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Dear all,
Did you know that more than a third of the world’s population lives without any access to the internet?
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Through our funding, we aim to increase the number of people using the internet and the number of online services, as well as make the internet cheaper, faster, and more reliable. This contributes to solving many global challenges and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Connecting the unconnected stays at the core of our new strategy; digital infrastructure and solutions continues to be one of our key sectors.
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This will directly benefit also our investee companies in other sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and education. Smart business, positive impact.
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As further explained in this blog post, despite the political and economic turmoil, the outlook for the rest of the year remains cautiously optimistic. Many of our target countries are facing economic challenges, but simultaneously, challenging times create new opportunities. Finnfund actively looks for new, innovative investment opportunities and works closely with our current partners.
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We are also developing new investment vehicles and frameworks to offer institutional investors and other impact-driven financiers opportunities to invest alongside and through Finnfund. Mobilising finance for sustainable development is at the core of our mandate and strategy.
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As you may read in this newsletter, we have made exciting new investments in digitalisation as well as taken, once again, important steps to develop our impact and sustainability work even further. This is what impact investing is all about. As my colleague Kaisa Alavuotunki says, being an impact investor involves continuous development, rigorous assessment of the rapidly evolving investment landscape, and close collaboration with our stakeholders to foster sustainable businesses. As my colleague Kaisa Alavuotunki says, being an impact investor means constant development, assessment of the rapidly changing investment environment, and, of course, close cooperation with our stakeholders.
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Hanna Loikkanen
Chief Investment Officer, Finnfund
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P.S. We wish you find this quarterly newsletter useful. Should you wish to receive this newsletter in the future but have not yet joined our subscribers, please click here. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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Investment decisions and disbursements in Q2/2024
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Finnfund invests in CREI to improve mobile connections in South Sudan
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The project is expected to benefit over 2 million people by enhancing the reliability of the connection in a country that has the world’s poorest mobile connection. Read more
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New policy statement guides Finnfund’s investment activities in strengthening natural values and biodiversity
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Finnfund has adopted a statement that brings together the principles and goals based on which it strives to strengthen the well-being and diversity of nature and to mitigate possible nature and biodiversity risks. Read more
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The first half of the year was marked by active origination. Finnfund made 13 new investment decisions, reaching a value of EUR 116 million. The outlook for this financial year remains optimistic, writes Olli Sinnemaa. Read more
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OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I invests in TerraPay
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OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I invests in TerraPay to boost access to affordable remittances and support livelihoods and business activity in countries across Africa. Read more
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A summer at Finnfund: Learning about communication cultures, measuring impact and creative thinking
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Relaxed’ and ‘ambitious’ are the first words that the four summer trainees choose when asked to describe the Finnfund work community. Read more
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BLOG – "This spring and summer, bees were again very few in my garden, and alarming news about declining species populations, 69% on average, made it to the headlines. Everywhere I’ve been to, I see signs of human influence and habitat conversion," writes Anne Valto, Senior Development Impact Advisor at Finnfund.
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In less than two months global leaders are gathering in Cali, Colombia, for COP 16 to discuss and advance targets and objectives of the Global Biodiversity Framework. One of the key topics in discussion will be financing for the implementation. Since COP 15, Finnfund has been working hard to contribute to the global biodiversity targets. In August, Finnfund adopted its first Nature and Biodiversity Statement.
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"The statement brings together the guiding principles and goals based on which Finnfund strives to protect and strengthen the well-being and diversity of nature and to mitigate possible nature and biodiversity risks in its investment activities."
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Building digital infrastructure and developing digital solutions can contribute to solving many global challenges. Infrastructure investments are needed to enable access to basic mobile services and more affordable and higher speed internet connections across Finnfund’s target regions. This contributes to inclusive growth: World Bank estimates that a 10% increase in mobile internet penetration translates to 2.5% increase in GDP.
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Digital infrastructure and solutions is one of our key sectors. For example, in 2023, thanks to companies we finance, 153 million people were reached and served through digital solutions and infrastructure.
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Would you like to know more?
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Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and impact investor. We build a sustainable future and generate lasting impact by investing in businesses that solve global development challenges. We invest 200–250 million euros in 20–30 companies in developing countries each year. Our focus sectors include renewable energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture, financial institutions, and digital infrastructure and solutions. Today Finnfund’s investments, commitments, and investment decisions total about 1.23 billion euros, half of them in Africa. The company has 97 employees based in Helsinki and Nairobi. For more information, please visit www.finnfund.fi
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