Development Finance
Institution

Spurring additional capital to advance the UN Sustainable
Development Goals

What we do

The J.P. Morgan Development Finance Institution (JPM DFI) was established in January 2020 to mobilize finance in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in emerging economies. The JPM DFI seeks to expand J.P. Morgan’s sustainable development-oriented financing activities by i) applying its impact methodology to assess the anticipated impact of transactions; ii) originating and structuring sustainable development finance transactions; and iii) identifying sources of capital interested in financing opportunities with measurable development impact. By supporting the origination and distribution of financial products to institutional investors, acting as investors or lenders, who are interested in financing sustainable development, the JPM DFI aims to build sustainable development as a traded asset class.

Annual reports

What we offer

The JPM DFI applies its impact methodology to assess transactions with public and private sector clients and official development institutions (ODIs) that may promote economic and social/sustainable development in countries eligible to borrow from the World Bank. In particular, the JPM DFI offering includes:

Impact
assessment

Using the JPM DFI methodology to assess the anticipated development impact of transactions and assist clients in communicating the expected contributions of their transactions towards advancing the UN SDGs.

Structuring

Creating scalable financing structures with the goal of catalyzing investment from both private and public sector investors.

Distribution

Identifying sources of capital that seek investments with both financial returns and sustainable development impact.

Our clients

Corporates and
sovereigns

As Development Finance Structuring Agent (DFSA), we assist corporate and sovereign clients in preparing disclosures of the anticipated development impact of their intended projects or activities in emerging markets. We provide a development impact assessment, a report that applies our methodology to the transaction, produces an intensity score, and provides a framework for reporting on the impact of the transaction over its time.

Investors

The JPM DFI assists investors to identify investment opportunities in transactions with anticipated contributions to the UN SDGs.

Official
Development
Institutions
(ODIs)

The JPM DFI collaborates with ODIs (such as national and multilateral development banks) on transactions with sustainable development impact. For example, J.P. Morgan may serve as a bond underwriter for the ODIs and may work with DFIs that act as an anchor investor in a transaction.

Insights

Podcast: Mobilizing development finance in Asia Pacific

Impact Disclosure Taskforce: Advancing the UN SDGs

How can sustainable finance make a global impact?

JPM DFI: Catalyzing sustainable developments

Mobilizing private capital toward sustainable development

Deals and
transactions

Learn about the deals the DFI team has led and the impact they are having in advancing and supporting emerging markets.

Financing Costa Rica’s future development

In 2023, J.P. Morgan acted as joint bookrunner and development finance structuring agent (DFSA) for the Republic of Costa Rica on two transactions. The country returned to the international bond markets in March 2023 for the first time since 2019, successfully issuing $1.5 billion — the largest-ever single-tranche bond issuance by the Republic. It then launched another successful $1.5 billion issuance in November 2023. By strengthening the budgetary support of the government, the two issuances are expected to support the outcomes designed by the country’s development plans.


Empowering last-mile delivery in Brazil

In September 2023, J.P. Morgan acted as lead coordinator and DFSA for a senior secured debentures offering in the Brazilian local debt capital markets. Mottu is a motorcycle leasing company and last-mile delivery marketplace headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. It aims to produce up to 20,000 additional motorcycles for lease, which is expected to create up to 19,560 courier jobs and up to 6,100 roles within the company. This is expected to enable the completion of up to 600,000 additional deliveries, bolstering the local Brazilian economy across various sectors.


Boosting affordable housing in Peru

In June 2023, Peru’s state-owned housing facilitator, Fondo Mivivienda (FMV), signed an agreement for a line of credit from J.P. Morgan — guaranteed by the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) — specifically for social and green mortgages. This is aimed at expanding access to affordable housing for low- and middle-income Peruvian families. FMV’s investment is expected to ripple through Peru’s real estate and construction sectors, creating jobs and strengthening the local housing infrastructure.


Driving green energy in Latin America

In November 2023, J.P. Morgan acted as joint bookrunner, sustainable bond structuring agent and DFSA for Grupo Energía Bogotá S.A. E.S.P. (GEB)’s $400 million sustainable bond, which will fund green and social projects in Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala and Peru. By 2030, GEB will expand clean energy transmission lines by 5,645 km and bring natural gas connections to 800,000 Peruvian homes.


Doubling down on sustainable soy production in Brazil

In June 2023, Brazilian soy processor CJ Selecta entered into a six-month, $10 million export pre-Payment facility with J.P. Morgan to support its export operations and manage its cash flows more efficiently. The company is committed to sustainability by using recycled materials and aiming for 100% deforestation-free soy sourcing by 2025. It is also doubling ethanol production from soy molasses to create biofuel, reducing emissions and pursuing carbon neutrality across its operations.


Accelerating Turkey’s low-carbon future

Turkey's Ministry of Treasury and Finance recently partnered with Rönesans Holding and J.P. Morgan to address transportation inefficiencies — including congested roads and a slow, diesel-powered railway — in Mersin, Turkey's second-largest container port. Together, they aim to transform the 286km railway into a high-speed electric line, highlighting the role that sustainability-minded financing can play in advancing economic development.


Contacts

Arsalan Mahtafar
Arsalan Mahtafar
Executive Director
Head of JPM DFI
+1 (212) 270 8088
Full bio
Allie Barry
Allie Barry
Vice President
+1 (212) 622 3185
Full bio
Mia Lu
Mia Lu
Associate
+1 (212) 622 3104
Full bio
>
Stephanie de Lesseps
Stephanie de Lesseps
Associate
+1 (212) 464 0173
Full bio
Daniel Rocha Correa
Daniel Rocha Correa
Analyst
Full bio
Jiten Wignarajah
Jiten Wignarajah
Executive Director, Development and Multilateral Institutions Coverage
Development and Multilateral Institutions
+44 (207) 134 7675
Full bio
Daniel Zelikow
Daniel Zelikow
Vice Chair
Chair of the JPM DFI Governing Board
+1 (212) 585 3758
Full bio

Contacts

Frequently asked
questions

The JPM DFI augments JPM’s existing emerging markets client offering by addressing the growing demand from institutional investors for transactions with credible impact disclosure and reporting. By applying the JPM DFI impact methodology, we help our emerging markets clients assess the anticipated development impact of their transaction and communicate that impact in a standard format to the investor community. Through increased investor engagement, we hope to create a “virtuous cycle”, whereby more emerging markets issuers recognise the benefit of setting clear sustainable development targets which can be measured and tracked. This improved disclosure from emerging markets clients should further support investor confidence and capital flows into sustainable development assets in emerging markets.

The JPM DFI does not have its own balance sheet capacity. The JPM DFI provides its services in conjunction with J.P. Morgan’s Commercial & Investment Banking (CIB) products. The CIB, among other things, originates and structures financial instruments for distribution/syndication to the ultimate institutional investors to such assets. The JPM DFI helps emerging markets corporates and sovereigns assess the anticipated development impact of their financing needs and identify institutional investors seeking to provide capital or risk mitigation products to projects and transactions with sustainable development impact. In doing so, the JPM DFI seeks to scale up the CIB’s origination of such transactions and accelerate the mobilization of capital to these investment opportunities.

In recent years, we have seen a growing interest in ESG and impact investing from all market participants. As the ESG wave grows, we have observed meaningful changes in behavior and increased interest in ESG products from investors (ESG-aligned funds), corporates (focus on ESG frameworks and targets) and commercial banks (public commitments). J.P. Morgan has also advanced its ESG strategy by forming new teams focused on climate change and sustainable development, and by announcing a $2.5 trillion target by 2030 to finance and facilitate transactions that address climate change and contribute to sustainable development. In 2021, transactions assessed by the JPM DFI accounted for the largest contribution to this target.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. The SDGs are 17 interconnected global goals and 169 unique targets aimed at ending poverty, improving health and education, reducing inequality, and spurring economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our natural ecosystems. While some of the goals (e.g., SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy and SDG 13 Climate Action) are directly aimed at mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change, a focus on economic, social, and environmental sustainability is a common feature underlying all of the SDGs.

This material (including market commentary, market data, observations or the like) has been prepared by personnel in the Development Finance Institution at JPMorgan Chase & Co. It is not the product of any Research Department at J.P. Morgan (“JPM Research”) and has not been reviewed, endorsed or otherwise approved by J.P. Morgan Research. Any views or opinions expressed herein are solely those of the individual authors and may differ from the views and opinions expressed by other departments or divisions of J.P. Morgan. This material is for the general information of our clients only and it is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument or as an official confirmation of any transaction or a recommendation for any investment product or strategy. All transactions (including potential transactions) presented herein are for illustration purposes only.

Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but J.P. Morgan does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. In no event shall J.P. Morgan be liable for any use by any party of, for any decision made or action taken by any party in reliance upon, or for any inaccuracies or errors in, or omissions from, the information contained herein and such information may not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of participating in any transaction. J.P. Morgan is not obligated to update any information contained herein or to inform you if any of this information should change in the future. The information contained herein does not constitute a commitment or undertaking by any J.P. Morgan entity to underwrite, subscribe for or place any securities or to extend or arrange credit or to provide any other services to any person or entity. All products and services are subject to applicable laws, regulations, and applicable approvals and notifications. J.P. Morgan is the marketing name for the investment banking activities of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (member, NYSE), J.P. Morgan Securities plc (authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA) and their investment banking affiliates.

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