In this decade of decision, it is our task as KfW Group to accelerate the sustainable transformation and to strengthen Germany as an industrial and technology location. In doing so, KfW as a digital transformation and promotional bank is focusing its activities on the areas of action of climate & the environment, and digitalisation & innovation. The present decade needs a spirit of optimism and going ahead, in order to strengthen resilience and sovereignty - in Germany and around the world.
I am convinced that this decade is a decade of decision. The decision about what consequences our actions will have for the generations to come. In the coming years, we need to accelerate the transition to a sustainable society.
At KfW, we would like to make an effective contribution to the transformation of the economy and society and enable people and companies to assume responsibility. To make this happen, we must transform ourselves as well. Our goal is to become the digital transformation and promotional bank within the decade – this is our guiding ambition. In order to define the path to achieving this, we launched the KfWplus transformation agenda last year. Overall, we want to become more adaptable, efficient and effective.
Our focus is on two fields of action: climate and environment as well as digitalisation and innovation. The attack on Ukraine has made us painfully and drastically aware that strengthening Europe’s sovereignty and resilience, i.e. its full capacity to act under difficult political and economic conditions, is another field of action. We will therefore focus our promotional offering on supporting the economy in its sustainable transformation and strengthening Germany as a location for technology and industry. However, we are also confronted with a paradigm shift that we must take into account in our future actions.
On the one hand, the impact of promotion is crucial. What impact will we be able to achieve with one euro of funding? This requires even more deliberate optimisation. We will readjust our standards and will in future have to measure our success more in terms of the impact of our promotion.
On the other hand, mobilising private capital is an essential prerequisite for the success of the transformation. In Germany alone, achieving climate neutrality by 2045 will cost us five trillion euros. This cannot be covered by public money alone – private capital plays a significant role. At KfW, for example, we are working intensively on how the capital market can contribute to risk hedging in order to mobilise more private capital for transformation projects. KfW’s greater commitment as a co-venture capital provider is another topic for us.
A central element of our KfWplus transformation agenda is the aspiration to develop further towards what I call a top-performing KfW. This includes several topics.
First of all, I would like to emphasise that KfW had already started to launch many important projects that contribute to our current transformation agenda KfWplus before I took up this role. We were able to expand these last year, for example with “Xplore!”, a project under which we bundle strategically important digitalisation measures. This is not about periodic modernisation of IT – which we are of course also pushing forward – but rather a targeted digitalisation roadmap for the coming years with a clear focus on new technologies and customer centricity. In addition, we are also looking at KfW’s positioning in the promotional area of digitalisation and innovation, among other things, or are working on impact indicators to measure our promotional impacts.
We have now got many projects off the ground – but for me, 2023 is the year of implementation, more than anything else! I am already looking forward to the many small and large projects that we will implement over the course of the year and that will all contribute to the transformation of the economy and society.
75 years of KfW means 75 years of experience in shaping change. During this time, KfW has repeatedly helped to overcome crises and emerge from them stronger. Our self-image today is also: shaping the future – the motto of our anniversary year. Of course, KfWplus also plays a decisive role in this context, as it provides the framework for shaping the future and this decade of decision. I am particularly pleased to be celebrating our anniversary in the summer with all employees at the “KfW Future Day” and to take the opportunity to make KfWplus a tangible experience. At the end of the day, every employee should be able to say: I make a significant contribution to KfWplus and to shaping our future!
“With KfWplus, we will be the strong, effective driver behind the transformation of the economy and society. And we are making every effort to improve economic, environmental and social living conditions around the world. With KfWplus, we are getting ready for the decade of decision."
Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer
* adjusted for special programmes in connection with coronavirus and Ukraine/energy crisis
...which drives environmentally, economically and socially sustainable solutions, focuses on the corresponding impact and effectively fulfils its comprehensive promotional mandate,
...which addresses the increasing regulatory requirements and manages its ESG risks with foresight,
...which actively paths the way to a sustainable and greenhouse gas-neutral future and systematically ensures Paris compatibility of its financings,
...which offers its expertise to the world of politics and the financial sector, acts as an opinion leader for sustainable finance and helps to shape the field.
Legal notice:
The information contained in this online Annual Report 2022 is based on KfW’s Financial Report 2022, which you can download here. Should this online Annual Report 2022, despite the great care taken in preparation of its content, contain any contradictions or errors compared to the Financial Report, the KfW Financial Report 2022 takes priority.