Indo-Pacific

With the support of USAID/Nepal, a $2.5 million DFC loan portfolio guaranty has been instrumental in enabling Laxmi Sunrise Bank to expand its lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and farmers in Nepal. This guaranty facilitated the bank’s ability to offer loans under more favorable terms, to include less stringent requirements for collateral, and the launch of an agriculture lending program targeting areas ravaged by the 2015 earthquake.

In 2022, the United States, Japan, and Australia renewed the Trilateral Infrastructure Partnership (TIP) to jointly support sustainable economic growth and development across the Indo-Pacific region. The resulting projects reflect these partners’ shared values, emphasize transparency, and respect the sovereignty and individual needs of countries in the region.

DFC participated in an equity investment in Husk Power Systems (Husk), alongside a consortium of investors, to help address this gap in low-carbon modern energy. With equity funding from DFC and additional debt, Husk plans to roll out 1,400 new mini-grids in India and Nigeria over the next five years. These mini-grids are projected to add 300,000 new connections—100,000, or one-third, of them micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)—while avoiding 350,000 tonnes of CO2. Husk will also continue to create new jobs, adding 2,500 positions as the company expands into new markets in Africa and the Indo-Pacific.

A $425 million loan from DFC to TP Solar Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited, will finance the construction and operation of a greenfield 4GW solar cell and 4GW solar module manufacturing facility in India. This investment will support India’s ambitious program to increase renewable energy generation while advancing the global energy transition to diversify supply.

DFC financing will enable Banyan Nation, an award-winning, vertically integrated plastics recycling company based in India, to expand and upgrade its facilities to more than triple production of circular plastic resins that can be used by a variety of industries, from car manufacturers to consumer goods, to replace the use of virgin plastics.

DFC—through its equity investment in Dolma Impact Fund II—is supporting an investment in the business-to-business logistics provider Upaya City Cargo Pvt. Ltd. Upaya offers an app with a logistics solution for a variety of services, including ride-hailing, inner-city deliveries, last-mile deliveries, sorting and bundling services, warehousing services, and long-distance bulk deliveries around the country.

DFC committed an up to $10 million equity investment to Water Access Acceleration Fund to expand access to affordable and safe drinking water by investing in social enterprises that are providing potable water solutions in low and lower-middle income countries in the Indo-Pacific and Africa.

DFC has committed to providing technical assistance funding to Hydrogène De France (HDF) to support the development of a portfolio of green hydrogen projects in Indonesia that would create economic opportunities for surrounding communities, reduce emissions, and increase energy security.

Former banker and leadership coach turned-entrepreneur Sahil Dharia founded India-based Soothe Healthcare in 2012 after considering the negative effects of girls missing school due to menstruation and the benefits of expanding access to hygiene products. DFC financing will help Soothe support the expanded manufacturing of affordable menstrual products and grow its distribution network to better reach under-served women in non-urban areas.

A DFC investment in Chiratae Ventures International Fund IV LLC is supporting investments in multiple technology companies, including Agrostar, which offers an agri-tech platform to help millions of farmers access information and expert advice and purchase the seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs to help them increase yields and reach larger markets.

DFC financing is helping Indian vaccine manufacturer, Biological E Limited, expand production capacity for at least one billion additional COVID vaccine doses.

DFC-guaranteed loans to Portea Medical, an India-based home healthcare company founded in 2013, will help provide targeted healthcare services at a fraction of the cost of traditional care. While hospital ICU care can cost approximately $400 per day, Portea’s comparable home-based services are available at only $133 per day.

A DFC loan of $10 million provided first loss capital to the Impact Investment Exchange Women’s Catalyst Fund to help launch Women’s Livelihood Bond™ 5: the world’s first Orange Bond.

DFC financing is helping WaterEquity, a nonprofit impact investor, provide loans to microfinance lenders to help communities in the Indo-Pacific, Latin America, and Africa invest in water and sanitation solutions. By mobilizing significant private investment, WaterEquity has financed more than 543,000 loans that have helped nearly three million people across nine developing countries access safe water or sanitation in their homes and communities by installing toilets, septic tanks, or connections to piped water. DFC’s financing will support additional lending through 2026 aiming to bring access to water or sanitation solutions to millions more low-income families around the world.

DFC financing to ManiBhavnam Home Finance India Private Limited (ManiBhavnam) is helping support mortgage and home equity loans to low-income borrowers in cities across northern and central India, with 100% of the loans to be provided to women borrowers, co-borrowers, or guarantors.

A loan to Lendable Inc. is supporting the creation of the Lendable Fintech Credit Fund I, which will provide loans to fin-tech companies across Africa and the Indo-Pacific. These fin-tech companies will use innovative technologies such as digital banks and mobile investment accounts to provide credit, working capital, remittances, and payment solutions to underserved customers and MSMEs in target countries.

DFC financing is supporting the expansion of Fulbright University Vietnam with a new campus in Ho Chi Minh City that will serve up to 1,300 students. Fulbright, Vietnam’s first independent nonprofit university, offers degrees in engineering, liberal arts, and public policy and partners with multiple American universities including Harvard and the University of Texas to bring a high-quality undergraduate and graduate education to Vietnam. As the first college in Vietnam to offer needs-based tuition assistance, the university is also expanding access to affordable education.

A DFC equity investment in Dolma Impact Fund II will support investments in healthcare, renewable energy, and technology. Dolma Fund Management, the first private equity fund manager dedicated to investing in Nepal, will target investments that reduce dependence on imported energy, help mitigate the impacts of flood, landslide, and drought on its largely agrarian economy, while promoting the introduction of technology that promotes financial inclusion.

DFC financing is supporting the Energy Access Relief Fund, which is providing low-cost loans to viable off-grid energy providers that serve low-income communities across 50 countries in Africa and Asia but are facing liquidity challenges due to COVID. Energy Access Relief Fund is a collaboration of development institutions, donors, and impact investors including the Dutch development agency FMO, the U.K. development agency CDC Group, as well as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Shell Foundation. The fund plans to deploy up to $100 million of financing to small and medium businesses providing a variety of off-grid energy solutions including solar home systems, clean cookstoves, and solar-powered irrigation.

A DFC loan guaranty, in collaboration with USAID, will support loans to micro, small and medium enterprises in India that are investing in or providing distributed renewable energy products such as rooftop solar, mini-grids, solar pumps, and other energy efficiency solutions. Because small and medium-sized enterprises in India account for almost half of all the energy consumed in the country’s industrial sector, the project has the potential to significantly expand access to reliable sources of clean and affordable power, while also reducing emissions.

Financing and technical assistance are supporting the expansion of Milk Mantra, a startup that procures, packages, sells and delivers dairy products in India. Milk Mantra is committed to ethical procurement with a focus on fair, transparent and timely payments to farmers, along with a range of extension services to farmers.

DFC financing is helping Varthana support the thousands of small affordable private schools that fill the gap that government schools cannot meet, providing critical loans and online learning plans to help these affordable private schools weather the pandemic and stay in business.

A $15 million equity investment will help Freshtohome Foods Ltd. expand its Bangalore-based e-commerce business that sells fresh fish, meat and vegetables in major metropolitan cities in India. Freshtohome is a five-year-old company built with proprietary technology to connect more than 1,500 fishermen and farmers to its network that delivers affordable fish and meat products to consumers, while also helping food producers earn higher prices than they typically receive at auction.

A loan to WayCool Foods is helping this four-year old company bring more produce to market in an efficient manner that avoids spoilage. WayCool is introducing technology, strict quality controls and efficient transportation to ensure that more produce reaches consumers. Working with tens of thousands of farmers across 15 states, WayCool weighs food before it leaves the farm, conducts quality checks in warehouses, and sends electronic payments to farmers, while transporting food to on markets in temperature controlled vehicles. Farmers who work with WayCool report a 30 percent increase in income and the food they grow is sold in markets around the country and to multiple international restaurant and hotel chains. DFC’s $5.5 million loan will support the continued expansion of this “farm-to-fork” value chain.

Financing enabled Australis Aquaculture to create an open fish farm in Van Phong Bay, Vietnam, where it is raising barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, a local fish that has a high nutritional value and is enjoying growing popularity around the world. In addition to introducing open aquaculture to Vietnam, enabling fish to swim freely in offshore net pens, the company has adopted fishing techniques that reduce food waste and methane emissions. Australis also worked with a nearby veterinary research institute to manufacture fish vaccines locally.

Local currency financing of 350 million Indian rupee is helping mortgage lender Aviom provide approximately 1,200 home loans to women in India. Aviom, which serves women borrowers in predominately rural areas, provides loans in an average amount of $4,000. Many of the women served by Aviom work in the informal economy, have undocumented income, and would otherwise not be able to access home financing. Affordable mortgages enable women to build homes they could otherwise not afford and establish a credit history.

DFC's $5 million loan is helping Goyol Cashmere, a local producer of wool and cashmere knitwear, construct a new factory and purchase additional equipment in order to expand production. Cashmere is the third largest export in Mongolia, where cashmere goats are well suited for the harsh climate. The country's cashmere industry, which represents 28 percent of the world's cashmere market, provides stable incomes to over 100,000 people across the country. Goyol Cashmere sources 50 percent of its raw cashmere materials from rural herders to produce high-quality knitwear that is exported to bolster Mongolia's economy.

A partial credit guaranty is helping local businesses, such as Meliomar, advance sustainable fishing practices. Meliomar is a seafood processor that sources sustainable fish from environmentally friendly, small-scale fisheries. Meliomar, founded in 2013, is working to educate sellers and consumers about sustainable fishing practices, and to support local livelihoods by promoting fair wages for coastal fishing communities.