We have clear criteria when we make donations and/or loans. Scalability is important here, as well as whether the project can finance itself after the donation or loan. It must also be innovative. I often draw on my experiences for certain proposals: “Have I seen this before? Can I place it? Is it feasible?” In the countries I have lived in and visited, I have seen many projects and worked with NGOs. As a result, I have seen what has been tried before, what works and what is more difficult. I bring that experience to the table. We see many good intentions, but I always wonder if it is feasible and if it has not been done before in other ways. I also think the position of women is important when assessing the proposals. We have extensive discussions in the project committee, but in the end we come up with a recommendation for the Board together.

I think women’s rights are important to mention. Throughout my career and in my personal life, women’s rights have always been an important guiding principle for me. I see that women, all over the world, have tremendous ambition to contribute to improve the lives of their loved ones and communities. And women by no means always have the opportunities to do so. Therefore, we look at whether there is potential for the position of women in the project proposals, and whether they can participate sufficiently. We also put that in the contracts, for example, in agricultural projects, a certain percentage must be targeted at women farmers. In Africa, many farmers are women, so that’s very important.