73 posts found.
Selected Category: Africa
Woodland or forest?
Monoculture and plantation are terms that often are used when it comes to planting commercial forests. Indeed, planted forests are typically such of one or more species whose main purpose is to efficiently produce the raw material needed by the forest industry. Criticism towards planted forests is often related to issues of poor biodiversity, water […]
Read moreMarch 20, 2020
Finnfund finances development of high-quality hospitals in Egypt and Morocco
Finnfund supports the development of high-quality hospitals in Egypt and Morocco together with other international financial institutions. Finnfund’s share of the total 125 million US dollar financing facility is 18,75 million. Thanks to the financing Humania, a private healthcare company, will be able to expand health services and improve medical care in Morocco and Egypt […]
Read moreFebruary 18, 2020
Bringing together executives of Africa’s most promising, fast-growing agribusiness
Last week, the African Cheetahs Roundtable was held in Nairobi, Kenya. Development finance institutions FMO, IFC, and Finnfund brought together executives of Africa’s most promising, fast-growing agribusiness companies (the “Cheetahs”) for a thought-provoking, interactive two-day roundtable. Exclusively for this roundtable, Prof. Peer Ederer analyzed strategic challenges faced by Cheetahs and explored solutions with the participants. Based on his […]
Read moreFebruary 10, 2020
Financial service providers boost women’s careers and entrepreneurship
Finnfund invests 10 million euros in the Advans Group, an international microfinance group, and 10 million US dollars in Bank of Georgia, leading universal bank in Georgia. Both investments strengthen women’s financial and economic position, and qualify for the 2X Challenge, a G7 initiative to mobilise financing for women’s empowerment. Since 2018, the 2X Challenge […]
Read moreJanuary 28, 2020
Finnfund’s USD 10 million investment makes telecommunications in Lebanon and Guinea more reliable and energy-efficient
IPT PowerTech Group is an energy solutions provider combining specialized energy-efficient solutions with innovative telecom infrastructure. With financing from Finnfund, DEG, Proparco and European Investment Bank, IPT will modernize the energy supply infrastructure in Lebanon and Guinea. The hybrid solution utilizing solar panels and storage media will save up to 40% of energy and reduce diesel […]
Read moreOctober 9, 2019
Finnfund’s investment boosts the expansion of aquaculture in Zambia
Finnfund supports the expansion of Yalelo Limited, an integrated tilapia aquaculture company in Zambia with a 6 million US dollar equity investment. It is the first direct investment by Finnfund in Zambia. Yalelo is the largest aquaculture company in Africa, producing 12,000 tons of tilapia annually. With the investments from Finnfund and Dutch FMO, Yalelo […]
Read moreSeptember 16, 2019
Access to electricity – at any cost?
Sustainable Development Goal 7 aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. Some progress has been made but Sub-Saharan Africa remains a challenge. International Energy Agency recently published data showing that, for the first time in modern history, the global population without access to electricity is below 1 […]
Read moreAugust 21, 2019
Finnish investment helps close the education gap in Africa
Finnish development financier Finnfund is investing 7 million US dollars in Maarifa Education Group, a private tertiary education company operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. Maarifa Education offers high quality programmes in labour market relevant studies of medicine, business, IT, law, and social-sciences, complementing public universities which can educate only a third of all applicants. Despite the […]
Read moreAugust 14, 2019
Finnfund finances energy efficient solar power solutions in Nigeria’s banking sector
Finnish development financier Finnfund has signed a pioneering 5 million US dollar long-term senior debt financing to Starsight Power Utility Limited group. Starsight offers solar-diesel-battery hybrid generation and efficient cooling and lighting solutions to commercial and industrial clients throughout Nigeria. Starsight’s solution will cut the customer’s use of fossil fuels by up to 70% thanks […]
Read moreJune 10, 2019
The bank-in-phone wasn’t a joke after all
Many things changed when two Ethiopian friends opened their first bank accounts. It is evening in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Horse entrepreneur Eyob Lema carries in his pocket a 100 birr banknote, his earnings for the day. The sum equals to about three euros. Thirty-year-old Eyob Lema is a typical Ethiopian in the sense […]
Read moreApril 5, 2019