SEB acted as Lead Manager when the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) issued a new, 750 million Swedish kronor sustainable development bond. The bond was issued as a private placement to Skandia, AP3 and Kammarkollegiet and marks the third IFAD issue arranged by SEB.
Through its Sustainable Development Finance Framework, IFAD channels investor capital into projects that help transform rural areas to make them more productive and prosperous, ultimately improving the food security, climate resilience, and livelihoods of millions of rural people around the world.
"This recent issuance demonstrates again how IFAD is successfully connecting with Nordic sustainable capital to direct funding to rural communities in the world’s poorest countries and deliver significant development impact,” says Ben Powell, head of SSA in Fixed Income at SEB.
He says SEB has now worked with IFAD on three transactions, underscoring a strong collaboration and ambition to scale investments that support smallholder farmers and climate‑resilient food systems.
The IFAD framework follows ICMA’s Sustainability Bond Guidelines and rests on four pillars: a clearly defined use of proceeds, a structured project‑selection process, transparent management of funds and annual impact reporting. Together, these elements ensure that investors can trace how their capital contributes to measurable progress.
Across IFAD’s portfolio, several projects illustrate how this approach translates into tangible impact. In Nigeria, a programme supporting young entrepreneurs and women in the Niger Delta is helping rural households build sustainable incomes. The initiative combines vocational training with access to finance and market linkages, enabling thousands of people to start small agribusinesses or expand existing ones.
In India, another project focuses on accelerating rural enterprise development by promoting climate‑resilient production systems. By supporting rural entrepreneurs, strengthening value chains and helping households adopt technologies that reduce climate vulnerability, the programme aims to create a more diversified and resilient rural economy.
A third example comes from Lesotho, where investments are helping smallholder farmers in mountainous regions improve productivity and access to markets. By expanding irrigation, improving access to inputs and strengthening agricultural extension services, the programme supports farmers in adapting to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate how IFAD’s Sustainable Development Finance Framework is reshaping the way rural development is financed. By combining the discipline of capital markets with a clear development mandate, the framework offers a model for how sustainable finance can deliver measurable social and environmental impact, while giving investors a transparent view of how their capital contributes to building long‑term resilience.