Humanitarian initiatives

Abler Nordic

Formerly Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI)

Abler Nordic invests in financial institutions and other companies that contribute to financial inclusion in Africa and Asia, primarily by taking significant ownership stakes in unlisted companies. Through board representation and strong collaboration with the management, Abler Nordic exercises active ownership in order to achieve its ownership agenda. Abler Nordic works to give low-income people in develping countries access to a broad range of financial services in a sustainable way. Its aim is for its investments to deliver both robust social and financial results.

Abler Nordic was set up in 2008 on the initiative of Johan H. Andresen in order to put in place a public-private collaboration in Norway. Abler Nordic today has private and public sector investors from Norway and Denmark, and manages a capital base of over NOK 3 billion. Ferd is a minority owner of the management company and a substantial investor in all four of Abler Nordic’s funds.

Read more about Abler Nordic

The Refugee Impact Bond

The Refugee Impact Bond is a project by a group of private and public organisations
to address the funding gap for refugee livelihood programmes through an innovative
results-based financing mechanism called a Development Impact Bond (DIB). It will
improve livelihood opportunities for Syrian refugees and host community members
in Jordan.

The DIB’s investors have committed $10 million upfront to fund micro-enterprise
development, market facilitation, and start-up grants for 4,380 people (primarily
women and youth) over four years in Jordan. Repayment by the DIB’s outcome
funders (donors) is conditional on the achievement of pre-agreed outcomes. These
will be measured by an independent evaluator.

The DIB is delivered by an implementing partner (NGO), which is given the needed
flexibility to adapt and innovate to maximise results. The DIB parties will share their
learnings with the wider development community working in humanitarian contexts.

Learn more about the Refugee Impact Bond here.

SDG Outcomes Fund

Bridges Outcomes Partners – SDG Outcomes Fund is the first fund specifically designed to support outcomes-based programs in low- and middle-income countries, with a focus on health, education, women’s economic empowerment, and the environment. The fund is supported with a 20 percent first loss facility from UBS Optimus Foundation. For each investment Bridges brings together like-minded partners to find innovative solutions that can achieve measurable impact. Expert local partners are identified to deliver the program, with the SDG Outcomes Fund covering the up-front costs. Funders – typically local or national governments, donors, foundations, corporates, NGOs, or even individuals themselves – only pay if successful, verifiable outcomes are achieved. The focus on outcomes, instead of on the traditional approach of paying for activities or inputs, allows delivery consortia to adjust and tailor their programs as they go along, learning from real-time impact data about how to achieve the best possible results in each context.

The SDG Outcomes Fund aims to have a broader systemic impact by developing completely new delivery models, building the capacity of high-impact local organizations, and transforming the way local governments and donors fund services for underserved populations. This collaborative and flexible approach to delivering critical programs is already helping hundreds of thousands of people to improve their lives.

Read more about the Bridges Outcomes Partners – SDG Outcomes Fund here.