Not much has captured the imagination of the finance and business community as much as Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG. Both investors and businesses have been enamoured by this phrase; a seemingly too-good-to-be-true scenario in which people can make money while changing the world for the better by factoring in certain ethical concerns into their investment choices.
Countries must end their reliance on coal and other fossil fuels and move towards a greener, more sustainable 21st Century. Although a challenging undertaking, the transition to a green economy provides particular promise for the Balkan region — and many projects are already on the way to delivering a cleaner economy.
Blended finance is an elegant concept – minimising the amount of money coming from taxpayers and taxpayer-funded, state-led institutions, and using it to create a safer, more stable destination for private capital.
The climate crisis is already here – and, although it should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, it is not a universal issue; in terms of its cause or effects. Unfortunately, many of the people who had the least to do with creating it will be the same communities experiencing the most pernicious of its impacts.
Banking, at its core, is a simple concept; however, today, it is a technological marvel. From business banking to consumer fintechs, it is awash in innovation. Artificial intelligence (AI), or its programmed and non-autonomous cousin, machine learning, are areas of particular promise.
With banks driving digital for the past two years, 2022 is set to be the year of sustainability. Given the shift in public awareness towards climate change and ESG initiatives, it's becoming more important for consumers to support companies they view as proactive in combating environmental and societal issues.
The world is now coming to terms with hugely disrupted supply chains, with new and increasing fears of just how fragile and wasteful the global manufacturing and distribution networks are.
At the end of 2020, international analyst house Gartner found that some 23% of organisations rely on supplier finance as a means of increasing cash flow.
As we move into 2022 and the fintech industry continues to grow, we see several trends that will help drive lending and disrupt the SME lending market. The latest AI and data analytics technology lie at the heart of these trends.
In positive news for the Western Balkans, The World Bank has revised the 2021 GDP forecast to 5.9% — an announcement made in late October...
