Danish International Development Agency

Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) is an independent fund under the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. IFU provides risk capital and advice to companies wishing to set up business in Africa, Asia, Latin America and parts of Europe. Investments are made on commercial terms in the form of equity and loans. In 1967, IFU was established by the Danish government “with the purpose of promoting economic activity in developing countries by promoting investments in these countries in collaboration with Danish trade and industry”. According to 2016 Law amendments on Danish Development Cooperation, the overall objective of IFU evolved to “promoting investments that support sustainable development in developing countries and contribute to the realisation of the Sustainability Development Goals”. Carnegie Consult was commissioned by Danida to perform an evaluation of IFU’s activities since 2004 to 2018. The objectives of this evaluation were backward-looking to assess IFU’s contribution to development and commercial outcomes through its investments in developing countries in line with its mandate and IFU’s strategy and forward-looking to assess the envisaged future role in Danish development cooperation, and whether the organization is fit for purpose. The evaluation included extensive desk-research, portfolio anlaysis, interviews and field visits to Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. The evaluation report can be found here.