UNICEF’s Child-lens Investing Framework developed with Finnish support wins TIME invention award
UNICEF’s Child-lens Investing Framework helps investors assess how their investments impact children and encourages investors to finance projects that improve children’s wellbeing.
“All investments ultimately affect children, either directly or indirectly – whether in education, energy production or even agriculture. This is often overlooked by investors,” says UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kitty van der Heijden.
To help investors assess how children are impacted, UNICEF has developed a Child-lens Investing Framework (CLIF), which aims to advance positive child outcomes of investments while also minimizing child harm. The CLIF can be applied to portfolios spanning the public and private markets, as well as across asset classes, geographies, markets, and investment strategies.
This investment approach was recognised internationally today when the CLIF was selected as one of TIME Best Inventions 2024. TIME’s list of the Best Inventions features 200 innovations in different fields.
“It is a great honor for UNICEF to receive TIME's award. I hope it encourages new investors and financial sector actors to take an interest in CLIF and work in the best interests of children,” van der Heijden says.
The CLIF has been jointly developed by UNICEF’s Innovative Finance Hub in Helsinki and the UNICEF USA Impact Fund for Children. Finland provides a total of EUR 8.1 million in development cooperation funding to the Helsinki finance hub in 2023–2025. With the host country agreement Finland is committed to financing the hub also in the future.
The Finnish development finance institution Finnfund has provided its expertise to UNICEF in developing the CLIF. Finnfund and UNICEF have agreed on future cooperation.
“UNICEF is a key partner for Finland in the promotion of children’s rights. The CLIF is a way to direct the money in the markets at realising children’s rights and achieving the sustainable development goals. The TIME Magazine award is a great recognition of the creative work of UNICEF and the Finland-based finance hub,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.
There is an urgent need for impact investing. The year 2030, which marks the deadline for delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, is approaching and the implementation of many of the goals is heavily behind schedule. Children suffer from poverty even more than adults do: about a billion children in the world lack adequate food, shelter, education and healthcare.
According to a study conducted by UNICEF Finland, Finnish listed companies should also take better account of the rights of the child, as only 23 per cent of the companies are committed to respecting children's rights. Investors play a key role in promoting children’s wellbeing.
“One important thing unites investments and children – the future. The CLIF provides investors with an opportunity to benefit them all,” says Deputy Executive Director Kitty van der Heijden.