OeEB completes financial year 2023 with record new business of around EUR 400 million

“The past financial year was a very satisfactory one for us. We recognise that our strategic focus points meet the pulse of time and thus we can make a sustainable contribution to improving the living conditions in developing countries. A volume of around EUR 400 million in our new business marks a record figure for OeEB”, says OeEB Executive Board member Sabine Gaber.

As a thematically focussed development bank OeEB pursues the goal of permanently improving the living conditions of people in underprivileged regions by strengthening the private sectors. Alongside the economic viability of the financed projects, the focus is on achieving developmental effects – such as creating jobs, generating local income, or improving access to clean energy.

"We are therefore particularly proud that more than 62 percent - around EUR 248 million - of our newly completed investments were able to make an effective and efficient contribution to climate protection," says Gaber. In addition, 16 percent of the newly completed projects were implemented in Africa and a further 7 percent in the world's least developed countries (LDCs). "In challenging times like these, support from development banks like OeEB is more necessary than ever. Providing financing in those countries where the need is greatest is and will therefore remain a key objective." 

Novelty in investment financing: first bond investment

There was a premiere in investment financing in 2023. OeEB signed a bond investment for the first time. Issuer of the bond is a financial institution in Uzbekistan. The funds will mainly be used to expand the bank’s climate-relevant financing, for example in the area of energy efficiency. In addition, OeEB provided financing for the construction of 500 radio masts in Uganda, one of the world’s least developed countries in the world, which will significantly improve the mobile network access in rural regions. 

"We were also able to make a valuable contribution to the priority sectors of renewable energy and Africa with our equity investment instrument," adds OeEB Executive Board member Michael Wancata. "On behalf of the BMF, we invested in a fund in 2023 that is active in renewable energy projects in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa, Central Asia and Turkey. As part of the African-Austrian SME Investment Facility, we supported a project to expand renewable energy in Senegal. This enables us to facilitate forward-looking projects on the African continent in a targeted and sustainable manner." The African-Austrian SME Investment Facility is carried out on behalf of and with funds from the BMF and supports small and medium-sized enterprises with investment plans in Africa. 

Measures to strengthen the developmental impact of projects, for example in the areas of climate protection and biodiversity, were also supported with own funds amounting to around EUR 490,000.
 

Strategy 2024-2028: thematic focus points in line with global challenges

The environment for financing projects remains challenging. Regional conflicts such as those ones in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip further aggravated the already difficult geopolitical and geo-economic environment. At the same time, the consequences of climate change are increasing the pressure to adapt the economic structures more quickly to the changing conditions.

The newly started 2024-2028 strategy cycle will focus even more heavily on climate financing. The new strategy has been expanded, specifically in the area of Green Finance and the thematic focus on Gender Equality – until now strategically anchored as a cross-cutting objective. Financial Inclusion and Financing for micro-, small- and medium-sized companies as well as Financing of private infrastructure projects remain priorities. In doing so OeEB pursues a broad geographical approach in order to be able to react more flexible to changes in target countries and the resulting bottlenecks in private sector’s access to financing. At least 25 percent of new business is to be concluded in Africa by 2028, with particular attention on sub-Saharan Africa and the least developed countries there. 

Business outcome

The financial year closed with a net profit after taxes of EUR 4.2 million (2022: EUR 3.6 million) and a net profit after allocation to reserves of EUR 3.2 million (2022: EUR 1.9 million). With new business of around EUR 390 million in the area of investment financing and around EUR 9 million in equity investments, the total portfolio amounted to EUR 1.72 billion at the end of the year. OeEB provided EUR 0.49 million from its own funds for project-related measures.

OeEB’s annual report is available here.

About Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB)

Since 2008, Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB) has been the development bank of the Republic of Austria and is wholly-owned by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG. As a specialised institution, it finances private investment projects in developing and emerging countries, which must be both economically and developmentally viable. In accompaniment to projects, programs that achieve additional development effect are supported.