Social loans are connected to challenges in, for example, healthcare and medical care, education, basic infrastructure or food safety. When a loan is classed as social, it can provide the borrower with advantageous terms.

Social goals

The borrower must finance specific projects or assets that are classified as social based on the assessed benefit that they will have for a specific target group. The classification is determined by SEK based on the project’s primary targets.

Projects or operations that can be financed with social loans:

• Basic infrastructure (clean drinking water, sewage systems, sanitation, transportation, energy) at reasonable prices
• Access to basic services (healthcare, education and vocational training, medical care, financial services)
• Housing at reasonable prices
• Job creating measures
• Safe food supply
• Socioeconomic development and empowerment

Target groups

Social effects that can be achieved through investments must be connected to a specific target group that requires improved living conditions or access to services. The definition of a target group can vary depending on local conditions and could consist of an entire population in countries that are recipients of aid.

Examples of specific target groups:

• People who live below the poverty line
• People or social groups that live in social exclusion
• Vulnerable groups, including those vulnerable due to natural disasters
• People with disabilities
• Migrants or refugees
• Low-educated or unemployed individuals
• People or groups that receive too little support due to lack of access to important goods and services

Measurable effects

To ensure that investments have the desired effect, it is important to measure and communicate the transparency of the expected effects. Quantitative metrics are to be identified pursuant to SEK’s framework for sustainable bonds and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.