GRI general disclosures

Supporting women’s economic empowerment (SDG5) through investments that contribute to the inclusion of women

We consider gender equality as both a human right and a means to reach sustainable people-centered growth. We aim to contribute to the achievement of SDG 5 seeking Gender Equality and empowering all women and girls. We aim to assure women’s rights, to understand the gender-specific impacts of our investments where relevant and to ensure women and men enjoy equal economic opportunities. We actively seek investment opportunities that positively contribute to the full inclusion of women in economic, social and public life.

Contributing to decent work and economic growth (SDG8) by investing in our focus sectors: Agribusiness, Energy and Financial Institutions

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Improving the lives of all people is only possible if the world’s economies are able to create stable and fairly paid jobs, something FMO focuses on through its investments.

Reducing inequality (SDG10) by investing in least developed countries, fragile states and inclusive business

We aim to reduce inequality. On the one hand we prioritize specific regions and countries where development impact is needed most. LDCs are countries identified by the United Nations as “low-income countries confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development. They are highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets.” On the other hand we provide finance to inclusive business. Inclusive business expands access to goods, services and livelihood opportunities on a commercially viable basis to people at the Base of the Pyramid by making them part of the companies' value chain of suppliers, distributors, retailers or customers. FMO’s definition of inclusive development also includes women, youth, and smallholder farmers.

Combating climate change and its impacts (SDG 13) by investing in sustainable/green projects

Investing in projects with a focus on renewable energy and resource efficiency (water, materials, waste) in response to climate change and resource scarcity. Promote adaptation and mitigation through FMO investments. We aim to align our portfolio to a 1.5-degree pathway.

Investing in early stage projects / innovation

Investing in high-risk, early stage, and innovative projects with potentially high development impact. Early stage investments focus on making projects bankable and getting them past the development phase. Innovation includes new methods, ideas or products aimed to bring essential goods, services and opportunities to those currently underserved (Base of the Pyramid).

Mobilizing public & private capital

Mobilizing third party capital to FMO's investments to scale up the total capital invested in emerging and frontier markets.

Measuring impact & learning from evaluations

We want to account for the impact we achieve through impact measurement and reporting. We continuously improve our impact ambitions. For this, impact indicators need to be agreed up front, measured at baseline and tracked over time. We align with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Operating Principles for Impact Management. Evaluations help us learn from the results that our financial and non-financial activities create in order to continuously improve. Moreover, they help us being accountable by assessing the results we achieve with our products and services.

Striving for cooperation and harmonization with other development finance institutions

We actively participate in international harmonization initiatives with the ultimate aim of arriving at a consensus methodology and set of indicators to measure and report impact. We focus on the areas where we see the best alignment with our strategy and the greatest benefits for our customers.

Supporting our customers to safeguard human rights

The focus of our Human Rights Position Statement is on the people directly or indirectly affected by the activities that we finance. Human rights include freedom of expression, labor rights, land rights, and other civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Human rights topics are included in FMO's ESG risk management processes. FMO recognizes that businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights and redress any harm of human rights resulting from their activities and direct or indirect business relationships. We align with the UN Guiding Principles for businesses and human rights. (Link to Human Rights Position Statement: https://www.fmo.nl/l/library/download/urn:uuid:c0240734-e58f-49d3-b5b3-8f88d8c20ab0/position+statement+human+rights.pdf)

Promoting environmental, social and governance (ESG) best practices in customers or sectors

ESG is an integral part of our investment process. FMO supports customers to work towards compliance with our ESG requirements, which are based on the IFC Performance Standards, the World Bank Group Environmental, Health & Safety Guidelines and the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. IFC Performance Standards cover Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts, Labor and Working Conditions, Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention, Community Health, Safety and Security, Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement, Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources, Indigenous Peoples, and Cultural Heritage. Furthermore, we support and actively promote environmental, social and governance best practices by setting up sector initiatives, and organizing seminars, training and conferences for customers, peers and industry stakeholders to enable knowledge-sharing.

Providing capacity development to our customers

The Capacity Development (CD) program aims to assist FMO’s customers and prospective customers to improve their performance and to become more competitive in a sustainable way. It does this by promoting and facilitating the transfer of knowledge and skills, thereby strengthening important organizational capabilities.

Being a high-performing development finance institution

Deliver high impact and build deeper relationships in a more efficient and productive way. Ensure higher productivity and organizational efficiency by improving management information and data quality, our processes, systems and culture.

Being an inclusive organization

FMO promotes diversity of culture, age and gender across the organization. We believe a diverse workforce and an inclusive corporate culture produce better, more balanced decision-making and enhances creativity and innovation. This includes gender equality, equal remuneration and empowerment of women and the LGBT community in the workforce.

Ensure employee engagement, health and wellbeing

At FMO we aim to empower our staff and leadership to build a well-connected professional organization, with highly engaged employees. We offer a range of professional courses and skill trainings, and support career development. Prevention is better than cure: we focus on preventing sick leave as far as we can, through measures such as preventative vitality consultations, flu vaccinations, training courses and coaching for stress-related issues or ailments.

Being a responsible, transparent & accountable bank

Ensuring high standards of business conduct and integrity regarding issues such as data protections & privacy, tax compliance, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, and anti-corruption procedures, remuneration of management and ethical behavior of FMO's employees. We implement know-your-customer (KYC) measures to reduce investment risks and avoid misuse of our bank. We strive to be accountable through our reporting on activities and performance in a transparent and timely way. This includes: proactively disclosing information about our (planned) investments; responding to and engaging with stakeholders; providing information on ESG due diligence, customers' ESG performance, and corporate ESG ratings (e.g. Sustainalytics).

Maintaining financial sustainability and risk appetite of FMO

The extent to which FMO’s financial model results in long-term profitability within the boundaries of its risk appetite and capital requirements.

Supporting Dutch business opportunities in developing countries

Supporting Dutch businesses by facilitating investments in and export to emerging markets and developing countries.