Finnfund’s investment portfolio grew with a profitable result

Jaakko Kangasniemi, Finnfund’s CEO

Finnfund is a development financier and impact investor. Last year, the company’s investment portfolio grew from EUR 780 million to EUR 810 million. Finnfund’s investments, commitments and investment decisions totalled about EUR 1.22 billion at the end of the year. Africa remains Finnfund’s primary investment destination, accounting for 57 per cent of volume and 54 per cent of decisions.

These figures are presented in Finnfund’s Annual Report, which collates key information about Finnfund’s financial performance, sustainability, and impact.

“2022 was an exceptional year in many ways. Several simultaneous crises had global impact: the war in Ukraine, the coronavirus pandemic, political unrest and general economic uncertainty, inflation and, in particular, rising energy and food prices. This has also been strongly reflected in emerging markets,” says Finnfund’s CEO, Jaakko Kangasniemi.

“However, as a development financier, it is our task to be where we are most needed. Crises shape markets, yet they also offer opportunities. We’ve succeeded in operating profitably, exceeding our targets for new projects and, in line with our strategy, increasing both the size and impact of our investment portfolio. At the same time, we’ve kept our investment portfolio net carbon negative, that is, our investments sequester more carbon than they emit. We intend to ensure this in the future as well,” says Kangasniemi.

Finnfund’s 2022 Annual Report is now available.

Finnfund exceeded its target for new investments, making 28 new investment decisions totalling EUR 246 million. 92 per cent of these new investment decisions took place in lower middle-income and poorer countries.

Although the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and various political crises led the company to make a loss in 2021, the result for 2022 was profitable once again. Profit for the year totalled EUR 324,000, and all of it will be used to make new investments.

During the year, Finnfund also took major steps forward in developing and expanding its operations: the company opened its first regional office in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and successfully issued its first EUR 75 million sustainable development bond. This bond supports Finnfund’s objective of promoting sustainable development by offering investment opportunities to private investors and increasing the proportion of private capital in its financing to at least 50 per cent.

The Annual Report also collates the latest information (for 2021) about the impact of Finnfund’s investment activities at portfolio level. For example, Finnfund’s investee companies

• employed a total of 227,000 people, 37% of which were women
• generated a total of 5,300 gigawatts of energy
• cooperated with 5.6 million smallholders, 73% of whom were women
• granted 4.9 million loans (totalling EUR 10.4 billion) to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and
• provided digital services and infrastructure to 37 million people.

Finnfund’s investments also sequestered 250,500 tCO2e. This is the share attributed to Finnfund in accordance to its funding share, and is significantly higher than the emissions of the companies financed by Finnfund (similarly attributed). As a result, Finnfund’s investment portfolio was net carbon negative at -134,100 tCO2e.

Read more in Finnfund’s Annual Report.

More information:

Jaakko Kangasniemi, CEO, tel. +358 (0)40 577 7676, mailto:jaakko.kangasniemi@finnfund.fi

Kirsi Pere, Communications Manager, tel. +358 (0)40 620 9767, mailto:kirsi.pere@finnfund.fi (media contacts)

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 1.22 billion euros, half of them in Africa. The company has 100 employees based in Helsinki and Nairobi. For more information, please visit www.finnfund.fi