The Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, are proud to present the 2022 edition of the Transformational Business Awards, the leading global initiative that highlights and promotes ground-breaking, long-term private sector solutions to major development challenges.

This latest programme marks 17 years of collaboration between the FT and IFC on awards that have had a substantial impact on the way financial and non-financial organisations approach sustainable investment. The Transformational Business Awards are open to all private sector organisations, as well as NGOs that can meet the judging criteria. 

The aim across all categories is to recognise and showcase innovation, impact, replicability, financial viability and sustainability. The judging panel will look at how organisations are harnessing disruptive technologies and business models to achieve impact and scale. Entries are particularly welcome from organisations with initiatives that may provide solutions in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Special Award: Pioneer in Transformational Impact 
WINNER: LeapFrog Investments - Asia, Africa

LeapFrog invests in high-growth healthcare and financial services companies that provide products and services to low-income consumers across Africa and Asia. Companies LeapFrog has helped build include Goodlife, the largest healthcare provider in East Africa; ARM Pensions, the largest independent pension provider in Nigeria, and BIMA, the largest mobile micro-insurer in the world. LeapFrog companies reach 221 million people across 35 countries, growing on average 26% a year and generating over $2 billion in annual revenue. In the past year alone, they have paid out $533 million in insurance claims and $289 million in pensions to low-income people, disbursed $16.4 billion in loans and provided 23 million high quality pharmaceutical products.

Transformational Finance Solutions –
Impact Investing
WINNER: Camco-managed Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) - Sub-Saharan Africa

The Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) – managed by Camco Clean Energy -- aims to create a self-sustaining market for investment in small-scale renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa. REPP ensures risk-adjusted returns by creating a high volume of projects and adapting recognisable financing mechanisms to unfamiliar country and asset class contexts. Its innovative design allows it to take higher risks than other climate funds, enabling investment in innovative forms of energy in countries traditionally seen as unrewarding. To date, REPP has created 31 high-risk deals, crowded $113 million of private investment into de-risked projects, reduced CO2 emissions by 32,000 tonnes, and provided electricity to 700,000 people across 16 countries.

Transformational Climate Change and Technology Solutions
WINNER: KOKO bioethanol cooking fuel 
ATM network - Kenya

Most homes in sub-Saharan Africa rely on charcoal for cooking. KOKO Networks’ solution reduces carbon emissions while protecting Africa's forests. KOKO's low-cost two-burner stove runs on liquid bioethanol, a by-product of the local sugar industry. In local shops, 700 KOKO ATMs dispense fuel through cashless transactions into ‘Smart Canisters’ that come with the stove. This zero-emissions solution is 50% cheaper than charcoal. 230,000 Nairobi households have switched to cooking with KOKO since late 2019, saving 5 tonnes of CO2 emissions per household per year. By 2025, KOKO expects to serve 2 million households.

Transformational Finance Solutions –
Gender-lens Finance
WINNER: EcoEnterprises gender-smart venture fund for nature (EcoEnterprises Fund III) - Latin America

The initial EcoEnterprises Fund in 1998 was the first female-owned and led impact fund. Its third fund builds on its successful approach of focusing on women-led solutions to nature conservation and biodiversity challenges, working directly with investee companies in underprivileged communities in the Amazon and other areas of Latin America, in sectors such as regenerative agriculture, alternative forest products, circular economy and other emerging opportunities. The fund, invested by 33 private and institutional shareholders, has already provided nearly $60 million in capital, which has been committed by EcoEntreprises under the 2X Challenge, a broad initiative launched by DFIs in the G7 countries to raise billions of dollars for gender-lens investment.

The Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) invite you to register your interest to attend the in-person conference and award ceremony in London on 25 October. This is a great opportunity to network with like-minded individuals over a formal dinner and evening drinks reception. 

© Financial Times Live

FT Live and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice