Press release -
Swedfund invests for improved access to financial services in Africa
Swedfund invests EUR 26 million in AfricInvest’s Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE), a platform designed to support financial institutions across Africa. The investment aims to increase access to financial services for underserved individuals and small businesses, with a focus on digital innovation, economic empowerment and inclusion.
Today, only a fifth of the African population has access to formal banking services. Limited access to finance restricts entrepreneurship, job creation, and the ability to absorb economic shocks. Swedfund’s investment addresses this gap by supporting financial institutions that are expanding outreach and developing inclusive financial products, especially through new technology and digital solutions.
- Our investment in FIVE further strengthens our engagement to improve access to banking and other financial services in underserved communities. This in turn spurs job creation and growth. We are also able to strengthen financial institutions and the development of innovative financial services, says Jakob Larsson, Senior Investment Manager at Swedfund.
Through FIVE, Swedfund will strengthen the capital base of select financial institutions across Africa, enabling them to grow and reach more clients. The investment also supports FIVE’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment, creating positive change within its portfolio companies and communities. By investing in a mix of traditional and digital-first financial service providers, including banks, insurers, and fintechs, Swedfund aims to catalyse more inclusive financial ecosystems, driving job creation and economic growth across the continent.
FIVE stands for Financial Inclusion Vehicle and was established in 2017 by AfricInvest. Other investors include the Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German and Belgian Development Finance Institutions as well as African multilateral development institutions and pension funds.
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About Swedfund
Swedfund is Sweden’s development finance institution with the mission to reduce poverty through sustainable investments in developing countries. Swedfund plays an important role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate. Swedfund shares the same goal as development cooperation in general, but the tools Swedfund uses are different. Swedfund has two instruments to fulfil its mission: sustainable investments in the private sector and technical feasibility studies through the Project Accelerator targeting the public sector.
Swedfund's investments contribute to the creation of decent jobs and increased access to essential products and services such as electricity and food. Swedfund is a long-term investor and is additional and catalytic through its investments and by mobilising private capital. Swedfund's feasibility studies support sustainable public infrastructure development, trade, and export opportunities for Swedish solutions.
We are part of Swedish development cooperation, and we measure and report all our results. As a state-owned company, Swedfund is managed by the Ministry of Finance and financed through portfolio reflows and annual capital injections for which the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible.
For more information: please visit www.swedfund.se/en
