Mark Davis
Norfund, a fund owned by the Norwegian government for investing in developing countries, announced Tuesday the appointment of Mark Davis as its first CIO.
Davis has been a part of the investment team at Norfund for 19 years, most recently as executive vice president for renewable energy. Bjørnar Baugerud, previously a senior vice president of renewable energy, will succeed him in the executive vice president role. Norfund recently appointed Erik Sanderson as the fund’s new CEO, effective July 1.
Norfund, founded by the Norwegian parliament in 1997 and owned by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, manages 45 billion Norwegian kroner ($4.7 billion) in assets. The fund has three investment mandates: creating jobs and improving lives by investing in businesses that drive sustainable development and financial inclusion; accelerating the transition to renewable energy; and investing in the reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy.
The fund invests in 30 core developing markets, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Approximately 42% of Norfund’s portfolio is allocated to renewable energy. Another 28.4% is invested in financial inclusion investments—including the development of banks and microfinace institutions.
Another 16.7% of the fund is invested in scalable enterprise funds, 11.6% in scalable enterprises like agribusiness and manufacturing, and 1.3% in green infrastructure. Approximately 63% of the fund is invested in Africa, followed by Asia (24%), Latin America (12%) and Ukraine (1%).
“Developing countries need far more capital than they’re getting, especially given the current volatile global context,” Davis said in a statement. “As CIO, my job is to make sure we back resilient companies that deliver strong returns and sustainable development impacts across the portfolio.”
Previously, Davis was a partner in and consultant at ECON Analysis, which advised on energy-related opportunities in developed markets. He earned a master of science degree in energy from the University of Cape Town and a Ph.D. in energy economics from the University of Sussex.
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Tags: Norway