NIB and Nefco finance green SME growth

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has provided a nine-year loan to the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (Nefco), to co-finance on-lending to Nordic green small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To support green investments, Nefco has received a EUR 25 million loan from NIB.

The new 25-million loan to Nefco is dedicated to financing Nordic green SMEs.  This loan will significantly increase Nefco’s capacity to promote environmentally sustainable SMEs and strengthen its commitment to supporting the green transition, leading to long-term economic growth.

“As partners, NIB and Nefco are committed to driving positive change and promoting sustainable development in the Nordic and Baltic region. Our joint efforts to finance green growth projects for SMEs reflect our shared values and commitment to a sustainable future. We are proud to support Nefco’s strategy and look forward to continuing our partnership to promote the green transition in the region,” says André Küüsvek, NIB President and CEO.

Trond Moe, Managing Director, Nefco says: “We fulfil our task to accelerate the green transition by financing the initial scale-up of Nordic green solutions and technologies that have the potential to grow on global markets. Nefco’s Nordic SME financing has grown substantially in recent years and the current market situation makes Nefco even more relevant for many growth companies. We are excited about this collaboration with NIB and believe that we can achieve significant impact together.”

At the end of 2022, Nefco’s active SME portfolio consisted of 202 projects and the allocated investments and funds amounted to a total of EUR 140.8 million, which is 48.8% of Nefco’s total active portfolio. Nefco’s financing focuses on three main areas: 1) Green transition for Nordic SMEs; 2) Green transition of municipal projects in Eastern Europe; and 3) Special funds for international initiatives. With regards to Nordic SMEs, Nefco finances the scale-up of green technologies to international markets by providing risk financing.

Nefco is an international financial institution, that finances the initial scale-up of Nordic green solutions on global markets. Founded in 1990 by the five Nordic countries, Nefco has already financed and implemented over 1,600 projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean water and sanitation, waste management and cleaner industrial processes, among others. To date, more than 600 Nordic growth companies have received financing from Nefco to scale up their green technologies and solutions on global markets.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Jim Dahlström, Senior Banker, at +358 10 618 0334, Jim.Dahlstrom@nib.int

David B Rasmusson, Communications, at +358 50 476 3071, David.Rasmusson@nib.int

Thor Thorsteinsson, VP, Nordic SMEs, Nefco at +358 10 618 0657, thor.thorsteinsson@nefco.int

Anni Rein, Communications Manager, Nefco at +358 40 7504740, anni.rein@nefco.int