Swedfund, Sweden’s development finance institution, has published its integrated annual report for 2023: Voices for Development Finance. With a growing portfolio, increased job growth and a continued focus on climate, gender equality and digitalisation, the report showcases the impact of Swedfund’s results from 2023.
The pandemic has caused a multidimensional crisis that requires a multidimensional response. In many cases, development is regressing, jobs are lost and poverty is increasing, with huge consequences for people in developing countries. Swedfund’s publication of its Integrated Report serves to highlight the challenges ahead, but also the opportunities that exist and our achievements so far.
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 value creation process has been developed on 40 years of experience of investing in sustainable businesses in the world's most challenging countries and describes how we best fulfill our mission.
Today, private sector is driving the development of Africa's economy by creating four out of five jobs and bringing together 33 per cent of Africa's GDP. For 40 years, Swedfund’s mission has been to fight poverty by investing in sustainable businesses in the world's most challenging countries. Job creation has always been the core of our work.
Swedfund is one of sixty investors who signed on to a new set of principles intended to bring greater transparency, credibility, and discipline to the impact investing market during the World Bank Spring Meetings.
Agenda 2030 is based on the premise that all aspects of sustainable development are interdependent and cannot be solved separately. This is what we want to describe using the equation: Everyone’s effort is required. Swedfund’s contribution is to build sustainable businesses where they are most needed.
To Swedfund, Agenda 2030 is a global equation. Our role in the equation is to finance and develop sustainable businesses in the world’s poorest countries. In Swedfund’s Integrated Report 2017 we report our results and our work towards the Global Goals.
Swedfund has been awarded the RI Award for Best Report by an Asset Owner: medium & small funds, for their Integrated Report at the RI Reporting Awards 2018, presented at RI Europe on Tuesday 5th June. The prize is given to institutional investment companies with transparent reporting. Swedfund was chosen among 2,500 world-wide reports.
An effective finance sector is fundamental for a country’s economic growth. By investing in banks and funds, Swedfund contributes to financial inclusion, job creation and sustainable businesses.
2016 is the first year on the road towards the global goals. It is the first year all countries are following a common agenda to root out extreme poverty and counteract the climate threat. Swedfund’s Integrated Report 2016 explains how we integrate the global goals in our business model and investment process.
For sustainability issues to be taken seriously, they must be integrated in corporate governance. As a development financier, we want to prove that it’s possible. That was the idea behind our Integrated Report 2013.
For the first time, Swedfund presents an integrated report that equates sustainability reporting with the financial statements and clearly describes the positive development outcomes as a result of Swedfund investments.