Our 2025 Annual Report has now been published, reflecting a year where portfolio performance reaccelerated, exits were realised at scale, and capital allocation priorities were clearly executed. Our CEO Dave Nangle shares his perspective on the year and the path ahead.
A return to growth, delivery on exits and a stronger balance sheet
Three key themes continue to stand out and define our story in 2025: growth, exists and a stronger balance sheet. Growth returned across the portfolio in a sustainable way. Our core holdings Creditas and Konfío are once again delivering around 20% balance sheet growth, with further upside ahead, while Juspay continues to stand out with around 40% growth. Across the broader portfolio, earlier-stage companies such as Abhi, Rupeek and Mahaana are scaling rapidly from lower bases.
We delivered on exits in an improving market environment. With venture activity and IPO markets reopening, we realised value across BlackBuck (IPO), Gringo (trade sale) and Juspay (secondary sales). Over the past 18 months, this has generated USD 51.6 million in gross proceeds, largely in line with our NAV marks or at premium.
Capital allocation remained clear and disciplined. We prioritised strengthening the balance sheet through debt reduction, while also initiating share buybacks. As we move into 2026, our focus is on maintaining a strong financial position, increasing self-sufficiency, and retaining flexibility to both invest in new opportunities and act on market dislocations.
Strong fundamentals across markets and portfolio
Across our core markets, the long-term investment case remains intact despite short-term volatility. We continue to see supportive macro trends, improving capital market conditions and increasing fintech adoption. Within the portfolio, our largest holdings continue to perform strongly, combining growth with improving fundamentals. More broadly, we are seeing a clear trend of high-quality fintech companies scaling with strong unit economics and increasing relevance in their respective markets. At the same time, improving venture conditions and reopening IPO markets, particularly in India and increasingly in Latin America, support our long-term ability to realise value.
Well positioned for 2026 and beyond
2025 marked an important step forward for VEF. Our portfolio is once again compounding, exits have strengthened our balance sheet, and capital has been deployed with discipline. While our shares have recovered from 2025 lows, reducing the remaining discount to NAV remains a key focus through continued delivery and clear communication. Looking ahead, we are focused on balancing near-term execution with increasing attention on pipeline and future investments. Our ambition remains to build a self-sustaining, long-term compounding investment company, while staying adaptable in an evolving global environment.
For a full read of Dave’s management report, with deeper insights across our portfolio and markets, please find our full annual report here: vef-ar25-eng.pdf