The European Union has struck a first-ever deal with Angola to stimulate foreign investments needed to achieve sustainable development goals.

The EU-Angola Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) aims to boost Angola’s appeal to foreign investors by making investment regulations more transparent, promoting the use of e-government for authorisations, and enhancing stakeholder involvement.

Angola made up 8% of the EU’s foreign direct investment in Africa, or €21.7bn, in 2022. It invested €2.9bn in the EU in the same year, making it the country’s main trade and investment partner.

The SIFA is part of the EU’s plans to deepen its engagement with Africa. Under the Africa-EU Global Gateway Investment Package, the trading bloc has committed to supporting African countries with €150bn worth of investments.

Pensions for Purpose teams up with IGG

The Independent Governance Group (IGG) has become a community partner with Pensions for Purpose.

IGG is an independent trustee firm which assists over 390 pension schemes with professional trusteeship and associated governance services. Pensions for Purpose is an independent membership organisation helping pension funds invest for impact. It is the first time Pensions for Purpose has linked up with a professional trustee firm.

Charlotte O’Leary, chief executive officer of Pensions for Purpose, said she was “delighted” with the new partnership, adding that IGG is “influential in helping schemes navigate the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and the inadequacy of defined contribution  pension provision.”

Earlier this year, Pensions for Purpose and IGG worked together on the inadequacy of pension savings for people who retire without owning a home.

Palatine invests in skin cancer clinics

The impact fund of UK-based private equity firm Palatine has bought a majority stake in a British skin cancer clinic for an undisclosed sum from the Hebe Group.

The MOLE Clinic aims to reduce UK skin cancer mortality rates by screening tens of thousands of patients a year to detect skin cancer at an early stage. It employs a team of over 50 people based at four sites. Palatine said it aims to grow the number of clinics to over 10 in the next three years.

The transaction is the fifth investment by Palatine’s Impact Fund II.

Finnfund’s biodiversity pledge

Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor, has added biodiversity to its guiding principles for making sustainable investments.

“Biodiversity loss and climate change are among the biggest crises of our time, and the effects are already visible across of the world,” said Finnfund chief executive officer Jaakko Kangasniemi. “We firmly believe that an active investor can play a significant role in fostering biodiversity.”

Finnfund is now committed to making sure it invests in companies whose operations do not cause negative net effects on biodiversity. The firm is also committed to pushing for “more systematic, harmonised, and transparent nature-related financial disclosure and reporting practices”, both in its own operations and its investee companies. Finnfund also said it is aiming to develop and foster nature and biodiversity net gains through its investments.

Finnfund typically invests between €200m and €250m in between 20 to 30 companies active in renewable energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture, financial institutions, and digital infrastructure and solutions in developing countries each year.

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