OPIC Board Approves $52.5 Million for Maghreb Investment Fund
December 9, 2011
(OPIC)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Businesses in North Africa, where bank financing and private
equity were scarce even prior to the Arab Spring, obtained a new source of
financial support with the approval by the Board of Directors of the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) of $52.5 million in financing for a new
private equity fund expected to mobilize up to $210 million of investment in the
region.
The fund will target investment in small and medium-sized high-growth companies
with the potential to grow into regional champions – another imperative for a
region urgently in need of economic integration.
This is the latest step toward fulfilling Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s
March announcement that OPIC, the U.S. Government’s development finance
institution, would provide up to $2 billion in financial support for investment
in the Middle East and North Africa. OPIC responded quickly: in June, OPIC’s
Board approved $500 million in financing to support lending to small businesses
in Egypt and Jordan, and in October approved $150 million in additional lending
for the region.
“As President Obama has said, supporting businesses that create jobs is a key
way the U.S. can support the events of the Arab Spring. People need to see the
fruits of their tremendous efforts to bring about democratic change. This fund
is designed to fuel entrepreneurial North African businesses to do just that,”
said OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield.
The fund, Maghreb Private Equity III, will invest in SMEs which are expected to
contribute employment, wealth creation, and access to goods and services for
formerly underserved populations in the region. The fund will be available to
invest in OPIC-eligible countries in the Maghreb, including Tunisia, Morocco,
Algeria, Egypt, and – when opened – Libya.
OPIC selected as fund manager TunInvest, part of TunInvest-AfricInvest Group,
one of the leading private equity firms in North and sub-Saharan Africa, with
more than $650 million of assets under management across eleven private equity
funds.
According to the Arab Maghreb Union, the absence of a united Maghreb inflicts a
two percent loss in annual growth among its member nations. Interstate commerce
in North Africa is equivalent to 1.3 percent of the region’s trade, the lowest
regional rate in the world.
Welcome to the Exporting Source
Your one-stop resource for finding help to export to new customers, to learn about government export programs, to join export-promoting trade missions, to sign up for trade conferences and training, and to link to other exporting services. Whether you're an old hand at exporting or just getting started, the Exporting Source provides a place to locate foreign customers, export financing and foreign investment assistance.