In 2024, IFU invested DKK 2.4 billion, an increase of 80 per cent. The investments focused on renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and forestry, health, and financial inclusion, and are expected to create 20,000 jobs and provide healthcare services to 33 million people.
In 2024, IFU invested DKK 2.4bn, an increase of 80 per cent compared to the previous year. The financial result was a profit of DKK 228m. This is shown in IFU’s annual report for 2024.
The investments were made in a number of companies within renewable energy, sustainable forestry and agriculture, as well as in health and financial institutions such as banks and microfinance. The purpose of the investments is to support the green transition and contribute to better living conditions for people in developing countries. The new investments in 2024 are expected to support employment equivalent to 20,000 full-time jobs, install 400 megawatts of green energy, provide healthcare and products to 33 million people, and contribute with local taxes in the region of DKK 2bn annually.
In a troubled world where several countries are reducing their involvement in developing countries, Denmark needs to do more. Therefore, we are very pleased that we have been able to increase our investments by 80 per cent in 2024. It is crucial that, despite geopolitical tensions, we continue to find worthwhile investment opportunities in developing countries, because sustainable development across continents is crucial for our common future.
A major reason for the significant increase in this year’s investments is that the Danish Development Guarantee Facility, managed by IFU, entered into the first two guarantee agreements for a total of DKK 746m. The guarantee agreements will help to mobilise more than DKK 3bn in additional capital for green and sustainable investments via the Asian Development Bank and for small and medium-sized local enterprises in Rwanda.
Doubling investments in Africa In 2024, IFU invested DKK 560 million in Africa. This is more than a doubling compared to the previous year. This is fully in line with the government’s Africa strategy, where Denmark must make a greater effort also through investments in the private sector.
Investments in Africa were made in areas such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and health. The latter includes an investment in MYDAWA, which will open 40 additional pharmacies and expand online healthcare in Uganda and Kenya with the goal of serving more than eight million customers annually.
Continues high engagement in Ukraine Despite difficult conditions, IFU continued to invest in Ukraine. A total of DKK 132m was invested in three companies, which include a Danish-owned production company, a large agricultural project and a bank that provides financing to small and medium-sized local companies. In addition, Danida Sustainable Infrastructure Finance (DSIF) awarded grants totalling DKK 235 million to several projects within district heating and wastewater treatment.
Our investments in Ukraine are important for the country’s ability, for example, to maintain jobs and exports at an exceedingly challenging time. We have therefore, among other things, expanded our office in Ukraine and will continue investments in 2025 based on allocation of funds from the Danish Ukraine Fund.
Climate footprint decreased by a third Nearly 60 per cent of this year’s investments are climate finance. For example, an investment in Africa to install renewable off-grid energy plants in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone, where many people do not have access to electricity. In addition, investments have been made in two forest projects in Latin America, both planting new trees in deforested areas and reserving land to enhance biodiversity. In addition, the forest projects also remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
IFU is continuously working to reduce the fund’s climate footprint, and the ambition is for the portfolio to be a net-zero emitter by 2040. This development is already underway, as IFU’s total CO2 emissions fell by 33 per cent in 2023, the most recent year for which figures are available.
We are very aware of our climate impact in all our investments, and it is a clear objective to continuously reduce our CO2 emissions from the portfolio. Therefore, I am very pleased that we have already come a long way in this development.
Among the world’s best impact investors In 2024, IFU was named one of the world’s best impact investors. This was based on an assessment against an international quality standard by BlueMark, a global leading agency in the field. IFU was placed on a leaderboard where only 15 investors were designated at the time.
Another significant milestone in the year was the launch of the Danish SDG Investment Fund II, a public-private collaboration to mobilise capital for sustainable investments in developing countries. The initial capital commitment to the fund is DKK 2.7bn from IFU and four Danish pension funds. The goal is to reach a total capital commitment of DKK 5bn by 2025. Based on experience from the first Danish SDG Investment Fund, the expectation is that five kroner will be mobilised for every public krone IFU invests in the fund.
Investments that make a real positive difference for climate and people are part of our DNA. Therefore, we are incredibly proud to be named among the best impact investors in the world. This is also an important enabler for us to mobilise additional private capital through the Danish SDG Investment Fund II and thereby contribute even more to a better world.
More than 180 investments that make a difference IFU’s active portfolio consists of 183 investments across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Their activities create a wide range of positive effects in the investment countries. They employ the equivalent of 388,000 full-time positions. They provide microfinance services to more than 20 million customers, 86 percent of whom are women. Healthcare to 1.3 million and supports the livelihoods of 1.4 million smallholder farmers. Finally, local tax payments amount to around DKK 7bn annually.
Read the Annual Report 2024 here
SVP, Communication & Marketing
Charlotte Holst Frahm
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