OPEC Fund approves US$100m for operations in developing countries

Vienna, Austria, September 15, 2020.  The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) has approved US$100 million in new funding to support development operations in Burundi, Nicaragua and Ghana. The finance was approved at the 173rd Session of the organization’s Governing Board, held virtually.

The organization is continuing to help developing countries mitigate, contain and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In addition to the latest funding, in recent weeks the OPEC Fund has approved US$175 million in public sector lending to support COVID-19 response efforts in Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Dominica, El Salvador, Guyana and Rwanda. Under the organization’s Private Sector and Trade Finance Facility, US$60 million was also approved to support SMEs in Asia and Latin America and to strengthen agricultural supply in hard-hit African countries.  

The Governing Board also endorsed a number of key recommendations that directly support the OPEC Fund’s Strategic Framework. The Framework focuses on enabling the organization to become more agile and responsive to the changing development landscape in order to maximize development impact.

“Despite the challenging external environment, the organization has made solid strategic progress,” said OPEC Fund Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa. “Ultimately, this means we are better able to support our partners with their urgent development priorities. We are pleased that our Governing Board has endorsed this progress and we are determined to continue to play our counter-cyclical role through the remainder of 2020 and beyond.”

The newly-approved public sector loans, amounting to US$50 million, will support the following projects:

Burundi:  US$20m     Agricultural Production Intensification & Vulnerability Reduction Project in Burundi (PIPARV-B)

To strengthen the resilience of agricultural production systems and reduce environmental degradation through the development of marshland and hill irrigation systems.  The project will also rehabilitate 150 km of rural access roads and build storage facilities, benefiting around 766,000 people.  

 Nicaragua:  US$30m    Ochomogo-Las Salinas Rural Road

To promote sustainable socio-economic development in rural areas by upgrading a 29 km road important for key economic activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism. Around 83,000 people in the project area will directly benefit from lower transport costs, higher household incomes and better access to education, health, and other social services.    

Under the OPEC Fund’s trade finance operations, US$50 million was approved to support agricultural exports from Ghana.

About the OPEC Fund 
The OPEC Fund is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a channel of aid to developing countries. The OPEC Fund works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social services and promote productivity, competitiveness and trade. The OPEC Fund's work is people-centered, focusing on projects that meet basic needs – such as food, energy, infrastructure, employment (particularly relating to MSMEs), clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. The OPEC Fund aims to encourage self-reliance and inspire hope for the future.