The International Finance Corp (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm, has invested US$150 million in a green fund managed by Indian private equity firm HDFC Capital, which is targeting a fund size of $1 billion.
IFC’s investment made it an anchor investor in the H-Dream Fund, which focuses on financing green, affordable and mid-income housing projects across India’s tier-1, and tier-2 cities.
IFC and HDFC Capital announced the investment in a joint statement on August 7.
The Indian firm plans to raise another $850 million from institutional investors.
“For India, housing remains a social imperative and has strong multiplier effects on the economy. The H-Dream Fund integrates sustainability with financing, which will go a long way in addressing the housing gap and build resilient communities,” according to Deepak Parekh, non-executive chairman of HDFC Capital.
He says IFC “continues to play a pioneering role in facilitating a greener and more inclusive India”.
According to Imad N. Fakhoury, regional director for South Asia at the World Bank arm, the partnership with HDFC Capital aims to set a benchmark for the future of urban transformation by empowering developers to issue green finance instruments and scale sustainable projects.
