When it comes to making investments that make a difference for both people and the climate, IFU can now call itself one of the best in the world. For the first time ever, IFU is included in BlueMark’s Practice Leaderboard.
BlueMark is the world’s leading rating agency for impact investments. They have carried out an independent verification of IFU’s policies, working methods and performance measurement.
Based on the verification, BlueMark has placed IFU on its leaderboard, where only 15 investment companies worldwide are represented.
“We are incredibly proud that our strategic efforts to create impact throughout the entire investment process are now recognised as being among the best in the world. It is a huge pat on the back and proof that commercial investments can make a decisive difference in developing countries,” said Lars Bo Bertram, CEO of IFU, and continued:
“As an impact investor and manager of pension capital, it is also crucial that we are able to document, measure and report throughout the investment process that the investments actually lead to positive changes. BlueMark’s recognition is an important endorsement of doing what we promise.”
Lars Bo Bertram, CEO of IFU.
As one of its investment activities, IFU, in cooperation with large Danish pension funds and private investors, has raised capital commitments of almost DKK 5 billion in the Danish SDG Investment Fund, which is now fully invested. For every dollar spent on Danish development aid, 5 dollars of private capital is mobilised.
A new report shows that the investments have contributed to the healthcare of 1.2 million patients in 2023 – primarily in Africa, improving the living conditions of 100,000 smallholder farmers and installing 1,800 megawatts of renewable energy, equivalent to approximately three times the size of Denmark’s largest operational offshore wind farm to date.
IFU is currently raising SDG Fund II, with an additional 5 billion to be invested in green energy and infrastructure, health, financial inclusion and sustainable food.
Based on international principles
The verification was based on the so-called OPIM principles, which are the global standard for impact investments. The standard is developed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank.
The Impact Principles are a framework for investors to design and implement their systems for strategic impact management, ensuring that considerations are integrated throughout the investment process. There are a total of 9 general principles that span defining an impact strategy, systematically and continuously measuring the impact and publishing documentation.
Facts about BlueMark
BlueMark is the leading provider of impact intelligence and independent verification for asset managers and investors working on sustainable impact investments.
BlueMark is the first player to develop a Practice Benchmark to measure best practice for impact investments. The benchmark is based on 30 impact verifications calculated on quartiles, which makes it possible to distinguish between impact leaders, practie median and practice learners.
Bluemark said about the verification of IFU:
The BlueMark Practice Leaderboard was created as a way to highlight those impact investors with best-in class impact management systems and practices. To earn a spot on the Leaderboard, verified investors must have ratings that score in the top quartile or above for each practice area.
To earn a place on the 2024 edition of the Practice Leaderboard, IFU received an Advanced score on four practice areas (Impact Objectives, Impact Due Diligence, ESG Risk Management, and Impact Monitoring) and a rating of High or Above on the remaining four (Portfolio-level Impact Management, Investor Contribution, Impact at Exit, and Impact Review). This reflects the top quartile scores in the 2024 version of BlueMark’s Practice Benchmark.
IFU outperformed this threshold on the aspects of the assessment focused on portfolio level impact management and investor contribution.
Leaderboard of investors 2024
- Bain Capital Double Impact
- BlueOrchard
- British International Investment
- Calvert Impact Capital
- Circulate Capital
- Circularity Capital
- Closed Loop Partners
- Developing World Markets
- Finance in Motion
- Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU)
- KKR Global Impact Funds
- LeapFrog Investments
- Nuveen Private Equity Impact Investing
- Schroders
- Trill Impact
Facts about IFU
IFU is Denmark’s development finance institution. IFU offers various forms of risk capital and loans to promote a sustainable private sector in developing countries. With more than 50 years of experience, IFU is the most experienced Danish investor in developing countries. Since 1967, IFU has made more than 1,300 investments in more than 100 developing countries and today has an active portfolio of 166 projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
In 2023, the government decided to reform IFU. The reform will increase IFU’s managed capital from currently DKK 15.5 billion to DKK 36.2 billion in 2030. Among other things, the reform will allow IFU to invest in many more development projects, and the objective is a significant increase in climate investments and investments in Africa and in poor and fragile states, including Ukraine.