new investors to be bold, start small and do something. Together, they discuss future trends, the role of technology, and the importance of maintaining a strong impact mission. The episode closes with practical insights into how investors can contribute responsibly to expanding global financial access.

More information about the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart: Welcome to the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus | Bringing Christ's love to the world

More information about the benefits of backing financial services in emerging markets: The benefits of backing financial services in emerging markets

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The geopolitical storm we are in has accelerated a development that was already visible for some years: a fierce backlash on ESG. In this podcast, Rosl Veltmeijer discusses the implications of this backlash with Lewis Johnston, director of policy at ShareAction and Triodos economist Joeri de Wilde. Together they analyse the events and circumstances that led to the ESG backlash and try to answer the question if we are witnessing a structural shift away from ESG investing or only a temporary setback.

Read Joeri's column 'No shift away from sustainability' here: BlackRock never really had sustainable ambitions, more and more citizens do

Find out more about the activities of ShareAction here: ShareAction | Harness the power of investment

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