Finnfund and Creditinfo jointly promote economic and social development in developing countries

FINNFUND logoFinnfund, a development finance company owned by the Finnish state, has provided Creditinfo, an international provider of credit information and risk management solutions, with long-term credit financing of 2.4 million euros to promote financial inclusion and boost economic growth in East Africa.

Only about half of the world’s population has access to financial services. In Africa, access is comparatively low, which is why Creditinfo has chosen to focus its efforts on establishing a number of new Credit Bureaus in this region between now and 2020. Credit Bureau can play a critical role in reducing inequality, creating financial inclusion and in supporting economic growth. With many years of experience in establishing and managing credit bureaus in more than 20 countries, particularly in emerging markets, Creditinfo understands better than most that access to finance is unequally spread across regions, countries, income levels and gender.

Funding from Finnfund will enable Creditinfo to further positively impact financial inclusion and poverty reduction, by the implementation of their proven credit bureau solution within countries where access to finance is limited. Creditinfo’s CBS5 Credit Bureau Solution enables lenders to make better informed decisions to provide credit and financial services to a wider customer base.

“This cooperation is very important for Creditinfo. Since the financial crisis of 2008, Icelandic companies have faced challenges to obtain credit-financing outside of Iceland. This loan from Finnfund indicates that things are changing, for us at least. Also important is that Finnfund deems what Creditinfo is doing to be in line with what their target organizations should be doing, namely economic and social development. We believe that our small part in developing infrastructure in various countries contributes to the welfare of its inhabitants. We want to help people and small companies to get access to funding, successively facilitate economic growth and better living. As Finnfund has decided to grant this credit to Creditinfo, we feel this confirms that our belief in the benefits of what we are doing is correct,” said Reynir Grétarsson, CEO of Creditinfo Group.

“Finnfund is happy to support the increase of financial inclusion in East Africa through the establishment of full-file Credit Bureaus. Creditinfo Group is committed to bringing state-of-the-art solutions to countries where utilization of formal financial services is low and has established itself as one of the leading players in the field. We wish Creditinfo Group success in their efforts to bring the important missing piece – reliable credit information – to the use and benefit of lenders and borrowers in East Africa ,” continues Associate Director Antti Urvas from Finnfund.

About Creditinfo Group
Creditinfo is a leading service provider for credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. It has developed, through its multiple subsidiaries in more than 20 countries, numerous innovative products and services from official and customer information sources to facilitate best practices in credit risk management. Creditinfo has been shortlisted and awarded in several tenders supported by World Bank, IFC, Millennium Challenge Corporation and other international organisations. Creditinfo has headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland, and it employs around 280 people worldwide.

About Finnfund
Finnfund provides long-term risk capital for private projects in developing countries and Russia. Investment criteria include profitability, social and environmental responsibility and positive development impacts. Apart from co-investing with Finnish companies Finnfund can finance ventures that use Finnish technology, cooperate with Finnish partners on a long-term basis, or generate major environmental or social benefits. Its investments range from manufacturing and forestry to renewable energy, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals. Today it has approximately 540 million euros invested in or committed to 160 projects in 32 countries.

For further information please contact:

Creditinfo Group                                                Finnfund
Reynir Grétarsson, CEO                                  Antti Urvas, Associate Director
tel. +354 6600099                                             tel. +358 45 113 0547
reynir@creditinfo.com                                     antti.urvas@finnfund.fi
www.creditinfo.com                                         www.finnfund.fi