Development impact

Good jobs in rural areas, more clean energy, fighting deforestation and climate change, tax revenue and payments to developing countries. These are some examples of the various development impacts that are generated by the companies Finnfund finances.

Finnfund’s role is to promote economic and social development in developing countries by financing responsible and responsible private business operations.

Development impacts vary, depending on the investment – in some of them the main emphasis can be on job creation, while in the others the emphasis is more, for example, on the impacts of increasing energy production.

Development impacts are also examined from different levels:

the direct effects of the company’s operations (e.g. good jobs, increased electricity generation, improved infrastructure)
indirect effects of the operations (e.g. the benefits of contract farmers, fight against deforestation and biodiversity loss, lower electricity prices and increased reliability of energy production)
impacts in wider society (e.g. tax revenues and payments to the government, economic growth, climate change mitigation)

Often, companies also carry out various community projects with their local communities alongside their core business. Typically, these are projects are related to education, health, and water supply or sanitation.

This is particularly typical for companies operating in remote rural areas or areas which have been otherwise left behind.

Finnfund assesses and monitors the development impacts of the companies it finances always before the investment decision and during the entire life cycle of the investment.

Some of the key results are published annually on Finnfund’s Development Results (since 2017 available also in English).

In 2018, the companies Finnfund financed, generated

6,500 GWh

of clean energy

In 2018, the companies Finnfund financed, granted

6,000,000

mobile loans of which 32% to women

In 2018, the companies Finnfund financed, managed

870,000 ha

of sustainable forest – of which 815,000 ha FSC® certified

In 2018, the companies Finnfund financed, worked with

2,200,000

farmers – of which 88% were women

In 2018, companies sequestrated

517,000

tons of carbon dioxide (tCO2)

In 2018, direct investments supported

56,000

jobs of which 32% for women

More information about impact assessment and reporting

Development impact assessment

How does Finnfund assess and monitor development impacts?

Reports and publications

Interested to know more? Read our latest reports and publications.

Impact studies

Here you may find publications on development impact assessments, reports and other material.

Impact studies of investments and business sectors