Our vision and activities

Percentage of our loans and investments to the inclusive finance sector

Loans and investments by region

Our vision

Access to finance offers a lifeline to millions of people enabling them to better manage their daily life, cope with unexpected difficulties, fulfil aspirations and plan for the future. Yet, there are still two billion people worldwide who are excluded from basic financial products and services.

Based on our deep-rooted commitment to make money work for positive change, Triodos Bank aims to address this challenge because we strongly believe that access to finance gives people the freedom of choice to pursue the life they wish to live. Inclusive finance offers financial services, including savings, credit, and insurance to underserved people. These services enable them to better support themselves and their families and improve their quality of life.

Through our investment activities, we also aim to contribute to building a robust and transparent financial sector with a sustainable approach to providing financial services to all. In this way, inclusive finance bolsters local economies by stimulating entrepreneurship and job creation.

Evolving and expanding sector

As an early and pioneering investor (since 1994), we have seen the inclusive finance sector rapidly evolve and expand, especially over the past decade. The sector has shown that those with low incomes are bankable and can be offered financial services in a sustainable way.

A rising number of global, national and local leaders have come to acknowledge that access to financial services is an important prerequisite for economic and social development in developing countries and emerging economies. Financial inclusion is therefore an important topic on the agendas of many governments and international forums, and also reflected in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Not as a goal in itself but as a powerful tool to reach many of the most important development objectives.

What does the future of inclusive finance hold?

Two global trends in particular will impact and shape the inclusive finance sector more and more: the impact of new technologies on the financial services industry and the growth in purchasing power of lower income populations developing countries and emerging economies. The sector focuses on fulfilling basic needs, such as housing, water and sanitation, education and healthcare. As they have matured, financial institutions have also embraced opportunities to finance projects that have a positive impact on the environment. This makes inclusive finance a cross-cutting theme, taking in a range of issues.

We are also looking forward to further developing and executing multiple strategies to engage the small and medium enterprise market segment for their job creation capacity, with a particular interest in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. By investing in these sectors and building on the in-depth knowledge and experience of Triodos Group as a result, we want to promote access to renewable energy and contribute to sustainable development of the agricultural sector in developing countries.