Ole Sandsbraaten

Ole Sandsbraaten is the Chief Financial Officer of Abler Nordic AS, the Oslo-based impact investor previously known as the Nordic / Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI). He leads the firm's finance and accounting function, which reporting sources place at roughly six people, and sits on the firm's management team alongside Managing Director Arthur Sletteberg and the firm's investment leadership. The persistence of his `@nmimicro.no` email address reflects the firm's history: it operated as NMI from its 2008 founding and rebranded to Abler Nordic in 2022.

Abler Nordic was established in 2008 in Oslo as a partnership between public and private investors — including Norwegian and Nordic institutions such as Norfund, DNB, Ferd, KLP, and Storebrand on the private side and development-finance institutions (Norfund of Norway and IFU of Denmark) on the public side. As CFO, Sandsbraaten oversees the financial management of a platform that has raised aggregate commitments on the order of $470 million across multiple funds, spanning direct equity, debt, and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs).

Public biographical detail on Sandsbraaten's earlier career and education is limited; his footprint is concentrated in his long-standing finance leadership at NMI/Abler Nordic rather than in public writing or conference speaking. His role is a fund-CFO/operations post — responsible for fund accounting, reporting to institutional investors, portfolio financial oversight, and treasury — rather than a front-line deal-sourcing or investment-decision role.

• Firm mandate (stated): "Building sustainable financial institutions that enable low-income households in developing countries to create a better future." Abler invests in institutions that build financial inclusion and climate resilience in Africa and Asia.
• Instruments: Direct equity, debt financing, and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) — reported active portfolio of ~24 investments (≈13 equity, 4 debt, 7 MIV), with ~13 board seats held.
• Stage: Growth capital into already-operating financial-services institutions (microfinance banks, inclusive-finance lenders, fintechs serving the unbanked) — not early-stage / seed startup investing.
• Impact lens: Emphasis on reaching low-income, rural, and women customers (the firm reports ~89% of customers are women and ~75% rural), plus a dedicated Climate Smart Fund targeting climate-resilient finance.
• Sandsbraaten's specific angle: As CFO he is a steward of fund economics and LP reporting rather than a thesis-setting partner; the investment thesis above is the firm's, executed by its Investment Directors and Investment Committee.