First investors in African Forestry Impact Platform announced

New Forests, British International Investment (BII), Norfund and Finnfund, have signed subscription agreements for their investment in a dedicated African fund, the African Forestry Impact Platform (AFIP), for US$200 million, and announced AFIP’s first acquisition, Green Resources, East Africa’s largest forest development and wood processing company. This follows an announcement at COP26 around an intention […]

October 20, 2022

Sampsa Auvinen: Crisis is reshaping the global plywood market

Sampsa Auvinen

Can this be true? A modern factory producing high-quality FSC-certified plywood in Ghana? When I showed European buyers at the Dubai Woodshow exhibition in March pictures of the factory in Ghana, many found them hard to believe. Preconceptions are hard to break. I myself believe that this is just the beginning. The war in Ukraine […]

October 19, 2022

Finnfund invests in Wave, a mobile money provider bringing affordable services to Sub-Saharan Africa

Finnfund’s investment is a part of a financing package arranged by IFC. Other investors are Symbiotics, Blue Orchard, responsAbility, Lendable and Norfund. Mobile money service increases financial inclusion. The LDC countries where Wave operates record some of the lowest account penetrations globally and Wave’s service gives the customers access to affordable accounts and payment services […]

July 25, 2022

Citrus and fresh-produce exporter Lona Group uses expansion capital to make the business more climate resilient

Phatisa, together with a consortium of leading development finance institutions, has acquired a significant minority stake in South African-based citrus and fresh-produce exporter, Lona Group, for an undisclosed sum. The investment will be used as expansion capital. The DFI co-investors are British International Investment (“BII” – formerly known as CDC Group), Norfund, and Finnfund – […]

May 23, 2022

Fast-growing agribusiness companies in Africa excel in resilience, innovation and harnessing technology to increase productivity

Johanna Raehalme

It’s been two years since Finnfund, FMO and IFC arranged the first ever African Cheetahs event, bringing together the “Cheetahs”, executives of Africa’s most promising, fast-growing agribusiness companies. So much has changed since then: we have all made our way through two years of challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic and these years have not only […]

May 18, 2022

Finnfund invests in Valency International to foster sustainable cashew production in Côte d’Ivoire

Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and an impact investor, announces today a USD 10 million debt facility commitment to Valency International Trading SARL, a Valency International Group company. Valency International Group is a diversified, integrated supply chain manager in agri commodities and agri inputs with subsidiaries in 15 countries. With the funding provided by Finnfund, […]

April 15, 2022

SDG 5: A telecommunications operator’s best practices for promoting gender equality

June Hossel Delfaud

Sustainable development means ending discrimination towards women and providing equal opportunities for education and employment. According to the experts, gender equality and women empowerment has been conclusively shown to stimulate economic growth, which is fundamental, especially in countries with higher unemployment rates and less economic opportunity. Founded in 2010, BCS is a wholesale telecommunications operator […]

February 10, 2022

Finnfund opens its first regional office in Nairobi, Kenya

CEO Jaakko Kangasniemi: “Africa is the place to be for European development financiers” The Finnish development financier and impact investor Finnfund will open its first regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2022. Finnfund seeks to build a sustainable future and generate lasting impact by investing in businesses in developing countries that solve global development […]

February 9, 2022

OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I invests in CIM Santé Group to support the development of the private healthcare sector in Morocco

OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I, the first Finnish global emerging markets impact fund has invested USD 10 million in equity in CIM Santé Group, a leading Moroccan private healthcare group. Through this investment, OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I aims to foster the development of Morocco’s healthcare sector, accessibility to quality care, and support […]

November 5, 2021

OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I investit dans le Groupe CIM Santé pour accompagner le développement du secteur de la santé privée au Maroc

OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I, le premier fonds finlandais d’impact sur les marchés émergents mondiaux, a investi 10 millions de dollars dans le capital du Groupe CIM Santé, un groupe marocain de premier plan opérant dans le secteur des soins de santé. Grâce à cet investissement, OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I vise à […]