DFC is committed to mobilizing private sector investment that improves lives, expands access to essential services such as clean water and electricity, builds critical infrastructure, advances women’s economic empowerment, and supports the development of natural resources. By addressing some of the region’s greatest development challenges, DFC’s work in the Middle East and North Africa also supports U.S. foreign policy and national security.
DFC’s Joint Investment for Peace Initiative, created by the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act, strives to encourage cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis by promoting economic growth in the Palestinian private sector economy, particularly by increasing investment in small- and medium-sized enterprises in high value-added or emerging industries like technology and agriculture. To learn more, read DFC's factsheet (English | Arabic | Hebrew) or contact investmentforpeace@dfc.gov.
A guaranty to the Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII) has supported loans totaling approximately $400 million to almost 2,400 small and medium enterprises (SME) in the Middle East and North Africa since 2008. MEII Loan Guaranty Facilities were designed to stimulate lending to SMEs with flexible terms and incentivize financial institutions to assume more credit risk. DFC’s support enables MEII to guaranty up to 75 percent of these SME loans.
A DFC equity investment in AfricInvest Fund IV LLC supported the fund’s investment in CMGP-CAS Group, a major regional manufacturer and distributor of irrigation equipment, crop protection, fertilizers, seeds, and other critical farm inputs. Equipment such as drip and pivot irrigation, micro-sprinklers, and greenhouses supplied by CMGP have equipped 170,000 hectares of land in Morocco. The business operates three manufacturing sites and 11 distribution centers around the country and is working to expand its network across Africa, while developing new solutions to combat water scarcity and ensure food security.
A DFC loan to the Near East Foundation (NEF) UK is supporting the creation of a Development Impact Bond (DIB), an innovative form of financing which is repaid by donors seeking specific measurable social impacts. The DIB—DFC’s first development impact bond focused on refugees—will finance a training and grant program to help refugees and vulnerable Jordanians, primarily women and youth, launch microenterprises as a sustainable source of household income.
A DFC technical assistance grant is helping Ifria Cold Chain Development Co. conduct early-stage work on the development of two cold chain anchor warehouses in Agadir, Morocco and Dakar, Senegal.
DFC has committed a $50 million loan portfolio guaranty to help Vitas Jordan, a Jordanian microfinance institution, expand its lending to “missing middle” small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), businesses in need of financing too large for microfinance loans yet often considered too small or risky for commercial lenders.
DFC financing is supporting development of a modern souk in Zarqa, which is located in the Jordanian Government’s King Abdullah Bin Aziz City urban development project, a master-planned community to alleviate urban congestion and expand access to public resources. This new community will serve as a gateway to new affordable housing in Zarqa, which will help relocate refugees into a more sustainable living environment that offers public resources and affordable housing.
Political risk insurance supports the work of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a relief agency that responds to humanitarian crises around the world. By protecting against losses resulting from forced abandonment or expropriation, this insurance enables IRC to support displaced people, provide emergency health and sanitation services, stem gender-based violence, and respond to disease outbreaks. IRC is working to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in regions with limited access to healthcare, by introducing telemedicine to provide healthcare remotely, delivering medicine to communities in quarantine, and educating people about disease prevention. DFC’s insurance supports this work in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East including Georgia, Iraq, Niger, and Zimbabwe.
Photo Credit: Lekela
Financing is supporting the development of a 252 MW wind farm near the Gulf of Suez. The plant, which is expected to increase the country’s wind generating capacity by 18 percent and lower the overall cost of power in the country. The plant is also expected to avoid 550,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Financing totaling $250 million together with $150 million in political risk insurance supported construction of a 202-mile pipeline running from an aquifer in southern Jordan to Amman. The pipeline has the capacity to transport 100 million cubic meters of potable water a year.
Political risk insurance is supporting a project by Houston, Texas-based Noble Energy to rehabilitate a natural gas pipeline and transport natural gas from the Leviathan and Tamar offshore fields in Israel to customers in Egypt.