DFC Celebrates Nearly $50 Billion Invested Over Five Years to Advance Development and U.S. Foreign Policy at 5th Anniversary Conference

MEDIA KIT: DFC's 5th Anniversary Conference

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation marked today its 5^th anniversary at a conference highlighting a remarkable record of achievement since its creation by the U.S. Congress in 2019 through the bipartisan Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act. Over the past five years, DFC's overall active portfolio has reached nearly $50 billion across 114 countries, directly impacting over 200 million people and businesses.

"Over the past five years, DFC has fulfilled the vision of the BUILD Act's authors – to build a modern development finance institution that advances the development and foreign policy objectives of the United States by mobilizing capital to high-quality and high-standard private sector transactions in the developing world," said DFC CEO Scott Nathan. "With bipartisan support, we've built an organization that has the capacity to pursue transactions that advance U.S. interests and create opportunity for people around the world. I couldn't be more proud of what the DFC team has achieved."

Speakers at the conference included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Chief Minister of Sierra Leone David Moinina Sengeh, as well as other global leaders and members of Congress.

Since its founding, America's development bank has made significant strides in supporting the mobilization of capital through the private sector to address critical global challenges and deliver lasting developmental and strategic outcomes. DFC has built on the legacy of its predecessors, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and USAID's Development Credit Authority, to become an efficient and effective mechanism for mobilizing private sector investment across the developing world. DFC's achievements over the past five years include:

• Unprecedented growth in annual commitments: In FY2024 alone, DFC committed over $12 billion, more than doubling annual commitments from DFC's first year.
• Doubling strategic transactions: DFC more than doubled the number of transactions committed annually since FY2020, growing to 181 transactions in FY2024.
• Expanding regional investments: DFC's investments span more than $13 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa, $11 billion in the Western Hemisphere, $9 billion in Europe and Central Asia, $8.5 billion in the Indo-Pacific, and nearly $4 billion in the Middle East and North Africa, with an additional $3.5 billion invested across multiple regions.
• Boosting global presence: DFC has strengthened its regional presence through offices in the Dominican Republic, Brazil, South Africa, India, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia, enabling greater impact in key regions and sectors.

DFC is driving measurable impact worldwide:

• Bolstering food security: Supported 1.7 million smallholder farmers.
• Improving critical infrastructure: Transported 64.9 million passengers via roadways, airports, and railways.
• Expanding access to health services: Delivered healthcare services to 44.8 million people globally.
• Fueling small business growth: Supported nearly 6.1 million micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises.
• Providing clean water: Delivered over 320,000 metric tons of clean water – enough to sustain more than 31,600 people for an entire year.
• Bridging the digital divide: Connected over 131,000 households and individuals to the internet and built more than 70 cell towers in underserved communities.

DFC has expanded its portfolio through strategic transactions supporting high-quality infrastructure, access to secure and reliable energy, improved healthcare and food security, and sustainable economic development. A small sample includes: 

• Building resilient infrastructure: $553 million in DFC financing is supporting the upgrade and operation of the Lobito Railroad, strengthening a critical trade route between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.
• Securing critical minerals: DFC's equity investments in TechMet are supporting diverse, resilient critical mineral supply chains with expanded capacity in Brazil and South Africa.
• Powering energy security: DFC's up to $412 million commitment to provide financing and political risk insurance will support the construction and operation of a new 105MW power plant by CECA SL Generation Limited in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the first utility-scale independent power project in the country.
• Expanding vaccine manufacturing: DFC's $15 million loan to Institut Pasteur de Dakar's wholly owned subsidiary VaxSen SASU will help finance a new vaccine manufacturing plant in Senegal, increasing local production capacity in Africa for routine childhood vaccines and emerging diseases and epidemics.
• Mobilizing capital for small businesses: DFC's $100 million loan to Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank in Vietnam will expand the Bank's digital financing to underserved small businesses in Vietnam.
• Transforming agriculture: A DFC loan is supporting Kentegra's construction of an organic fertilizer processing plant in Kenya to satisfy increasing demand.
• Bolstering healthcare: DFC's $25 million in political risk insurance for the Superhumans Center will support the hospital's efforts to provide critical healthcare for war trauma survivors in Ukraine.

Through bold action and a commitment to innovation, DFC has firmly established itself as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy, driving private sector solutions that tackle the world's most pressing development challenges. Looking ahead, DFC remains dedicated to expanding its impact and delivering transformative results for communities worldwide.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) partners with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world today. We invest across sectors including energy, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and small business and financial services. DFC investments adhere to high standards and respect the environment, human rights, and worker rights.

SOURCE U.S. International Development Finance Corporation