Paris, France, 10 December 2014 - Three major European Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération économique PROPARCO (of France), FMO (The Netherlands Development Finance Company) and (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH of Germany) last week signed a 12-year loan facility of US$ 189 million with the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) to further development in Africa, the Middle East and South and Central Asia. This is the first time that such a collaborative venture has been set up by these DFI’s and a private development corporation. The loan will contribute towards the support of economic and social development in these regions through the funding of projects in sectors such as finance, infrastructure, industry, tourism, and aviation, thereby increasing revenues, employment, and access to essential services for the peoples of these areas and thus improving their quality of life.

“AKFED’s collaboration with these financial institutions over many years has already resulted in a number of pioneering projects in developing countries, thereby creating major benefits for the local population and economies,” said Mr Janmohamed, member of AKFED’s Executive Committee. “This facility will further strengthen our partnership and will help us to achieve even more of our joint objectives in reducing poverty, building capacity and setting benchmarks for new long term investments in Asia and Africa.”

The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development is one of the agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and to building economically sound enterprises in the developing world. AKFED focuses on supporting enterprises in parts of the world that lack sufficient foreign direct investment. It operates a network of affiliates with more than 90 project companies in 17 countries, making bold but calculated investments in situations that are fragile and complex, such as in Afghanistan where it assists in the reconstruction and post-war context.

Over the years, AKFED has proven its capacity to sustain and support critical industries such as aviation in Africa and tourism, whilst building up essential industries such as infrastructure, telecommunications, energy, agribusiness and banking. Through its action, AKFED has consistently demonstrated the vital role the private sector must play in development – a principle to which the three development finance institutions are also committed.

“This operation is the outcome of a long-term collaboration between the three DFIs and AKFED. We have been working together for more than 15 years financing various tourism, industry and infrastructure projects sponsored by AKFED. Through this financing, we are very pleased to further develop our partnership to support development in the South”, said Marie-Hélène Loison, Deputy CEO of Operations in PROPARCO.

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PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyse private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility. Please see: www.proparco.fr

FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company) is the Dutch development bank. FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. FMO believes a strong private sector leads to economic and social development, empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focusses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With an investment portfolio of EUR 6.6 billion, FMO is one of the largest European bilateral private sector development banks. Please see: www.fmo.nl

DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, is one of the largest European development finance institutions. DEG invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development in all sectors of the economy, from agribusiness to infrastructure and manufacturing to services. The financial sector is a further focus in order to facilitate reliable access to investment capital locally. DEG’s aim is to establish and expand private enterprise structures in developing and emerging countries, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic growth and a lasting improvement in the living conditions of the local population. Please see: www.deginvest.de