Sustainable Development Goals
FINCA International (“FINCA”) actively contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. FINCA is uniquely positioned to make a substantive contribution to the SDGs given its deep history and pioneering influence in market-based solutions to poverty, and its commitment to measuring and optimizing the social impact of its work.
FINCA programs and investments directly and indirectly contribute to 15 of 17 SDGs:
Download Contributions to SDG Targets & Indicators
Here’s how individual FINCA programs and investments contribute to the SDGs:
Microfinance
FINCA is the founder and majority shareholder of a global network of 20 community-based microfinance institutions and banks. The network provides innovative and impactful financial services to enable low-income individuals and communities to invest in their futures. Global subsidiaries promote financial inclusion for the unbanked and under-banked, with an emphasis on closing the gender gap in access to finance for women.
FINCA’s microfinance work directly and indirectly contributes to 10 of 17 SDGs:
BrightLife
BrightLife, a social enterprise by FINCA International in Uganda, provides last-mile distribution and end-user financing for basic service products, including solar home systems, improved cookstoves and productive use assets. FINCA’s BrightLife program unlocks economic productivity and wellbeing for the base of the pyramid by bringing together access to finance and access to energy.
BrightLife directly and indirectly contributes to 9 of 17 SDGs:
FINCA Forward
FINCA Forward facilitates collaboration between early-stage fintech enterprises and microfinance institutions. The aim is to help fintech start-ups to overcome the pioneer gap and to enable microfinance institutions to better reach under-banked populations, especially women. Ultimately, this innovation platform seeks to catalyze economic growth and extend financial inclusion in underserved markets around the world.
FINCA Forward directly and indirectly contributes to 6 of 17 SDGs:
FINCA Ventures
FINCA Ventures is an impact investing platform that provides patient capital and pre- and post-investment support. This initiative focuses on early-stage social enterprises working across sub-Saharan Africa in energy, WASH, education, health, agriculture and fintech. It compares SDG targets to the goals and activities undertaken by portfolio companies to identify direct and indirect impacts. SDG targets are then mapped to relevant IRIS+ metrics.
FINCA Ventures and its portfolio companies directly and indirectly contribute to 15 of 17 SDGs:
