With more than $12 billion committed to new projects in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation continues to increase its commitments year over year to address many of the world’s greatest challenges through the mobilization of private capital.
On the heels of a strong fourth quarter, the 181 new transactions in FY24 advance developmental impact and national security priorities around the world in alignment with DFC’s five priority sectors: health, infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, and small business support.
“Fiscal Year 2024 has been a productive and record-setting year for the DFC team, and the huge accomplishments of the fourth quarter demonstrate the enormous progress DFC has made in meeting our mandate under the BUILD Act,” said DFC CEO Scott Nathan. “Our investments around the world are boosting development in emerging economies and advancing key U.S. foreign policy objectives. As we look to next year, DFC is excited to build on this progress for another record-breaking year.”
Transactions approved by DFC’s board of directors in the fourth quarter include:
- Helping Nigeria’s homeowners: A $200 million direct loan to Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc, will refinance mortgage loans to eligible mortgage borrowers across Nigeria. At least 20 percent of the loan proceeds will target mortgage borrowers in the informal and low-income market segments.
- Offering liquidity to Nigeria’s women-owned businesses: A $100 million direct loan to First City Monument Bank Ltd., will increase lending to small and medium-sized women-owned and -led businesses in Nigeria, with a focus on longer-term loans to support their growth and development.
- Enabling food production in Nigeria: A $20 million loan to Robust International Pte. Ltd. and Robust International Commodities Ltd. will provide working capital to support increased sourcing and processing activity for cashew and sesame seed operations in Nigeria.
- Expanding financial inclusion in Mexico: A $340 million loan guaranty to Goldman Sachs to enable financial services company Konfio will increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses in Mexico.
- Strengthening energy security through wind power in Türkiye: A $350 million direct loan to Enerjisa Enerji Üretim A.Ş. will finance development, construction, and operation of an approximately 750MW portfolio of greenfield onshore wind projects comprising nine wind power plants located in three regions in Western Türkiye to help the country meet growing demand for energy, diversify its energy sources, and reduce its reliance on imported fuels.
- Developing critical infrastructure in Africa and Asia: A $50 million equity commitment to Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund II, managed by A.P. Moller Capital, will support the development of critical infrastructure and renewable energy with a primary focus on ports, logistics, and digital infrastructure across Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
- Providing small businesses in the Philippines access to financing: A $75 million loan portfolio guaranty to Bank of the Philippine Islands, in partnership with USAID, will enable $150 million in new loans to be issued to small businesses across the Philippines, with at least a quarter of them operating in the agricultural sector.
- Expanding inclusive economic growth for small businesses and women in Ecuador: A $200 million direct loan to Banco de la Producción S.A. will contribute to a $250 million portfolio of loans to small businesses and women in Ecuador, with at least 70percent of the proceeds being on-lent to women-owned/women-led small businesses and women retail borrowers.
- Accelerating renewable energy in high-growth markets: A $50 million equity commitment to Copenhagen Infrastructure Growth Markets Fund II will increase investment in renewable energy infrastructure projects in high-growth markets in South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, South Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe, focused on large-scale onshore and offshore wind, solar PV, storage, and Power-to-X greenfield projects in line with U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, thereby helping diversify energy sources across these regions.
- Upgrading infrastructure in Latin America: A $50 million equity investment in PI Fund V (Ontario), L.P. will increase investments in Latin American infrastructure that mitigates the effects of climate change and will address financing gaps to develop critical projects, with a primary focus on Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico.
- Energizing Africa’s mid-sized businesses: A $40 million equity investment in Amethis Fund III will help middle-market companies within the health care, financial services, energy and manufacturing and distribution sectors across Africa. The fund will help portfolio companies to professionalize management practices, expand their geographic footprint, improve environmental, social, and governance standards, and promote gender diversity, and climate efficiency.
Please find more information on the DFC Board of Directors web page.
Additionally, DFC approved and committed the following investments at the sub-Board level:
- Strengthening Sub-Saharan Africa’s private sector: A $13 million equity investment in African Rivers Fund IV will support small and medium-sized businesses in frontier markets in Central and East Africa, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.
- Supporting small businesses in Moldova: A $15 million loan portfolio guaranty to BC “MAIB” SA, developed in cooperation with USAID/Moldova, will support lending to small and medium-sized businesses in Moldova to foster economic growth.
- Investing in sustainable infrastructure in African frontier countries: A $25 million equity investment in Acre Export Finance Fund I LP will finance infrastructure projects in Africa, unlocking significant private sector capital. Managed by Acre Capital Management. The fund’s target sectors include healthcare, food and water, stormwater drainage, flood containment infrastructure, social housing, schools, recycling facilities, renewable energy, and green transportation.
- Financing small businesses in Côte d’Ivoire: A 2X-aligned $7 million loan portfolio guaranty to Advans Côte d’Ivoire, in coordination with USAID/Côte d’Ivoire and USAID/West Africa, will support lending to women-led businesses in Côte d’Ivoire, including a special focus on agricultural businesses.
- Catalyzing renewable energy investments and supporting the development of energy trading markets in Africa: A $40 million loan commitment to Africa GreenCo Group Ltd. will fund a portion of a liquidity facility aimed at supporting GreenCo’s energy aggregation and trading business as the first energy trader on the Southern African Power Pool. The DFC loan will backstop GreenCo’s payment obligations to renewable energy (RE) independent power producers, supporting investment in RE by facilitating the conclusion of power purchase agreements in the Southern African Development Community, including Zambia, Namibia, and South Africa.
- Two transactions promoting sustainable agriculture and protecting the health of Africa’s farms: A follow-on loan of $30 million for AgDevCo will support lending to agricultural businesses across Africa. An additional $2 million in technical assistance has been committed to the AgDevCo TAF to fund core business support, including business support and thematic initiatives for AgDevCo’s investees.
- Relieving food insecurity: A $10 million loan portfolio guaranty to Alterfin SC will support on-lending to agriculture and food security-focused businesses and microfinance institutions around the world.
- Access to long-term capital for India’s smallest businesses: A $40 million loan to APAC Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. will expand business lending to low-income and new-to-credit microenterprises across India.
- Stimulating India’s agricultural trade: A $19.8 million loan guaranty to Aryatech Platforms Pvt. Ltd. will help connect and facilitate seamless financing of transactions between small farmers, producer organizations, and buyers of agricultural produce.
- Helping women-led businesses in Honduras: A $15 million loan guaranty to Banco Lafise Honduras will support lending to women-led and agriculture-focused businesses in Honduras.
- Bringing economic growth to Rwanda: A $20 million loan portfolio guaranty to Bank of Kigali in partnership with USAID will enhance lending to small and medium-sized businesses across Rwanda. This guaranty, focusing particularly on businesses within the agricultural value chain, is designed to drive Rwanda’s economic expansion and development.
- Two transactions enhancing sustainable business in Africa: A $7 million loan to Barka Capital Debt SPV will support lending to businesses in the agriculture and food, environment and natural resource, and renewable energy sectors, primarily in West Africa. A $1 million technical assistance grant will provide post-investment support to Barka’s portfolio companies, which will help enhance the development impact of DFC’s debt investment.
- Two transactions creating opportunities for the underserved in Guatemala and the Philippines: $570,000 in insurance to Capital Sisters International, Inc. will help finance microloans for Guatemala’s women and indigenous borrowers. An additional $475,000 in insurance for Capital Sisters will help finance microloans for women in the Philippines. Capital Sisters is women-founded, women-led, and funds only micro loans for women.
- Increasing Kenya’s food security: A $1 million loan to Cinch Markets Ltd. will increase the efficiency of Kenya’s smallholder farms and agricultural supply chains.
- Supporting Zambia’s sustainable food production: A $5 million loan to Commercial Markets for Conservation (COMACO) will support an organization that sources from small-scale farmers in Zambia who use sustainable, conservation-based practices for manufacturing into quality food products that help drive the adoption of these practices.
- Bringing inclusive finance to Kenya: A 2X-aligned $19.5 million loan portfolio guaranty to Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd. will strengthen agricultural supply chains and help Mastercard’s Community Pass initiative offer new financial services tools to smallholder farmers in Kenya.
- Enabling trade in Ukraine: A $50 million guaranty to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) through their Trade Facilitation Program will support trade finance through Ukrainian banks for local businesses.
- Bolstering Africa’s clean energy infrastructure: A $25 million equity investment in Evolution III Fund will enable the Inspired Evolution-managed fund to make investments in clean energy infrastructure, energy access, and resource efficiency growth investments across Africa.
- Supporting agriculture in Africa: $1.5 million in technical assistance for the FEFISOL II TAF managed by Solidarite Internationale Pour Le Developpement et L’Investissement (S.I.D.I.) will help FEFISOL II investees (agricultural businesses and cooperatives, as well as rural microfinance institutions) improve their social, environmental, and core business performance.
- Supporting democracy in Kosovo: In collaboration with USAID/Kosovo, a $5 million loan will finance the expansion of e-commerce platform Gjirafa in Kosova, Albania, and North Macedonia. The expansion will create IT jobs, reduce brain drain, and promote economic growth in the Balkan region.
- Two transactions raising the world’s standard of living: A $5 million loan and an additional $15 million loan will support Global Partnerships Impact-First Fund 9, enabling low-income and underserved populations to earn a living and improve their lives through investment in financial inclusion, health, housing, education, energy, food, water, and sanitation initiatives around the world.
- Supporting small business finance intermediaries in Africa: $1 million in technical assistance for a strategic partnership between the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG Impact) and three GSG Impact national advisory board partners supporting the structuring and launch of three country-level catalytic investment vehicles will expand access to finance for small- and medium-sized businesses in Africa.
- Supporting 2X-aligned funds: A $10 million loan to 2X Ignite Africa Warehousing Facility SCSp will support gender-balanced fund managers who will invest in 2X enterprises.
- Empowering India’s women: A $50 million loan to InCred Financial Services Ltd. will support lending to India’s women and women-owned businesses using a technology-enabled lending approach designed to expand access to underserved entrepreneurs and individuals.
- Tapping Southeast Africa’s business potential: A $10 million equity investment in Inside Equity Fund II will support overlooked small and medium-sized businesses with strong growth and strategic potential in the untapped Southeast Africa region.
- Ramping up vaccine production in Africa: A $20 million loan to an African vaccine producer will expand manufacturing of routine and outbreak vaccines on the continent.
- Funding Southeast Asia’s tech startups: A $20 million loan to January Capital Growth Credit Fund I LP will expand lending to sponsor-backed, growth-stage technology companies in Southeast Asia.
- Two transactions offering lifelines to Ukraine’s small businesses: A $40 million loan portfolio guaranty to JSC JSB Lviv and a $40 million loan portfolio guaranty to JSC KredoBank, each developed in coordination with USAID/Ukraine, will support access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine.
- Increasing financial inclusion for women in India: A $5 million loan to tech-enabled lender Kaleidofin Capital Private Ltd. will help provide customized financial products and services to underbanked women in India by using a proprietary artificial intelligence/machine learning-based credit scoring model trained to properly assess the creditworthiness of microentrepreneurs engaged in the informal sector.
- Boosting healthcare in Kenya: A $10 million loan portfolio guaranty to KCB Bank Kenya Ltd. in partnership with USAID will support small and medium-sized businesses in Kenya’s healthcare sector in order to improve access to much-needed quality and affordable health services to middle- and lower-income populations.
- Growing Angola’s farming and women-owned businesses: A $6 million loan portfolio guaranty to KixiCrédito (Angola) S.A. will support lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises with a focus on women-led businesses and those in the agriculture sector, including those along the strategic Lobito Corridor.
- Making India’s businesses more sustainable: Nearly $300,000 in technical assistance to Lok Capital IV LLC will support the launch of a dynamic fellowship program to help the fund’s portfolio companies in India improve their development impact, sustainability, and resilience in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation, financial inclusion, healthcare access, digital connectivity, food security and agriculture, and gender equity.
- Supporting small business in the West Bank: A $2.2 million technical assistance grant to the Middle East Investment Initiative will support micro, small, and medium-sized private sector enterprises with financial literacy and resilience training, environmental and social capacity-building activities for women and micro- and small entrepreneurs, and support women entrepreneurs in formalizing their businesses.
- Reforesting the Brazilian Amazon: A loan of $37.5 million to Mombak Gestora de Recursos Ltda., developed in collaboration with USAID/Brazil, will support the large-scale planting of native tree species on degraded grasslands in Brazil, sequestering carbon and enabling biodiversity conservation in the region through private sector cooperation.
- Promoting farm-level traceability, digitization of the fragmented supply chain, and boosting farmer incomes in India’s dairy sector: A $10 million loan to mooMark Pvt. Ltd. will support the company’s expansion into fully traceable, value-added dairy product offerings and promote the inclusion of at least 200,000 smallholder dairy farmers in mooMark’s supply chain.
- Charging up India’s EV industry: An $18 million loan to Mufin Green Finance Ltd. will support lending for electric vehicles and related infrastructure in India.
- Building dry waste recovery and recycling plants in India: A $10 million loan to Nepra Resource Management Pvt. Ltd. will fund construction and operation of three material recovery facilities in India that reduce waste in landfills and support circular economy production, reducing greenhouse gases.
- Funding India’s climate-focused businesses: A $50 million loan to Northern Arc Investments IFSC Trust will help the fund extend debt to growth-stage climate mitigation and adaptation companies including in the areas of commercial, industrial, and residential solar energy, energy efficiency, green buildings and materials, e-mobility, sustainable agriculture, and the circular economy.
- Financing Moldova’s 2X entrepreneurs and underserved farmers: A $30 million loan to O.C.N. Microinvest S.R.L. will support the expansion of lending to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in Moldova, with at least 30 percent of loans anticipated to be to 2X business, and 50 percent of loans anticipated to support agribusiness.
- Two transactions supporting small businesses in Serbia: Two $48 million loan guaranties to each of OTP Banka Srbija akcionarsko društvo Novi Sad and NLB Komercijalna banka a.d. Beograd will support lending to small and medium-sized businesses in Serbia with a focus on the agricultural sector and women-owned businesses, especially in the underdeveloped regions of Serbia.
- Helping India fight disease: A $20 million loan to Panacea Biotec Ltd. will help a major Indian vaccine manufacturer expand its output by 50 million doses annually for the hexavalent vaccine, which protects against six major diseases.
- Revitalizing agriculture in Ukraine: A $20 million loan guaranty to Piraeus Bank ICB will mobilize new lending, primarily to small and medium-sized agricultural businesses in Ukraine.
- Two co-guaranties to keep businesses healthy in Ukraine: Loan portfolio guaranties of $50 million and $35 million, respectively, to two banks, both in partnership with USAID/Ukraine, will support lending to mid-sized corporations across economic sectors in Ukraine.
- Expanding financial inclusion in rural India: A $20 million loan to Satya MicroCapital Ltd. will support the expansion of the company’s microfinance portfolio, targeting rural and semi-urban women at the base of the economic pyramid, using the joint liability group methodology of microfinance.
- Upgrading irrigation and power systems in Kenya, Uganda, and Côte d’Ivoire: A $10 million loan to the Savant Group will help scale the design, manufacturing, financing, and servicing of solar energy-powered irrigation equipment in Kenya, Uganda, and Côte d’Ivoire.
- Helping catalyze the market for outcomes-based partnerships, including development impact bonds: $1.75 million in technical assistance (TA) to Bridges Outcomes Ltd. will support design, delivery, and capacity-building assistance for the SDG Outcomes Fund, which invests in outcomes-based partnerships, including development impact bonds, to support U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. DFC’s TA will focus on helping the SDG Outcomes Fund reach clients in the most low-resource, vulnerable, and novel contexts.
- Advising African businesses: $500,000 in technical assistance to SFC Finance (AfricInvest Private Credit) will support approximately 40 portfolio companies and prospective portfolio companies across Africa with ESG, energy, governance, and operational advisory services.
- Financing women-led small businesses in Ghana: A $4.2 million loan portfolio guaranty to Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans, in coordination with USAID/Ghana, will support financial inclusion through innovative lending to women-led businesses in Ghana, with a special focus on agricultural businesses.
- Supporting Ghanaian smallholder farmers: A $1 million loan in Ghanaian Cedis to Sommalife Ltd. will improve the agricultural supply chain in the shea nut sector.
- Encouraging green energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A $5 million loan portfolio guaranty to Sparkasse Bank, in partnership with USAID/BiH, will support lending to small businesses linked to Bosnian diaspora and returnees and a portion of loans restricted to green energy projects.
- Financing underserved women-owned small businesses in Jamaica: A $9 million loan guaranty for Sygnus Credit Investments td. (SCI) will support the expansion of SCI’s debt financing of underserved small and medium-sized businesses, with a particular focus on women-owned and -managed businesses in Jamaica.
- Providing financial services in Southeast Asia: A $25 million equity investment in Triple P SEA Financial Inclusion and Climate Adaptation Fund II, L.P. will make investments in Southeast Asian companies that provide critical financial services to emerging consumers and small businesses.
- Increasing financial inclusion in India: A $40 million loan to UGRO Capital Ltd. will support lending to India’s small and medium-sized businesses, 70 percent of which will be 2X qualifying businesses. Additionally, at least $5 million of the proceeds will go to new-to-credit borrowers.
- Expanding access to affordable protein in Kenya: A $20 million loan to Victory Farms will expand sustainable tilapia production operations on Lake Victoria, reducing pressure on declining wild fish stocks while increasing the availability of affordable, healthy protein to Kenyan customers.
- Boosting investments in water and a circular economy worldwide: A $7.5 million loan to Water Unite Pilot Impact Vehicle LP, a blended finance fund managed by Wellers Impact, will increase investments in water, sanitation, and plastic recycling businesses globally, with a special focus on Africa.
- Empowering El Salvador’s businesses: A $9 million loan guaranty to WorldBusiness Capital in support of a 2X qualifying loan to Federación de Cajas de Crédito y de Bancos de los Trabajadores, S.C. de R.L. de C.V., which will fund the expansion of lending operations to small and medium-sized businesses in El Salvador.
- Advancing secure supply chains for copper and rare earths: A $3.4 million technical assistance grant to Pensana Plc for feasibility studies and testing will advance development of a rare earth elements mine and refining facility in Angola on the Lobito Corridor.
- Expanding vehicle leasing for Ukrainian businesses: A $50 million loan to Ukrainian leasing company CFI VIP-Rent will purchase new vehicles, including ambulances, to expand availability of leased vehicles for local business.