InFiNe De-Risking Working Group members share practical insights at Geneva summit
InFiNe organized a panel at Building Bridges 2025 in Geneva on their Solutions Stage to share the experiences of its members from the De-Risking Working Group. Philippe Guichandut, InFiNe’s Interim Director (04.2025-09.2025), animated the testimonies of five members focusing on risk mitigation mechanisms in inclusive finance, showcasing Luxembourg’s innovative approaches to catalyzing private investment in emerging markets.
Francesca Randazzo from LuxDev highlighted how the public sector and foundations play a crucial role in de-risking investments in emerging markets through first-loss capital, technical assistance facilities, and ecosystem development. Luxembourg’s government demonstrates strong commitment to creating enabling environments that attract private capital.
The Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF) presented by Innpact showcases how structured funds can effectively mobilize private capital. With $560M under management, the fund uses junior and senior shares from public actors like BMZ, IFC, OEB, and KfW to provide 60% protection for private investors, successfully attracting $220M in private investment.
Edouard Sers from Grameen Crédit Agricole shared how their partnership with Proparco’s ARIZ guarantee mechanism has allowed them to maintain presence in high-risk countries and finance small and medium financial service providers. A key insight: we need to extend de-risking mechanisms all the way to micro-entrepreneurs, not just to financial institutions.
Alejandro Vazquez Ortega from Camco IforD Management (formerly LMDF) explained their approach to managing currency risk through various hedging instruments. As an open-ended fund serving retail investors, LMDF absorbs expected depreciation costs while protecting against unexpected currency shocks.
Laura Foschi from ADA presented SSNUP, a technical assistance program supporting agricultural value chains. With €10M in technical assistance leveraging nearly €200M in investments, the program has reached approximately 1 million smallholder farmers. Technical assistance serves as a form of “adaptation investment” that reduces future risks.
“The Luxembourg experience demonstrates that effective de-risking requires collaboration across public, private, and social sectors,”
noted Philippe Guichandut.
“By combining various mechanisms: first-loss capital, guarantees, currency hedging, and technical assistance, we can mobilize significantly more capital toward inclusive finance and ultimately reach much more underserved populations.”
This session represents a milestone for InFiNe’s De-Risking Working Group, launched in February 2025. The working group has brought together more than 50% of InFiNe’s membership through multiple meetings, training sessions on concept alignment, and knowledge exchange activities, all building toward this international showcase of Luxembourg’s collective expertise.
Building Bridges 2025, held from September 30 to October 2 in Geneva, brought together sustainable finance leaders to advance the agenda through innovative solutions and collaborative dialogue.
Established in 2025, the working group aims to establish common understanding of de-risking concepts, facilitate knowledge and experience sharing, map existing initiatives, foster partnerships, and build foundations for Luxembourg-based de-risking solutions in inclusive finance.
Read our announcement prior to the event: InFiNe to Lead Session on De-Risking at Building Bridges 2025 Summit
Photo © Gabriela Eurice (e-MFP)
