Finance in Motion

Sylvia Wisniwski is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. She has led the organization since its official founding in 2009, and was formally re-appointed CEO in June 2024 when the firm adapted its management structure to evolving market dynamics. The twelve-person Supervisory Board, which recently added a new member to support the growth strategy, oversees the executive team but portfolio decisions are made by the internal investment teams based in the regional offices (per firm website).

Finance in Motion invests both indirectly through local financial institutions and directly into projects and corporates. The firm channels capital through credit lines and equity stakes in 242 partner financial institutions, which then on-lend to micro, small, and medium enterprises. It also executes direct project finance deals, particularly in renewable energy, and provides direct corporate financing, as demonstrated by the Green for Growth Fund's investments in Ukraine and a sustainable-cocoa working capital facility in Brazil.

The firm structures commingled funds that pair public and private capital. Public investors such as the European Investment Bank, IFC, KfW, and Citi provide first- and second-loss protection, which Finance in Motion reports has absorbed all 0.15% of losses since inception. This credit enhancement allows the firm to offer private institutional investors diversified, risk-mitigated access to 44 high-growth emerging markets.

The firm covers growth-stage private debt and equity, project finance, and venture debt across three broad themes: climate action, nature protection, and financial inclusion. Asset classes include senior and subordinated loans to financial intermediaries, direct equity and quasi-equity investments in portfolio companies, and direct lending for renewable-energy and sustainable-agriculture projects. The US$10.4 billion in capital deployed since inception spans microfinance, SME banking, green energy, and sustainable forestry.

The Advisory & Capacity Building team operates as a segregated but complementary unit funded separately from the investment vehicles. It has completed over 1,000 projects since inception, delivering tailored education, market-development services, and consultancy to investees. The Development Facility attached to the European Fund for Southeast Europe, launched in 2007, was the original vehicle for this technical assistance, establishing a model later replicated across the firm’s other funds.

Finance in Motion typically sponsors and manages its own structured funds rather than acting as a limited partner in third-party vehicles. It partners with specialized investment advisors on specific strategies — the Arbaro Fund, for instance, was established jointly with forestry consultancy UNIQUE. The firm’s public-record donors and co-investors, including Deutsche Bank and Santander, participate within Finance in Motion-managed structures rather than as outside general partners.

There is no single founding family. The firm was founded in 2009 by a team of financial and development professionals led by Sylvia Wisniwski. The underlying capital comes from a standing consortium of development finance institutions, multilateral banks, and institutional investors that anchor each of the firm’s nine Article 9 funds. Deutsche Bank, Banco Santander, Citibank, KfW, the IFC, and the EIB are among the publicly listed partners.