Washington – The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) today settles its USD 200 million Clean Cooking Outcome Bond, following pricing on December 5, 2025. The bond, due March 31, 2032, attracted over ten investors, some investing in World Bank Outcome Bonds for the first time, underscoring growing demand for outcome bonds. Across the six World Bank Outcome Bonds issued to date, more than 25 investors have participated, reflecting a steadily expanding investor base drawn to bonds whose returns are linked to measurable outcomes on specific projects. Geographically, participation was distributed as follows: North America 46%, Europe 40%, and Africa, Asia and the Pacific 14%.
The bond is 100% principal protected with the USD 200 million proceeds supporting the financing of the World Bank’s sustainable development activities globally. Investors will receive a fixed return that is lower than the ordinary return earned by investors in regular World Bank bonds of similar maturity. An amount equal to the remaining return that would otherwise have been paid to investors will be “frontloaded”, through a hedge transaction with Standard Chartered Bank, and channeled to support the distribution and use of cleaner cooking stoves in Ghana by UpEnergy, a carbon project developer. In addition to the fixed rate return, investors can earn a variable return linked to the sale of carbon credits expected to be generated from these activities.
The Clean Cooking Outcome Bond responds to increasing investor interest in delivering measurable social and environmental impact through fixed-income instruments. Building on this successful transaction, the World Bank continues to develop its pipeline of outcome bond transactions designed to replicate and refine prior structures. Notably, this bond also marked the first participation by an African investor in an outcome bond. The World Bank’s leadership in sustainable capital markets continues to be welcomed by the following investors in the Clean Cooking Outcome Bond: Mackenzie Investments, Nuveen, Rathbones, RBC BlueBay Asset Management, Skandia, and Velliv, as well as by additional investors participating in the transaction, including Fidelity, Legal & General, and ZepRe (quotes in alphabetical order):
“We are delighted to support the World Bank’s new Clean Cooking Outcome Bond through our sustainable fixed income fund range, including our flagship Climate Transition and Social Bond strategies. This innovative, outcome-linked structure aligns with our commitment to mobilising capital towards impactful sustainable solutions, helping expand access to cleaner cooking technologies for households in Ghana while contributing to meaningful emissions reductions. We are always proud to back transactions which are driving innovation in sustainable fixed income investing and demonstrate how financial innovation can deliver measurable development and investment outcomes,” said Kris Atkinson, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at Fidelity International.
“This marks L&G’s first outcome bond investment, and we’re proud to partner with the World Bank and Standard Chartered to support an important cause. Harmful cooking practices impact health, the environment, and livelihoods, yet the Clean Cooking Alliance estimates a USD 8 billion funding gap to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2030. Through our Nature & Social Outcomes strategy, we invest on behalf of our Defined Contribution members, demonstrating how pension capital can deliver measurable social impact while generating positive returns for retirement members,” said Jake Harper, Senior Investment Manager, Asset Management, Legal & General.
“Mackenzie Investments is proud to partner with the World Bank on the Clean Cooking Outcome Bond. This innovative transaction, which helps fund the mass distribution of electric and improved charcoal cookstoves in Ghana, helps reduce emissions and represents a meaningful step forward in scaling the global adoption of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. By directly linking investor capital to measurable climate outcomes, the bond advances multiple sustainable development goals while delivering a compelling risk-adjusted return profile. Mackenzie is confident that the bond’s combined environmental and investment attributes will generate strong value for both society and our clients,” said Hadiza Djataou, Vice President & Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income, Mackenzie Investments.
“We are pleased to participate in this innovative transaction given its attractive relative valuation, strong verification process and comprehensive impact reporting alongside industry leading partners. We are especially excited to support the operationalization of Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement by investing in a transaction that will create high-quality Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), helping Ghana and Switzerland collaborate to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the accord,” said Stephen M. Liberatore, CFA Head of ESG/Impact, Global Fixed Income, Nuveen.
“The Rathbone Ethical Bond and Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond funds are pleased to support the World Bank on another outcome bond. The new innovative structure offers principal protection from the World Bank, and at the same time supports the funding to clean cooking projects in Ghana through the frontloaded portion of the coupon, generating carbon credits, Rathbones continue to support bond structures that are ways of dealing with the Anthropocene,” said Bryn Jones, Head of Fixed Income, Rathbones Asset Management.
“Our investment in the World Bank Clean Cooking Outcome Bond is another tangible example of how the fixed income markets are evolving and facilitating opportunities to direct capital to impactful initiatives. In this case improving the everyday lives for many people in Ghana; funding programs specifically targeted at replacing polluting stoves and fuels with modern, cleaner cooking solutions at scale. For us, this is a natural evolution of the ‘outcome bond’ structures we have historically invested in, such as biodiversity and reforestation – retaining principal protection and a clear risk/return profile, while explicitly linking part of the economic value to real‑world development outcomes,” said Harrison Hill, Impact-Aligned Bond Strategy Portfolio Manager, RBC BlueBay Asset Management.
“By being part of this transaction, we deploy capital where it makes most impact. We are actively supporting innovative projects that have real environmental and social outcomes. Financial performance and responsibility go hand in hand, creating value that extends beyond traditional returns,” said Alexander Onica, Head of Fixed Income and FX, Skandia.
“Velliv is very pleased to support another impact investment through the World Bank’s innovative outcome bond structure. The World Bank Clean Cooking Outcome Bond will provide cleaner and more fuel-efficient cookstoves for the local population of Ghana in order to support the country’s energy transition and displace polluting and inefficient cooking practices. In addition, the bond will provide an attractive risk-adjusted return for our pension savers,” said Lea Vaisalo, Chief Investment Officer, Velliv Pension.
“ZEP-RE is proud to be the only African investor in the World Bank-backed Clean Cooking Outcome Bond focused on Africa. This innovative Outcome Bond allows us to invest our capital where it can make the most impact on development: shifting to clean cooking helps safeguard the environment, produces measurable climate benefits, advances Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”), transforms lives by enhancing health, particularly for women. It empowers women, and enables them to gain economic resources, both time and money. We are honoured to contribute to outcomes that strengthen the continent’s resilience.” said Hope Murera, Managing Director & CEO of ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company).
