A strategic business plan

Swedfund’s mission is to invest in countries which, according to the OECD/DAC’s definition, are eligible for development finance. We prioritise investments in the least developed countries, while geographically we focus on sub-Saharan Africa and certain regions of Asia. 

Swedfund’s business plan is challenging and outlines a complex vision, with measurable indicators linked to the three pillars and on to the goals of Agenda 2030. 

The business plan identifies three sectors in which Swedfund focuses its development work. These sectors are Energy & Climate, Financial Institutions and Funds, and Health. It is in these sectors that we believe we have the best opportunity to bring about development and results in line with our mission.

We invest directly in companies and indirectly through financial institutions and funds, in order to increase the proportion of SMEs and promote entrepreneurship. We strive to achieve a good balance between equity, loans and funds in the portfolio.

Regardless of country, sector or instrument, our two thematic areas, climate and women's empowerment, permeate all our decisions concerning a potential investment and our value creation during the investment period.

A key part of Swedfund’s mission is to take risks, which goes hand-in-hand with the organisation’s business plan. Taking risks is also closely linked to our desire to be additional and catalytic, and to safeguard investments that would otherwise not take place. At the same time, Swedfund wants to lead the way for private investors and thereby increase the number of investments taking place in developing countries. The outcome will be the mobilisation of a higher proportion of capital for developing countries, which in turn will accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2030. We can achieve more and reach more people through partnerships. 

Read more: The business plan in practice, in our Integrated Report 2018, With a Focus on Humanity.