Andrew Steer, the CEO of the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, has called for changes to the international financial world to allow more creativity and ensure the planet’s future.
Steer spoke at the Reuters IMPACT conference in London. He nodded to changes at the World Bank made by new CEO Ajay Banga - including the expansion of its climate change and hunger programmes - but argued that so much more could be done. He told the audience: "They [Bankers] can't do anything revolutionary, but my goodness me, they could do some pretty important things. They could take more risks but also they can be willing to have, if you like, a slightly different place in the capital stack."
Steer also spoke of how funds like his could serve a role in getting projects to market when they carry a risk.
The Earth Fund was created by Jeff Bezos in 2020 with the plan of disbursing all of its capital in a decade. To date, it has distributed around 200 grants totalling nearly $2 billion.
