OPIC 2015 Impact Awards Recognize Excellence in International Development
May 20, 2015
(OPIC)
U.S. Government’s Development Finance
Institution celebrates accomplishments of
successful partners for their work in
developing countries
Winners exemplify central role of private
sector investment in carrying out lasting
international development
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S.
Government’s Development Finance Institution,
today presented awards recognizing exceptional
achievement in international private-sector
development in a ceremony at the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce.
OPIC awarded seven of the Agency’s partner
businesses that exemplify the breadth of
geography, size, sector, and positive
development impact that can result from OPIC
finance and insurance support.
“The awardees we’re honoring today exemplify
the broad scope of development impact that the
private sector can achieve when offered the
right kind of support,” said Elizabeth
Littlefield, OPIC’s President and CEO.
“Spanning Africa, Latin America, the Middle
East, Asia and Eastern Europe, and advancing
vital sectors like healthcare, power, water,
education, and new access to finance, the
global impact these companies are having is
incredible. OPIC believed in the bold ideas
from this select group of exceptional
innovators, and now hundreds of thousands
across the developing world will have a higher
quality of life and achieve greater
opportunity.”
“The Chamber recognizes OPIC’s unique role in
helping mobilize private sector investment in
the service of development. With more than half
of U.S. exports bound for developing countries,
OPIC provides valuable support for American
businesses to remain competitive in those
markets. OPIC helps U.S. business serve as a
force for good in the world, as today’s winners
demonstrate,” said Myron Brilliant, Executive
Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
during remarks at the ceremony.
The 2015 OPIC Impact Award Recipients:
Innovation: Belstar Development,
LLC, for large-scale efforts to modernize
Ghana’s healthcare system through provision of
medical equipment, services and training for
100 hospitals throughout the country. OPIC
political risk insurance coverage of $250
million allowed Florida-based Belstar to help
close the $1 billion gap in medical
infrastructure that prevents ready access to
quality healthcare for many Ghanaians.
Development Impact: Bridge
International Academies, for creating a network
of hundreds of low-cost, high-quality,
technology-enabled schools across Africa that
are democratizing the right for all children to
succeed. Bolstered by $10 million in OPIC
financing, Bridge’s founders have been able to
scale up their proven model from just a few
schools to hundreds, and are on track to
educate 10 million pupils in the next decade.
American Small Business: CSI Latina,
a Miami-based business that provides crucial
growth equipment and tools to support small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing Latin
American countries. Empowered by multiple OPIC
loans, CSI Latina offers SMEs leases on items
ranging from heavy machinery to communications
technology to furniture. This vital support
allows growing SMEs to overcome budget
constraints and achieve greater financial
flexibility.
Access to Finance: Global
Communities’ Vitas Lebanon, for wide-ranging
microfinance lending efforts across Lebanon
that issued over 36,000 loans totaling nearly
$70 million and supporting tens of thousands of
jobs. Catalyzed by a $20 million OPIC financing
commitment, Maryland-based Global Communities
helped lay the groundwork for stabilizing
entrepreneurial growth in Lebanon, a key
regional economy.
Renewable Resources – Agriculture:
Root Capital, for providing access to capital
that is growing rural prosperity for small
farmers throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin
America. Helped by $20 million of OPIC
financing, Massachusetts-based Root Capital has
provided more than $800 million in credit to
over 550 agricultural businesses, representing
1.2 million smallholder farmers. Root Capital’s
clients produce dozens of different
agricultural products, from coffee, cocoa, and
cashews, to fresh fruits and vegetables, to
wild-harvested products like natural gums and
shea butter.
Development Impact: Sante GMT, for
increasing the standards of food production and
distribution in Georgia, where they have
expanded their dairy operations to establish
new milk collection centers that benefit
farmers and modernized production centers for
milk, yogurt, butter and cheese. Growing
through the support of $17.6 million in OPIC
loans, Sante has helped Georgia take an
important step forward in agriculture and
economic growth.
Renewable Resources – Energy: Simpa
Networks, for bringing scalable and affordable
home solar systems to villages across rural
India not connected to a central power grid.
OPIC financing of $3 million helped Simpa,
co-founded by U.S. entrepreneurs, to expand the
availability of their innovative pay-as-you-go
systems, spreading electricity access – a key
driver of economic growth – for tens of
thousands of rural Indians.
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