Our Impact in Numbers
2022 shows us a remarkable resilience within our investment landscape
In the face of lingering after-effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 shows us a remarkable resilience within our investment landscape.
This year, we've witnessed not just a resurgence but also a pronounced shift in the economic contours of our portfolio companies and their partner institutions. From growth in the end-client base and increased economic activities such as remittances to greater reach in the agricultural sector and significant loan disbursements for healthcare and education, the landscape is evidently transformative.
Let's delve deeper into the annual impact numbers to get a clearer picture.
The overall end-client base within our portfolio companies grew by around 6% over the calendar year, with almost 40% of them based in rural areas and about half being women.
End-clients
Simultaneously, other areas of economic activity, like remittances, experienced a sharp rise in 2022, contrasting with the stable levels maintained throughout the preceding pandemic years. Additionally, there was a noticeable uptick in training activities among partner financial institutions (FIs) compared to previous years.
This heightened activity is largely attributed to several prominent FIs, which have significantly amplified their training endeavors, focusing on areas such as financial literacy and business development. Concurrently, there was a 30% surge in the staffing levels of portfolio companies relative to 2021, a figure that now surpasses pre-pandemic levels.
However, within this, the overall share of female employees dropped by 5% points during the same period. Similarly, small drops were also observed with respect to female representation in leadership roles within portfolio companies.
Within the sectors of Health, Water, and Sanitation, our diverse portfolio provides a broad spectrum of products catering to contraception, reproductive healthcare, menstrual health, and hygiene—encompassing items such as sanitary napkins, tampons, masks, and hand sanitizers.
A notable diminution in value was experienced, mainly attributed to the reduced production of masks and hand sanitizers post the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, in 2022, one investee achieved the sale of 11,520 menstrual health products.
Additionally, 2022 saw the integration of two new investee companies, significantly expanding the total customer base for entities providing advanced sanitation solutions. One specializes in proffering affordable toilet solutions in Southeast Asia, and the other is a distinguished waste collector in Cambodia, both enhancing the scale and impact of our sanitation initiatives.
Lastly, the financial entities within our portfolio have disbursed an increased volume of loans designated for healthcare and education, marking a significant uplift compared to preceding years, reflecting our continued commitment to fostering progress in these crucial sectors.
The overall number of customers of investee companies providing products relating to improved sanitation increased from 8,585 to:
Total emissions generated in t CO₂e:
As part of our commitment to best practice, and in keeping with the approach adopted by our partners at M&G, we have updated and improved our methodology around carbon emission calculations.
GHG emissions from our operations in 2022 were estimated at 324 t CO2e, encompassing both direct and indirect emissions with the latter referring to electricity, fuel and energy related activities, waste and business travel.
Sustainable Food Sector
Farmers reached
With respect to our impact in the agriculture sector, almost 1 million farmers were reached by portfolio companies.
Women
Of these, about 30% are women.
Additional Payment
On average, each smallholder farmer received an additional payment of USD 1,133 from portfolio companies for their produce, helping them augment their existing income.
Climate Finance Sector
Number of people provided with access to energy
Our impact in the energy access sector has notably grown, The number of people provided with access to energy has grown by 37.7%. This notable growth since 2021 comes from Energy Access (EA) companies increasing their sales significantly in 2022.
Total clean energy installed
The total clean energy installed by our climate impact funds has been relatively consistent since 2021, although due to the changing the calculation approach from cumulative to yearly values might show significant decrease in the overall picture.
Annual CO₂ emission reduction
Our climate impact funds continue to successfully reduce the GHG emissions through energy efficient and renewable energy projects. Just in 2022, almost 1 million tonnes of yearly CO₂ emission savings were expected from the projects reported during the year.
Financial Inclusion Sector
Our financial inclusion portfolio has become increasingly diversified with newer business models including lending fintechs (financial technology companies that leverage technology, data analytics, and digital platforms to provide various lending and credit services) entering our portfolio more recently. These tend to have lower operational costs.
Borrowers
Together these financial institutions catered to over 50 million borrowers, of which over 60% were women or women led-small businesses.
From rural areas
Overall, almost 50% of all borrowers of these financial institutions came from rural areas.
Direct jobs
On the employment side, our financial inclusion portfolio employs over 520,000 people, almost 40% of whom are women. They create over 60,000 direct jobs per year. We also estimate that their lending activities further help to create almost 70 million jobs indirectly through financing of upstream and downstream industries.