Guidelines for Child-Lens Investing in Debt Markets services for UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) invites qualified firms to submit proposals for the establishment of a Institutional contracts for Guidelines for Child-Lens Investing in Debt Markets. The Innovative Finance Hub (IF Hub), part of UNICEF’s Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division, was established in Helsinki to catalyze global capital in support of children and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its flagship initiative is Child-Lens Investing (CLI), an approach through which investors intentionally consider child-related factors to advance positive child outcomes while also minimizing child harm. Since the launch of the Child-Lens Investing Framework (CLIF) in September 2023, the field has seen growing interest and uptake among the investment community. CLI supports the mobilization of capital to ensure all children are healthy, educated, protected, and respected. It is designed for application across public and private markets, multiple asset classes, geographies, and investment strategies. A recent milestone was marked during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, when UNICEF and CAF - the development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean - announced the launch of LAC Future Bank, a landmark initiative set to mobilize US$5 billion over five years to reach 50 million children, adolescents, and young people across the region. Through this initiative, CAF becomes the first multilateral development bank to adopt UNICEF’s Child-Lens Investing Framework. A standout feature of LAC Future Bank is the first-ever application of CLI to sovereign lending, starting with pilot projects in partnership with select countries. Less than six months later, CAF announced the launch of its Children and Youth Bond Programme, a financing platform of up to US$1 billion and a core capital markets pillar of LAC Future Bank. The launch was accompanied by the successful execution of the programme’s first two transactions: a US$66 million private placement and a CHF 125 million public issuance in the Swiss market. Both transactions were structured under a common impact, governance and reporting framework aligned with CLI. While this initiative demonstrates the potential of CLI in supranational debt issuance, scaling and replicating such efforts in debt markets in general will require clear, widely accepted guidelines moving forward. To this end, one priority area of work is the applicability of CLIF to broad reference criteria for labelled debt instruments, such as bonds and loans. UNICEF is interested in exploring how such criteria and, consequently, guidelines could be developed both methodologically and practically. As seen with other thematic bonds and loans, the establishment of widely accepted reference standards would enable issuers to define what constitutes a credible child-lens labelled debt instrument, while providing investors with greater confidence that their investments align with recognized market standards. The proposed research project will develop a business and impact case and practical guidelines on the application of Child-Lens Investing to debt instruments. The output will provide both conceptual framing and practical tools for stakeholders in the debt markets to integrate a child lens into debt instruments such as bonds and loans. The scope of the study will cover all of the following types of instruments: social and sustainability use-of-proceeds bonds, sustainability-linked bonds, social and sustainability loans, sustainability-linked loans, and sustainability-linked loans financing bonds. Wide range of issuer and borrower types may be covered. The intention is to develop guidelines in cooperation with partners active in debt markets.