Ashmore Group plc (“Ashmore”), the specialist emerging markets investment manager, has been awarded a scoping grant by Global Affairs Canada, a department of the Government of Canada, and Convergence, the global network for blended finance, to accelerate development of a potential USD 500 million private debt strategy. The initiative builds on Ashmore’s Impact Debt capability and expertise in EM corporate and sovereign debt.

Ashmore and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have agreed a partnership to develop the proof-of-concept private debt strategy. This partnership builds on the EBRD’s Private-Public Taskforce for Mobilisation, which aims to increase private sector investment in emerging markets, particularly through the development of more innovative and standardised investment solutions.

The grant has been awarded under Convergence’s Blended Finance Accelerator for Fund Managers (A4FM)¹, an initiative designed to support the development of scalable solutions structured to attract private institutional capital into underserved markets. The strategy under exploration is intended as a proof-of-concept to help address four market challenges:

• limited financing for the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• financing gaps above development bank capacity
• low institutional investor exposure to private markets in low- and middle-income countries
• a lack of simple, replicable, scalable structures suited to institutional investors

Ashmore’s and the EBRD’s scoping work for the strategy will assess whether a structure can be developed to mobilise capital from pension funds and insurance investors² into emerging markets through a diversified portfolio of impact-oriented private debt. As part of the scoping phase, Ashmore will evaluate key structuring elements of a potential strategy, including portfolio construction, credit considerations, investor requirements and potential pathways to scale, with support from Convergence and the EBRD.

Simon Cooke, Head of Impact Debt at Ashmore Group, said: “We are delighted to be selected by Convergence to explore the opportunity of mobilising institutional capital into impact-oriented private debt in emerging markets. This work builds on Ashmore’s long-standing experience in EM debt and our focus on scalable approaches to mainstreaming impact investing. We are also looking forward to working with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on the development of a proof-of-concept strategy. The grant enables us to assess whether a structure can be developed that meets institutional requirements for risk-adjusted returns, while delivering measurable development outcomes.”

Christian Kleboth, Head of Debt Mobilisation at the EBRD, said: “In order to achieve the required scale, we need to develop comprehensive market solutions investable for large investors. Our partnership with Ashmore aims to do just that – crowding in long-term private capital to expand the funding available to businesses and projects across emerging economies. This partnership is a major outcome of the EBRD’s Private-Public Taskforce for Mobilisation, and we look forward to using this work to support joint MDB efforts, including through the MDB Originate-to-Distribute working group.”

Leah Pedersen, Senior Director at Blended Finance Accelerator, said: “We are pleased to support Ashmore through the A4FM initiative as they explore the development of a scalable private debt strategy for emerging markets. This collaboration highlights the important role that multilateral development banks and private asset managers can play together in mobilizing institutional capital at scale. By supporting the scoping and structuring of this approach, we aim to help validate a replicable model that meets investor requirements while addressing critical financing gaps across underserved markets.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About Ashmore

Ashmore is a specialist Emerging Markets investment manager that has successfully managed its clients’ capital for more than 30 years. The business was founded as part of ANZ in 1992, became independent in 1999 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006. As of 31 March 2026, it manages $50.7 billion which is diversified by investment theme and by client. It is headquartered in London and has a network of 12 international offices, in Colombia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UAE and the United States of America.

About Convergence Blended Finance

Convergence is the global network for blended finance. Through its Blended Finance Accelerator programs, Convergence supports practitioners with grant funding, technical assistance, and market intelligence to design and launch innovative investment solutions that mobilize private capital for sustainable development.

About the EBRD

The EBRD is a multilateral bank that promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 40 economies across three continents. The Bank is owned by 77 countries, as well as the EU and the EIB. EBRD investments are aimed at making the economies in its regions competitive, well governed, green, inclusive, resilient and integrated.

For further information please contact

Cardew Group
ashmore@cardewgroup.com
Henry Crane: +44 (0)7918 207157
Will Baldwin-Charles: +44 (0)7834 524833

1. Project/activity/work undertaken with the financial support of Convergence. ↩
2. Industry initiatives, including the EMDE Investor Taskforce and the EBRD Private-Public Taskforce, in which Ashmore participates, have highlighted both the limited allocation of institutional capital to climate and impact investments in emerging market public markets and the particularly low exposure to private market assets. ↩