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.

2020 was for Access to Energy Fund (AEF) a year of increased monitoring to support customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies in the off-grid energy sector were faced with lower sales, while on-grid energy companies under construction were confronted with delays, for example because borders were closed. AEF contracted a smaller amount than targeted. This lag is expected to continue in 2021.

The Ministry approved a grant commitment increase of €40 million for AEF, of which €15 million was disbursed in December 2020, to further help finance renewable energy companies that are not yet eligible for more commercial financing.    

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, 29 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.