Prime Minister Philip Davis introduced the Bahamas Sustainable Investment Program (BSIP) to the world yesterday during the Clinton Global Initiative 2023 meeting in New York yesterday. The company that will help to facilitate this fund, Resilience Capital Ventures LLC (RCV), explained that initially, the $25 million needed to startup the program will be financed through foundations, development partners, development finance institutions, and private sector investors.
The BISP, as explained by Davis, will raise US$500 million to help The Bahamas to develop climate-resilient infrastructure, clean energy projects, coastal zone conservation, projects to reduce biodiversity loss, projects dealing with regenerative agriculture, carbon sequestration, and participation in natural asset-backed carbon credit programs.
RCV said in a statement following the prime minister’s announcement that The Bahamas will maintain ownership of the direction of the BISP funded projects as the country draws on these multiple sources of financing.
“A unique feature of the program is the blended finance strategy that foregrounds a capital markets approach to financing and funding sustainable development,” RCV said.
“This is intended to be a smart partnership between a sovereign and a number of commercial and development partners.
“The Triple B Framework developed by RCV will serve as the foundation for guiding the strategy and its implementation as we navigate this tricky terrain.”
RCV explained that its Triple B Framework concept was created by Dr. Gillian Marcelle and focuses on three components, “bottlenecks, blind spots and blended finance”, that help to solve “sluggishness in capital growth and reduce misallocation decisions”.
RCV is described in its statement as a Washington DC-based “boutique capital advisory firm” that
specializes in blended finance.
According to RCV, the BISP will be an “ambitious multi-year investment and economic development program” that will position this country “at the forefront of sustainable investment trends” while providing socio-economic benefits to Bahamians.
The statement added that this initiative is in line with the government’s development goals for The Bahamas and for environmental sustainability.
“Once implemented, the BSIP will mobilize high quality investments that produce risk adjusted returns and positive social impact and adhere to global ESG (environmental, social, governance) standards and sustainability philosophies,” the statement said.
“This initiative will improve the attractiveness of The Bahamas as an investment destination, shifting the perceptions of global investors and bringing the domestic investment policy framework in alignment with global trends.
“The Bahamas with the BSIP will become a demonstration site showcasing what is possible when astute government leadership directs institutional development and facilitates private sector investment.”
