Annual Review 2023: Creating impact together

I am proud to present our Annual Review 2023: Creating impact together, which reports our achievements in 2023, a year which also marked BII’s 75th anniversary.

It was another difficult year from a macroeconomic perspective, particularly in many of the countries where we invest. Against this backdrop, we’ve been a long-standing investment partner to businesses and I feel positive about what we achieved together.

We made £1.3 billion of gross commitments over the course of the year, investing in sustainable economies that support people and protect the planet. Highlights from 2023 include:

• Investing £449 million of climate finance, covering a real breadth of sectors and technology solutions. This ranges from investing in solar-powered irrigation systems for smallholder farmers, to a battery-swapping business for electric vehicles, to Sierra Leone’s first large-scale independent power producer.
• Establishing a new platform, entirely financed by BII, to offer local currency, flexible financing options to SMEs in Ghana, ensuring the access to finance they need to grow and create jobs.
• Boosting investment in women by committing £297 million to businesses which qualify for the 2X Challenge, a joint initiative to increase financing for women.
• Making our first investments in South-East Asia to help the region transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner, greener energy sources.

We can’t achieve this impact alone. We work in partnership with many others, including our investment partners, entrepreneurs and the countries where we invest. Our success is measured in our partners’ success, in the prosperity of people and the health of the planet.

I am proud of what we have achieved over the last seven years during my time as CEO. BII is going from strength to strength and is playing an important role for the UK in showing leadership on development and climate finance. As I prepare to hand over the stewardship of this wonderful and vital institution, I know my successor will build on this success.

Best wishes,

Nick O’Donohoe CMG
Chief Executive, British International Investment

Supporting people

Developing countries need economic growth to eradicate poverty – to generate goods and services, and jobs and opportunities for everyone, as well as to build a tax base for governments to provide for their people. Investing to support a flourishing private sector is vital in achieving this.

In 2023, businesses in our portfolio provided direct jobs for over 1 million people, helping provide greater security for individuals and families. Our portfolio companies also reported $2.42 billion in tax payments. And we committed almost £300 million of gender finance, helping to support women’s economic empowerment.

Turn to page 16 of the Review to find out more.

Protecting the planet

Climate change is the biggest global development challenge we will face in the coming decades. We are helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transform economies to be cleaner and greener, protect the environment and increase climate resilience.

This year, we made £449 million climate finance commitments – approximately 37 per cent of our total commitments. This included supporting electric vehicles, circular economy solutions, and technologies to help farmers combat climate change.

Turn to page 30 of the Review to find out more.