Letter from the MB of the Fund Manager

Dear reader,

Without a doubt, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years for FMO and its customers. Amid the economic and social fall-out of the pandemic, the state funds under management by FMO played an important role in ensuring that our customers could stay afloat. We look back with satisfaction on our ability to deploy all tools at our disposal to keep the pipelines on track.

In 2021, substantial challenges and uncertainties remain. The pandemic aggravates existing challenges related to climate change, the deepening inequality-crisis and macro-economic precariousness. The public funds and facilities under management by FMO will continue to play their countercyclical role, generate impact on the ground and contribute to the creation of markets in which private finance can flow to those areas where it is most needed.

Despite the COVID crisis, the DFCD has continued to finance and support climate resilient businesses. Vulnerable groups and ecosystems in developing markets have benefited from this effort. DFCD’s unique Consortium structure has meant that the local offices of WWF, SNV and to a lesser extent CFM and FMO, can be used to continue with on the ground investigations whenever there are no significant local COVID-19 restrictions. This adaptive approach has enabled the Consortium to still execute upon a broad range of activities, with a sizable number of projects having been approved in the various investment committees.

We thank all our stakeholders for their continuous support, including our customers and investors, the Dutch Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, the NGOs that help us to improve and our colleagues for giving their best every day.

The Hague, 28 April 2021

On behalf of the Management Board

Linda Broekhuizen, Chief Executive Officer, a.i.
Fatoumata Bouaré, Chief Risk and Finance Officer
Huib-Jan de Ruijter, Chief Investment Officer, a.i.