Institutional documents and governance
FIT is owned by the Luxembourgish NGO Appui au développement autonome (ADA) as well as by the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg. This meets a strong demand for a secure, government-backed channel for societal investing which benefits from an NGO’s longstanding experience.
A highly experienced Management Board
FIT is owned by the Luxembourgish NGO Appui au développement autonome (ADA) as well as by the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg. This meets a strong demand for a secure, government-backed channel for societal investing which benefits from an NGO’s longstanding experience.
Axel de Ville
Chairman of FIT and Director of Strategy and Innovation at ADA, has in-depth knowledge of development issues in Africa, Latin America and Asia and worked for the United Nations in Africa for several years.
Laura Foschi
Executive Director at ADA, is represented on the management boards of major inclusive finance actors and has extensive experience in the field (she spent over ten years in Latin America, Africa and the Balkans) as well as in providing inclusive finance training and lecturing.
Paul Weber
Legation Secretary, Coordinator inclusive and innovative finance at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs. In addition to his experience related to inclusive and innovative finance, Mr Weber has been involved in various initiatives related to digital for development as well as private sector engagement.
The management board is complemented by a diverse funding committee composed of experts in impact investing, social impact, agriculture and forestry value-chains, entrepreneurship and access to basic services.
Funding Committee (Composition & description)
Laura Foschi
Executive Director at ADA, is represented on the management boards of major inclusive finance actors and has extensive experience in the field (she spent over ten years in Latin America, Africa and the Balkans) as well as in providing inclusive finance training and lecturing.
Guillaume GRANGE
An independent consultant, Guillaume has worked in various legal and compliance positions in the Luxembourgish financial sector since 1999 and has been involved in philanthropic projects in Burkina Faso for twenty years. His became interested in inclusive finance in 2021 and participated in the African Microfinance Week (SAM) in Kigali and Lomé. He holds a Certificate in Inclusive Finance from the University of Luxembourg.
Netty KLEIN
Netty is particularly interested in promoting diversity, notably as Luxembourg's representative on the European Commission's 'Mainstreaming CSR among SMEs' group and as a member of the Centre pour l'Egalité de Traitement - CET at national level. She started her career in IT before representing different national employers’ organisations, mainly in the health and care sector.
Anne CONTRERAS-MULLER
Anne Contreras-Muller is responsible for developing LuxDev's impact investment portfolio on behalf of the Luxembourg Cooperation. For more than 10 years before joining LuxDev, Anne developed microfinance and social and environmental impact finance advisory services for a leading Luxembourgish law firm. She specialised in impact investment vehicles, technical assistance programmes and societal impact companies. Anne is a member of numerous boards and investment committees of investment funds and organisations.
Bruno CORNETTE
Bruno Cornette is an intellectual property management and an agri-food supply chains expert with more than 25 years of experience in the p.rofessionalization of the transfer of knowledge and technology to society and the economy. A member of the Belgian Conseil supérieur wallon de l'agriculture, de l'agroalimentaire et de l'alimentation, he contributed to improving markets for local producers in the Walloon Region in Belgium. At the international level, Bruno provided agronomical technical assistance in Africa on behalf of development agencies and the Luxembourgish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Stephan RUDOLPH
Stephan Rudolph is the founder of EVITY S.A., a start-up dedicated to measuring and demonstrating impact to make externalities visible and exploitable. He shaped the concept of Return on Monetised Investment (RoIm) and co-founded APODI in 2020, a non-profit organisation focused on preserving the biosphere. Stephan has over 20 years' experience as a management consultant and held various management positions in the Luxembourgish financial sector, particularly in funds.
Societal Impact Company status ensures strong regulation and measurable impact
As the first société à impact societal (Societal Impact Company, SIS) dedicated to financial services, the Financing Innovation Tool offers donors a new, regulated distribution channel with a measurable impact.
As a social impact company, FIT can pursue commercial activities and generate a profit. While the share capital of most SIS companies is made up of 50% impact shares, FIT shares are 100% impact shares. This means that all profits will be re-invested, thus maximizing the effectiveness of donations. Since donors will receive no dividends, their investments are also fully tax deductible.
The SIS accreditation ensures good, impactful governance and a strong social commitment of the company so that donors can rest assured that their money is fully invested in the most efficient and targeted manner. FIT exclusively supports genuine and responsible economic activities in developing countries and donors can easily assess the social impact of their support thanks to key performance indicators and the annual non-financial impact report.
In addition, donors will receive the professionally audited annual financial statements. This full transparency will help donors to appreciate the targeted nature of FIT financing as well as ADA’s expertise in strengthening the autonomy of vulnerable people with access to finance and entrepreneurial support.
Key documents
An annual FIT impact report based on key social -and environmental performance indicators will complement the audited financial statements. This full transparency will not only highlight the targeted nature of FIT financing but will also help donors to appreciate ADA’s expertise in selecting innovative investees with a large potential for social and environmental impact.