IsDB launches $500m fund to support development start-ups

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is launching a new fund which will provide seed money to innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises. Its Transform fund, which has a target capital of $500 million, will run in tandem with a new online hub called Engage, designed to connect innovators to each other and assist them in developing their ideas. Both the platform and the fund will focus on projects related to six Sustainable Development Goals, namely greater food security, healthier lives, inclusive and equitable education, sustainable management of water, access to affordable and clean energy, and sustainable industrialisation across the developing world.